Maldives: Honeymoon Part 1

In January of 2023, we jet sailed across the world for our 4 week honeymoon! On this trip we opted for a 2 in 1 adventure where we spent 6 relaxing days in the Maldives and 3 weeks adventuring in the winter European alps. To get to the Maldives we flew Swiss Air from LAX to Zurich, then Zurich to Male. Male is the capital of the Maldives. The Maldives is made up of about 1,200 coral islands and sandbanks, grouped into 26 atolls. Each of these islands have a single resort on them so no matter where you go, it will be very private.

Picking a resort can be super overwhelming since there are so many options! For us, we decided to stay at a Hilton branded resort so we could use miles and status. We stayed all 6 nights at
Conrad Maldives Rangali Island (points special) where we had a spacious, breathtaking overwater bungalow. This resort was not all inclusive, but we were totally finally. However, be aware that drink and food costs end up being extremely high!

In order to get to your resort, you either have to take a boat (if its close enough) or a seaplane. Our resort was further away so we had to take a seaplane. Another caution, these seaplanes cost an extra $650 per person round trip and there is a luggage weight restriction, but the experience is pretty cool! The hotel arranged the seaplane for us so logistically its super easy. When you land in Male, someone is waiting for you to take you to a quiet and comfortable lounge to have a snack and freshen up until your seaplane flight.

We were greeted at the Conrad with coconut waters while we met the lovely staff including our personal butler for the week! How fancy! While we were sleepy and exhausted, I can still remember being so taken back by how beautiful the water and resort was.

We got a tour of the property on a golf cart. The resort is spread out over two islands connected by a walkway. One island is adults-only (where we stayed), while the main island is family-friendly. It’s easy enough to walk between the two, but you can also have a golf cart drive you around. There’s almost a dozen different restaurants and bars at the resort, as well as the ability to order room service, so dining options are plentiful. There are pools on each of the two islands, complimentary water-based activities like kayaking and paddle boarding, paid excursions you can go on (e.g. turtle safari, sunrise and sunset cruises, fishing, culinary classes, etc.), a couple of spas and more. I’d been a little concerned ahead of our stay that I’d get bored after a few days, but that didn’t happen at all!

Our room was SO amazing. We had a private deck with a pool and of course a private slice of the Indian Ocean right from our patio. We were in the water all the time! Even Beef, who typically does not get into the ocean. The resort also had snorkels so we spent a lot of time snorkeling and exploring.

Every morning, V would wake up early and run from one side of the island to the otherside, for a few laps. Sometimes, Beef even joined her. We also visited the gym everyday, which was small but functional. The resort also had some group workout classes that we joined in on and a tennis court!

Breakfast was including with our stay. There were two options for breakfast, Vilu and Atoll Market. Vilu was a sit-down breakfast on the adult side of the island, right on the water while Atoll Market was on the main island and had a comprehensive breakfast buffet. We ate so much at breakfast we usually skipped lunch. I have very fond memories of breakfast at Vilu.

How we spent our days….

We spent our days soaking up everything this beautiful place had to offer. Every single minute spent here was a true paradise. Some of the fun things we did (besides dinners) are

We took sailing lessons! Well, Beef learned how to sail, V just soaked up the sun.
We went on so many snorkeling adventures. The coral and fish variety was unreal (the property has one of the biggest reefs in the Maldives). We would swim for hours at a time. We got used to the benign black fin sharks that were everywhere (Beef even called to report a shark, being from California, but they just laughed at him)!
Take long walks all over the island, taking stops along for juice and drinks.
Lounge by our private pool or the large adult only pool on our island- lots of reading for V.
Paddle boating, we took our a pedal boat for a few hours. Again, V laid around while Beef did all the hard work. Very typical.
Watched every single sunset from our beautiful sunset facing balcony. Never got old.
Enjoyed a complimentary Hilton Diamond member happy hour on the beach where we would get a chance to chat with other visitors and have some cocktails and snacks.

A Spa Day

We treated ourselves to lovely spa day at Spa Retreat (on the family island). This was incredibly relaxing. We booked a 2 hour couples massage experience serenity including a skin renewing scrub, hydrating body wrap! After our massage we were taken to a quiet room to relax and enjoy some tea in the garden. Beef will never forget the outdoor restroom, open front facing the vast Indian Ocean.

Ithaa, underwater dining!

One thing we were super excited for was an experience at Ithaa, an underwater restaurant. You can book either a lunch or dinner experience but we opted for the lunch one so it would be light outside.

The restaurant is 16ft underwater and is basically a glass room. I was a little nervous about the idea of being in a glass tank underwater but all my nerves dissipated the second we arrived. A round staircase takes you down to the dining area. We had a 6 course meal and it was SO good. V still says the black miso cod was the best fish she’s ever had.

There was no shortage of fish and wildlife. Over the 3 hour experience, we had non stop views of the different marine life. We were wondering if they feed the fish to keep them there but they said they did not. Overall, this was truly a once in a lifetime experience!

Dinners at Conrad Resort

Every single dinner at the resort was top notch. Every night we had a totally different experience but no matter where we went, we had the best views and the best food and service.

Sunset Grill: This was a beautiful spot that was an open-air restaurant. It served fresh menu, with specialties from the land and sea, paired with eclectic old and new world wines.

Mandhoo Spa Restaurant was a small restaurant over the water that divided the menu into the five elements, each with a specific taste, temperature, level of moisture and density, with their associated cuisines designed to affect the body, mind and spirit in different ways.

Lobster and Champagne Beach Side: Every so often the resort puts together a special dinner. We decided to do a romantic beach side lobster and champagne dinner (all you can eat/drink!) Beef for sure made sure we got our money’s worth here. Besides lobster, they had a full buffet of shrimp tuna, steak and so much dessert. We loved this dinner, it was really special.