Maldives

[ryo]

Yo Zhuzhu,

Kekekeke...that's why u'll have to see my video or the HIlton website virtual tour on the beach villa.

to under the whole beach villa design concepts. Kekekeke....

From the beach u can see the bed room(looking in from the terrace), then from the bed room u can see the wash area,open air shower thus, U must lower the blind between the room and the outside terrace, and also the blind seperating bedroom and open shower. Seems troublesome but it's not. THe blind actually allows sunlight to comes in or if U want privacy(i.e during sleep or....hmmm), just lower by a click of the button. Fully automatic. There's a total of 4 gigantic blind, super large ones(at least around 3m in full length), U can either control all at the same time or just 1 by clicking on just 1 remote control button! Pretty high tech eh!!!!

Cheers!

 

[ryo]

Hi Mish,

The book 7N pay 5N promo by hiltom, Other agent such as crown tours or hotel travel same thing. I think Hotel travel same price but crown tours sure charge higher.

Yes...deluxe much much bigger, but hey U hv to think again, extra USD160 for additionla 150sqm living space, do u need it? Most beach villa in Maldives only 45sqm ~ 70sqm. So actually the beach villa of 150Sqm is giant liao!

The so call dive pool is good for dipping only lah, no jacuzzi. Slightly bigger than the bath tub in the villa. Don't have the photos of deluxe ones but the hilton link virtual tour can see all villas interior.

Hey, why need the so call swimming pool when the sea there is all yours, and it's almost infinity!!!

If u wanna swim, the infinity swimming pool at hilton also quite fun. In fact it's a lap pool integrated with a shallow pool. Thus we can drag our sun-tan beds "into" the swimming pool.

Natas?......forget about it lah, Resorts in Maldives only offer 10% comms to agent, thus how much an agent can pass back to you? Unless U're talking about super ex resort, then that 10% is big, thus they can pass back to their customer more. That's my 2 cents worth!!!
However, can check out their price also, but doubt got Hilton's one. Not so popular among Singaporean loh!!! Kekekekke.....

Cheers!

 

[zhuzhu]

Wu
think i roughly know wat u mean lar..okie lar..tonite i try to view ur video..

actually that cheaper rate u quote hor..not quite true leh..if u take the advance prepayment from hilton website which is USD190 for beach villa..think it still works out to be cheaper than the USD234 leh..

 

[ryo]

Yo Zhuzhu,

U're right. But really Hilton still must accept apple apple compare lah. Hmmmm.....must also check out hotel travel payment condition as well.

But really loh, who would dare to go for advance payment, quite risky loh. But if for a die hard fan like me hor.....kekekeke..... even if war hor, I still go!!! Kekekek...

 

[zhuzhu]

Wu,
wats the diff for the advance payment? but hor if want to ask Hilton to accept the lower cost hor..must file a claim leh...very troublesome leh..

 

[ryo]

Yo Zhuzhu,

I think they'll deduct straight away from ur credit card that you've provided to them. Most likely there's no such thing call refund!

So it's ur call, to save USD10 per day or kiss ur money Gd-bye when some urgent matters suddenly arises!

 

[ryo]

ops.... dup post again. Whats wrong with the forum nowsaday???

 

[starmed]

mish
yup yup..mine's full board...

if u wanna compare wif Hilton, haha.. can't lah..cos Hilton's in terms of grade is a better resort..Taj Coral is only a 4 star resort...

also if u compare the living space...Taj's smaller. If u dun mind the space.. just wanna a nice water villa that's not too ex..well can go for Taj Coral..just like me.. cos the rest of resorts' water villa very ex.. that time we wanted to live at the water villa... so decided to go for Taj Coral's one.

 

[zenn]

Hi star,

Can share how much you paid for your package?

Thanks!

 

[zhuzhu]

Wu..
Still cannot view the video leh..i just clicked on the "play video"..then i waited..nothing happen leh

 

[ryo]

Yo Zhuzhu,

Be patient....kekekekek....cos each video is ard 40MB.

Must wait for the video to be so called downloaded(temporary storage only) to your computer. You must either view by Windows media player.

On the right hand side under the image option, click on the "view image info" and you'll see download video option. click it and and wait. You should see a download pop-up.
So sorry that you'll just have to wait, depends on the speed of ur network. Might take up till 30~40mins. Probably do some other things first b4 it pop-up again on the windows media player!

Cheers!

 

[zhuzhu]

wu..
ok ok..now i see some image liao...sooo excited...

 

[ryo]

Zhuzhu,

Excited no use, must book fast!!!

I'd a hard time editing the video, must not be more than 40MB, thus have to sacrifice some video quality.

Enjoy and hope U find it nice!

Cheers!

 

[zhuzhu]

Wu
Do you still remember the link which show the floor layout of hilton beach & delux beach villas?

 

[ryo]

Zhuzhu,

Hmmmmmm.....will try to find and put it up here for U.

Wait while....

 

[ryo]

Yo Zhuzhu,

Found!! See the link below and put it into your favourites.

http://www.clubairtravel.co.uk/rangali/hilton_maldives_beach.asp

Cheers!

 

[ryo]

Yo folks,

Looks like our old thread is slowly recovering! See the link below..... but still looks injured!!! Arghhhhhhh!!!!

http://www.singaporebrides.com/forumboard/messages/4/7846.html?1140186396

 

[zhuzhu]

Thanks alot Wu..
I knew I can count on you...

Ok..i put it in my fav. liao

 

[ryo]

Yo Folks,

just surfing the net and come across sixsenses website AKA Soneva Gili. Dwload and Watch the video....hmmm..... the resort is really starting to look really out-dated ( as compared to Huvafenfushi or even Hilton). The interial of the villa looks old with untreated wood as build materials. Hmmmmmm...... looks like if got money hor, would rather choose Huvafenfushi over Soneva. They really need to go for some ungrading liao!
My wifey also said she rather go(providing got cash lah! ) Huvafenfushi since it cost the same......

Looks like the trend now in beach villa designs are something like the Hilton beach villa and the Huvafenfushi beach villas......i.e. large living space, bedrm formed a living space cluster, then bath area followed a living space cluster with open shower, bath or even dive pool!
I think the such design really evolve from Banyan Tree and Angsana's style!

Starstar! Lets hope Shang and W hotel have such design as well!!!

Soneva Gili Video link:-
http://www.sixsenses.com/soneva%2Dgili/video.php

Huvafenfushi virtual tour:-
http://www.huvafenfushi.com/maldives-virtualtour-beachbung.html

 

[ryo]

Continue...........

Wha... just found out Huvafenfushi's Spa is located in a Aquarium, or rather underwater with full glass walls where all the marine lifes can be seen! That's an advancement over Hilton glass Bottom Spa!

Then... compare to the soneva Gili's one....wha sian ah.....

Now seems like there's lot of design using underwater as a concept....note sure whether will there be a underwater villa leh???
Let's wait and see, it should be rather stunning especially at night when spot-lights shines onto those sea-creature, and the in-room designer lightings create another smoothing effect!

......

 

[mish]

Hey Wu,

You were saying that hotel travel has the stay 7n and pay only for 5n promo ar? is it a safe webby to book? hmm. I cant find this promotion in Hilton's own website leh.

Star star, oooooo ic. I think me and my hubby kinda decided to stay in just the beach villa in hilton... cut cost la.. hahahaha. unless got better options la.

This thread moves very fast..!! so good!! And Wu has lotsa info to provide. whahahah. can tap on his knowledge. heee

 

[mish]

opps... wu... hotel travel promo is stay 7n pay 6n wor.. not 5n leh.... hmmm. sigh.. mut be my net skills not gd.. cant find the promo!!!! lousy me

 

[zhuzhu]

Wu
The lap pool for the deluxe villa is facing the beach rite? So its not surround by the concrete wall rite?

 

[ryo]

Yo Mish,

Kekekek....read properly, Hotel travel ones are for deluxe beach villa only. initially we also thought its for beach villa.... so disappointed.

Anyway, I did sent U a updated price list from Hilton right? U can write to Hilton straight for booking.
Anyway the buy 5 nites stay 7 is for beach and deluxe beach during 1 sept 06 ~ 31st Oct 2006 only. Then the deluxe buy 6 stay 7 is for 06 May ~ 17July 06. Don't mix up hor. ....Kekekekke

Cheers!

 

[ryo]

Yo Zhuzhu,

Yes, the Dive pool lah....not lap pool, too short to do lap, is at the so call backyard. For deluxe beach, there's some very very low wall surrounding the villa then the backyard got 1 small cute little door(something that the beach villa don't have).

One of my photo in the album showes the exterior, looking into the Villa at the backyard!

 

[m1rr0r]

hmmmm
SQ promo 2 to go must buy by 31 mar'06 ler
how ah
difference about SGD 300 with normal price
just found out that SQ doesn't fly there on tuesdays and wednesdays
my wedding is on sunday, that means next day i have to fly back to SG (from JKT) then the same night fly to male!!
i havent even booked my flight to/fro JKT
i dun think i should buy now for the male one rite??
suggestion??
will the promo comes back ah?

 

[ryo]

Yo Mira,

The promo is on and off ones. They should come back again lah. Houwever, since ur mind is set on Maldives liao and ur wedding date is fixed and U don't want to pay a higher rates for Hilton, then go book all ur tickets lah!

There're so many ppl wanna to go Maldives this year, can talk to them and try arrange for a group booking with SQ, 4 to go even better deal. Meantime probably and neg with Hilton or for better deals?

Stan, Zhuzhu and Mish are all interested in going this year mah!

Cheers!

 

[kk123]

yo...

ya ya.... im planning to go, thats truth!

 

[zenn]

Hi gals,

Can someone share whats the est cost to go maldives? And is there any monsoon period to avoid?

 

[mish]

zenn,

it depends on ur budget. They have cheap and expensive accomodation. I have so far only looked at Hilton, Banyan and club med. Wu was saying that club med seems to be near to the seaplane take off area. Hence rather noisy. He suggest Hilton and he is a Hilton FAN!! He can practically ans all Hilton's questions. Haha.

As for Hilton cost, it depends on period as well. May - July about 200plus usd and august onwards about 400 usd for the beach Villa. Food as per Wu- save abit... can be USD60 for 2 pax per day.

As for club med, its about 2500 per pax which include everything (including airfare but exc taxes) i think. Its for 4N. Water villa i think. check it out.

 

[ryo]

Yo Zenn,

The rates can range from USD100++ per night to USD3000++ or even higher. The question U should ask urself is how much U're ready to cater for the trip there.

For me, I set my budget at around S$4~5K during my trip last July. Then U start to source for resort, flights, transfer based on ur budget.

Maldives got 2 so called monsoon period but it doesn't means those that we seen here in SEA. Mostly likely if it rain in Maldives, it's only a passing shower and most of the time it'll be sunshine or just simply cloudy.

Do let us know ur budget then we can help you on ur planning.

Cheers!

 

[ryo]

Yo Mish,

Kekeke.... not exactly HIlton fan lah, if there's other more value resort/villa, better value than Hilton, I'll definitely go for it loh! Hmmmm....... now Starstar and me are eyeing the new Shangrila Maldives and W hotel Maldives, suppose to open mid 2007 and Mid 2006 respectively!

Cheers!

 

[mish]

W hotel open in mid 2006?!?!??!? wow!! I can go and stay there wor! I going in october.. you think there will be promo for meeeee???

 

[zenn]

Thanks mish & Wu!

I was surfing the net and there are so many resorts. See until blur.

Btw, any diff btw maidives and mauritius?

 

[mish]

i am also unsure about that... maldives make up of many small island. Mauritius is by itself. maybe the other thread mauritius vs maldives might be able to give u more info. or the rest of the ppl here can help. eheh

 

[ryo]

Yo Mish,

Wat do u mean?? U W hotel staff ah? Kekekeke.....

Yo Zenn,

Don't blur, set a budget then it'll eliminate many resort liao.
Anyway, do u ever went to other beach resort?? I.e in Redang or tioman or phuket, Bintan etc???

Mauritius is near to Africa, a much much bigger island, mountains, beach resort, trees etc....

Maldives is just below india(indian ocean), consist of several thousand small island(er...should be call sand patches in the middle of the sea.) Most of the island need only a couple of mins to just walk ard. The Sand and the sea water are much much nicer compare to Mauritius. However Mauritius U can do jungle treking kind of thingy etc..

Eh...where's HARU ah!!!, someone like to see some Mauritius photo. Acutally we would want to see also leh... can share??

 

[zenn]

Thanks mish & wu!!

Actually we have yet to work out the budget. Is $4k practicial?

Yes we been to krabi, phuket, koh samui, bintan etc. We are pretty much beach lover...

Btw, issit cheaper to book individual or package? Whats the cost of air tix and usually ppl goes for how many nites?

Sorry for so many qns ya.

 

[starmed]

Yo zenn
I spent abt $6k on air tics, accom, meals are provided. The amt also include spa treaments we took for 2 days... snorkelling trips, fishing trips..etc.

We didn't book wif any agencies.. booked online ourselves..

direct wif resort.

Yo wu
ya ya..me eyeing Shang...haha..I have a strong feeling the resort is gonna be real real good... judging from the descriptions they have on the website...

oh man..can't wait to see the pics... here's the link

http://www.shangri-la.com/maldives/shangri-la/en/index.aspx

I've decided if I really go to Shang..I wanna stay in the Windance villa... cool idea to stay above the tree line...

 

[starmed]

zenn
$4k is fine but u can't stay there for long...in sense think for your budget, 3 nites or slightly more at resort. Cos over there, everything in USD...

Regarding the cost of air fare also depends on when u are going... for me, that time I went there for 6 nites... well if u ask Wu, think he 6 nites also not enough...right Wu? ;p

Mauritius is a BIG island of its own..whereas Maldives make up of many many small islands.. it's on these islands that the resorts are built on.

yup..if u go to maldives, the resort island itself it's so small u can finish walking round the island within minutes...

over in Mauritius, u can do trekking, shopping..etc but in Maldives, u only can do water sports or just simply 'nuaing'... no shopping..no trekking..

well my parents prefer to go Mauritius cos of the activites there are so much more.. for me, I prefer Maldives..can 'nua' mah..

zhuzhu
so u got to book your air tics n accom? hey dun keep drooling n forget to book hor...

 

[mish]

Wu, no la.. but new hotels tends to be have promotion to advertise itself ma. Wonder if W hotel has or not. Hmm. Now i have 2 choices. Hilton vs W Hotel. But the rates not out leh. If too pricey... i think i stick to Hilton! Got promotion going on. The promotion that you recommended i think very good wor!!

Star star - sigh... shang only out next year. I going in october... maybe year after next can go for my anniversary. wahahha. Then u can tell me whether good or not already.

Btw, my hubby says that new hotel may not have everything in place yet. Maybe operate for about 6 mths - 1 year will be better to stay. is it true? hmm. If true then how to stay in W hotel. Hmm. My honeymoon in october leh

 

[ryo]

Yo Zenn,

Welcome to the beach resort lovers club....kekekekk... Most of us all beach lovers. Wha, you've been to so many of them hor! Anyway after you've been to Maldives, you'll likely not go to those places liao...kekekekeke..... It's heaven and earth man!

$4k is achievable but have to go less days loh, or go to some lower stars resort. But hey, everywhere in Maldives is nice one.

Local package always 5D3N, while most Europeans go there for at least 1 week~ 3 weeks. Decent Resort price range ard USD150++ per nite. SQ return there ard S$700 nett. Male to resort transfer from USD90 ~ USD290 nett return(depends on seaplane or speedboat).

You can use travel rates such as Star asia travel,
http://www.asiatravel.com/maldives/maldives.html

OR GSA travel
http://www.gsa.com.sg/MAL/mal.php

as guidelines, then compare their prices directly with the resort website. Mix Mix lah, some agents are able to secure better price while others, booking direct with resort is cheaper.

Cheers!

 

[starmed]

hiya Mish
well if I really go to Shang...u got click on the fact sheet on the web site...wow..just reading the descriptions of the resort I can't wait for it to be completed man...sigh... hopefully next year they got good promos...

 

[haru]

hey Wu,
i'm back!! hey, were you having lunch with your wife at IMM's foodcourt this afternoon? i tot i saw a guy wearing red polo just behind where i was sitting.....and the lady looked like your wife from your maldives photos.....was that you??

 

[ryo]

Yo Starstar,

Kekekek.....me.... 10 nites also not enough ah! Anyway, if I don't go this year, my plan for next year is to stay there for at least 10 nites!!!

U leh???

Yo Mish,

Kekeke..... ya loh, same same here. Me and starstar also hope Shangrila will have such new opening offer, just like Hilton when we're there June 05. USD150++ only for the beach villa ah!!! Now USD200++, next year USD250++???

 

[zenn]

Mish, whats the promo for Hilton?

Mish & Star, there is oni one flight each day? Whats their timing?

If based on 5k, what are the resorts would you guys suggest?

 

[ryo]

Yo Haru,

Oh.....Wha....so lucky to see me ah!!! Yes YEs we're there just now. Me in red polo and yes with my wifey and collegue Wo!!!! Kekekekkee......

Oh, you're the one eating with the Ang Mo friend isit??? OR a group of ladies??

Wha....today can buy Toto liao!!!

 

[zenn]

Oh I will be looking at Jul...

 

[zenn]

Thanks Wu! Ya oni been to nearby. Have heard alot abt Maldives but nv been becos of $$$

There will be a travel air fair this mth rite? Issit cheaper to book during the fair?

 

[haru]

hey Wu,
i tot so!hhahah...yup, i was the one with the ang mo (my boss!) hey, you looked a lil tired, i think high time you start to plan ur maldives trip!kekekekke.......

huh? why TOTO today??

 

[mish]

zenn, I think if u stay for 4n... can go hilton stay in beach villa. Looks very nice. of course the deluxe one looks even nicer... see above.. got link given by wu regarding 360 virtual tour! Hmm and zhu zhu says sq got promotion.. 2 to go... 550 before tax i think. check it!!

Wu, yaaaaa i also hoping for such promo... but i scared wait too long... hilton promo over... I DIE!! Both also dont have.