Welcome to the second instalment of our Hilton Maldives adventure, and Part 1 of our two-part review of Conrad Maldives Rangali Island!
Today, we’re exploring everything from our private-pool beach villa to the resort’s selection of restaurants, including dining five metres beneath the Indian Ocean in a world’s first.
Tomorrow we will publish part 2, when we’ll cover what makes Conrad’s beaches and marine life so special, share our unforgettable encounter swimming with whale sharks and give our final verdict on whether we’d return.
This was the second stop on our Maldives adventure, following five nights at Hilton Maldives Amingiri. If you haven’t already, you can read our Hilton Maldives Amingiri review here.
You can also follow more of our Maldives adventures, including exclusive photos and videos from both resorts, over on our Instagram Highlights by clicking here
In January, we spent five nights at Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, following five nights at Hilton Amingiri. Having stayed at several resorts in the Maldives over the years, we were interested to see how these two very different Hilton properties compared.
Conrad is one of the more established resorts in the Maldives, spread across two natural islands connected by a bridge. We were looking forward to exploring, trying the restaurants and hopefully seeing some of the marine life it’s known for.
In this post:
Conrad Maldives – An Island of Firsts
One thing we hadn’t fully appreciated before arriving was just how many world and Maldivian firsts Conrad Maldives has achieved over the years. The resort has played a significant role in shaping luxury tourism in the Maldives, with some genuinely remarkable innovations along the way.
Here are some of its most notable achievements:
- 1997 – First internationally branded resort in the Maldives, when Hilton established its presence at Rangali Island.
- 1997 – First bridge connecting two resort islands in the Maldives, linking Rangali Island and Rangali-Finolhu.
- Pioneering overwater villas, helping establish the iconic accommodation style now synonymous with the Maldives.
- 2004 – World’s first glass-floored overwater spa, allowing guests to watch marine life beneath them.
- 2005 – World’s first underwater restaurant, Ithaa, sitting five metres below the surface.
- 2013 – Maldives’ first underground wine cellar, housing an extraordinary collection of wines.
- 2018 – World’s first underwater hotel residence, The Muraka, featuring a spectacular submerged bedroom.
It’s an impressive list, particularly for a resort that originally opened in 1992. We were fortunate enough to experience several of these during our stay, including dining at Ithaa and exploring The Muraka. It certainly adds another dimension to what is already a very special resort.
Getting There and Arrival
Once we arrived at Malé Airport, having left Hilton Amingiri by boat, our Hilton representative handed us over to our new Conrad rep at the front doors of the new seaplane terminal. Both resorts’ representatives were extremely helpful, making the transfer straightforward and incredibly smooth between resorts.
After a nice introduction, we handed over our passports and bags whilst check-in was handled for us. The new terminal is great. It’s bright and very easy to navigate compared to the old one.
Once complete, we were taken to the Conrad’s very pleasant seaplane lounge before boarding. This lounge is one of the better of the private lounges in the terminal and was very comfortable during our short stay. The flight only takes 30 minutes, and it’s hard to beat the views of the turquoise water and islands from above. Being a pilot myself, I absolutely adore flying in these aircraft and it never gets boring.
Upon docking, we received a warm welcome from the islands team. Once off the plane, we were taken into a small waiting room where all guests from our flight met their host.
Our host then gave us a fresh coconut and we were relieved to be in a pleasantly air-conditioned room after a rather warm flight. Our host then created a WhatsApp group with us so we could contact them throughout our stay. They were incredibly helpful, and as we mentioned in our Amingiri review, we wish more hotels offered this!
Our Beach Villa with Private Pool
We stayed in Beach Villa 134, which had a private pool, direct beach access and was a whopping 3,300 square feet. It was noticeably larger than our villa at Amingiri, and we definitely appreciated the extra space with two young children.
Right out front were two bikes for us to get around, although calling buggies is probably easier when you are a family, as the bikes didn’t have child seats during our visit; however, we understand this may change in the near future.
A large hallway provided a useful dumping ground for all the bags, shoes and other things that seem to come with travelling with children! This led into a spacious bedroom with a seating area and sliding doors opening onto the patio, with steps down to the pool.
There was a separate dressing table area, which we didn’t really have too much use for, but it was another useful space to store things, and there was also a lot of wardrobe space. We could certainly spread out!
The bathroom had double sinks and a large shower, although we preferred the outdoor shower in the enclosed garden at the back. There is something really cool about showering outside.
Outside, we had loungers on the patio overlooking our private pool, plus a separate garden at the back of the villa with a large daybed and egg chair.
We particularly enjoyed having so much private outdoor space, giving us plenty of room to relax while the children played.
One feature I particularly liked was the little path leading directly onto the beach, where we had our own loungers on the sand. The surrounding greenery made everything feel wonderfully private, although it also meant we couldn’t see the sea from inside the villa.
Something I initially thought would be disappointing, but to have the really secluded feel was a great trade-off.
We were very happy with the accommodation. There was plenty of room for the four of us, and the private outdoor spaces along with the beach access were excellent and made it a particularly comfortable base for our family.
One small frustration was the bottled water. The bottles were surprisingly difficult to open and didn’t fit particularly well in the fridge. A minor detail, admittedly, but one that became rather irritating over five nights!
The night sky was another highlight, with some wonderful views of the stars.
Restaurants and Bars
Dining was one of the highlights of Conrad and an obvious step up from Hilton Amingiri. We managed to try most of the restaurants during our five nights and thought the food was generally excellent.
We were full board during our stay, which meant ordering from specific menus, but there was plenty of choice, and we never felt restricted. À-la-carte options were also available for an additional charge.
Although we were on Full Board, drinks weren’t included in the standard package (apart from water with meals) and were charged separately. The resort also offers packages including alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
Atoll Market
We had breakfast each morning at Atoll Market, the main buffet restaurant. The selection was probably the most extensive of any breakfast I have ever seen, although I found the traditional thatched-roof restaurant a little dark for breakfast but to be fair we chose to sit inside each day when we could have sat outside.
Oddly, the pastries were a little disappointing, having become rather hard under the heat lamps.
The floors from reception all the way through the entire main building/restaurant/bar were sandy, which made navigating with a pushchair slightly more challenging but we navigated it fine. Once seated, it really was lovely having toes in sand when eating.
Breakfast was also available at Vilu, which offered a semi-à-la-carte experience, with a small buffet alongside dishes cooked to order. Given how much we enjoyed Vilu’s setting in the evenings, I suspect we’d have preferred breakfast here too, but it was a little too far from our villa for us to make the effort in the mornings.
We went to Atoll Market one evening for a traditional Maldivian buffet. The curries were delicious, and there was an enormous dessert selection. The only frustration was having to order the children’s meals separately, meaning everything arrived at different times. One of the main reasons we try to avoid buffets (have we mentioned…?)
Ithaa Undersea Restaurant
One experience we were particularly excited about was lunch at Ithaa, Conrad’s famous underwater restaurant and it did not disappoint.
There’s something very special about sitting at your table while sharks and colourful fish swim past the windows. We spent much of the meal watching what was going on around us and I think I could have sat in there all day long.
The fine dining set menu was very good; it felt very fancy for a lunch, but fitting for the environment! The atmosphere was quiet, with everyone respecting the setting and speaking in hushed tones, which made us a little conscious of having two young children with us. Children can dine at Ithaa for lunch, but not at dinner, which seems fair enough.
Something we hadn’t considered was the strength of the sun through the glass. We actually wondered whether we might get sunburnt!
What’s even more impressive is the engineering behind it. The curved acrylic walls are almost five inches thick, and the entire structure weighed a staggering 175 tonnes when it was lowered into the ocean. Quite remarkable when you’re sitting there watching sharks swim overhead!
I’d love to experience Ithaa at dinner, so I will return to try this. It’s a memorable experience, and one we’d happily repeat.
Vilu
Vilu was one of our favourite restaurants, particularly because of its lovely setting right beside the beach, overlooking the water.
Its location is on the other island, just a short buggy ride from our villa, with the journey across the bridge adding to the experience.
It’s an Italian restaurant, and we ate here a couple of times. I particularly enjoyed the beef carpaccio and spaghetti alle vongole, although the pizzas were really good too.
The staff were great, and it was just a really nice place to spend an evening. Our son enjoyed trying to spot crabs on the beach below us.
They also have the Maldives’ first underground wine cellar, which doubles up as a really cool private dining room. When I visited, there were a few very lovely and expensive bottles there!
Ufaa
We also enjoyed Ufaa, the resort’s Chinese restaurant. The staff were brilliant at recommending dishes we wouldn’t normally have ordered, including the pork belly, which was a particular highlight and easily one of our favourite dishes of the stay.
We visited during sunset, which added to the great vibe.
The upstairs terrace is particularly appealing, with its elevated position among the trees giving it an almost treehouse-like atmosphere.
With the kids, we chose to eat downstairs so that we didn’t disturb anyone enjoying their dinner. Downstairs is right on the beach, which was perfect for us.
Mandhoo
Mandhoo is set over the water on stilts and was another favourite. The restaurant has a rather unusual concept, with a menu inspired by the five elements of nature: Air, Earth, Fire, Water and Plant. There’s a focus on fresh, organic ingredients and sustainably sourced produce.
When we arrived, we asked if they could open the doors to enjoy the sea breeze, but it turns out the staff knew better than us! It was pretty windy, and it wasn’t long before we were asking them to close them again!
The tuna and beef fillet were our favourites for dinner and we did indeed leave feeling like we had a healthy meal, which is always nice on the back end of 10 nights full board.
After dinner we enjoyed stepping onto the balconies to watch sharks and fish swimming below. The setting really is beautiful, particularly with the marine life right beneath you.
Rangali Bar
We had most of our lunches at Rangali Bar, beside the main pool. The menu was extensive, and the food was consistently good. We particularly enjoyed the sushi, vegetable quesadillas and an excellent burger.
Most lunchtimes, they either had a DJ playing in the background or a live singer, which we really appreciated.
It was a convenient, relaxed spot when spending the day around the pool and beach and was a really handy place to pop in for ice cream when it was getting too hot outside.
Other Dining and Entertainment
We didn’t manage to visit Sunset Grill or Koko Grill, the resort’s Japanese restaurant, which was a shame as both looked great.
There’s also a Cheese & Wine Bar, which is effectively their second wine cellar, where private dinners and tastings can be arranged. Not to be confused with the underground cellar at Vilu. This one is particularly unusual, with black volcanic sand imported from New Zealand, which was strangely nice to stand on during hot days as it was freezing cold.
One evening, we enjoyed watching a traditional Maldivian drumming group at Rangali Bar. The group was made up of staff from the island and was a lovely way to end the evening and again paid homage to the authentic character of this resort.
Overall, we were really impressed with the food at Conrad. There was so much choice, and we genuinely looked forward to trying somewhere different each evening.
Coming tomorrow: Part 2 of our Conrad Maldives review!
We’ve covered the accommodation and restaurants, but there’s so much more to this resort.
Tomorrow, we’ll explore the beaches, snorkelling, spa, kids’ club and incredible underwater residence, The Muraka. We’ll also share what became the highlight of our entire trip: swimming alongside a whale shark in the Indian Ocean.
And, of course, we’ll reveal our final verdict. Would we return?
This stay was undertaken in collaboration with Hilton. As always, our review reflects our independent experience, with Hilton having no editorial input or approval over the published content.
