Chapter 17: Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort
Just like you imagine
17.09.2022 - 17.09.2022 85 °F
Chapter 17: Maldives Hotel: Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa
September 17, 2022
The Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa is a boat ride away from the docks at the airport which themselves are only steps away from customs and immigration (which is smooth and speedy thanks to an online process whereby the visitor provides advance data and gets an entry code in return).
There is only one way to arrive here and that is by the hotel’s boat. This transport is not included: the hotel bills $300 per adult and $150 per child over 5. Under 5 is, amazingly, free. They are very specific: no third party transport may land on their island. Their island is superb. If this option doesn't strike your fancy, the Maldives offer many hotel options that include over-water bungalow options: Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi, Conrad Maldives Rangali Island and SAii Lagoon Maldives, Marriott has seven hotels including very expensive Ritz-Carleton and St. Regis brands, Hyatt has one, the Category 7 Park Hyatt Maldives, and IHG has three: the InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort, the Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives and Six Senses Laamu. You will note that all of those are U.S. brands which are, I assume, more likely to cater to American travel preferences and tastes. Or, you could fly via seaplane from Malé to Velaa Private Island where nightly rates top out at $30,000 per night.
We are greeted by Smital--the guest services manager--and Shaufa--our "GEM: Guest Experience Manager." We are given a tasty non-alcoholic welcome drink and simple check-in procedures are completed before we take a golf cart tour of the grounds before arriving at villa 116--a "one-bedroom suite." Our accommodations as well as the resort and the Maldives overall are wonderful. Paul puts much thought and research into our travel plans. I have little say and i like it that way. I have spent my professional life, all 50 years of it, making decisions. I'm delighted to leave all the planning in Paul's most capable hands. What's more, his goal in life is to make me happy, at which he does an extraordinary job. I can't imagine why i would want to stick in my two cents.
Every one of the 109 beach and overwater villas has its own pool and, ofcourse, the Indian Ocean is under your feet, visible beneath the glass windows in the floor. The ocean beckons.There are six restaurants, a spa and even an art studio. You can jet ski, fly board, take a speedboat ride or go big game fishing. There are 30 dive sites nearby where the hotel’s dive center will host you; there is a lot of good shallow scuba opportunity ranging from 20 feet to 50 feet. For the more experience and adventurous, there are a few walls that fall to 125 feet or even more.
For me, there are smooth crushed coral roadways serving only bicycles and golf carts upon which I can walk. And for me there is a spa, a fitness center, a lovely gift shop and jewelry store that is vastly overpriced. If one were of a mind to participate in any variety of water sports, they are all here. We have chosen to hang out in the ocean at our villa and our private pool. It's a weekend R&R. If you're Seinfeld fans, you'll surely recall 'The Show About Nothing'. That is exactly what we are doing and enjoying it immensely. As you might imagine, the road is flat with no uphill portions. Parts are shaded by overhanging palms and parts are sunbaked. Beach villas line each side as the spit of land is narrow creating the perfect strip for villa/road/villa. There are a couple of access points where a walker can stroll between two beach villas and reach the sand beach they face. The water is glassy smooth providing nothing more than "wavelets" which offer no sound as evidence of their presence.
I encounter many employees in addition to Smital and Shaufa. Some are housekeeping, some are landscapers and some are maintenance. In addition, shuttle drivers pass but most do not offer a ride correctly assuming, I presume, that I am out for a walk. Universally they make eye contact and with a hint of a smile place their right palms over their hearts by way of welcome and greeting. This gesture I am told is popular in some Islamic regions (Pakistan being primary) for offering a respectful greeting to someone passing who would not be accustomed to your touch. The gesture, unnamed as far as I can determine, conveys sincerity and respect that it comes from the heart. It matches what we teach our grade schoolers to do when saying the pledge of allegiance and I have learned to return it.
Before all that, however, I was up early after not sleeping well on a too-hard mattress and retreated to our over-water deck as B4 snoozed on. A bit after 6:00am, my sense of peace and tranquility was shattered as a low-flying drone buzzed overhead before hovering above the deck of the adjoining villa. From there, it ominously rotated its camera 360o and then did another low pass of our deck capturing, I assume, me in my robe stupidly gaping skyward. Think about it. As I relax on my deck in my bathrobe, aerial photography of me is now uploaded to the internet. Thrilling, isn't it? I sent a WhatsApp protest to shaufa.The good news is that Paul had his robe on, so not really the end of the world, just an intrusion of our privacy. The whole idea of our accommodations here is our privacy. The bad news turned out to be for the couple flying the drone, they got busted. Drones are a troubling innovation as one is unsure what that drone video contains but certain that it goes anywhere and everywhere given the state of the internet these days.
After much assurance that such a thing was impossible and could not happen, I convinced them that it indeed did occur. Upon investigation of my complaint, they found the drone pilot who was another guest at the property. They had explained their no-drone policy to this guest upon his or her arrival and further explained that it was illegal in the Maldives to operate a drone without a government issued license. That of course, did not deter the guest.
Upon reflection, I determined it best to request the hotel to move us to a different villa. I didn't want to be known as the guest that protested and caused the drone operator--already admittedly a person to whom rules are not a thing to be followed--to decide that retaliation against the complainer was in order. Mrs. Smital agreed.
Since we were to be moved, I requested a villa that is at the end of the boardwalk rather than near the beginning. The reason for that is that when the hotel staff operates their golf cart transport and maintenance vehicles over the boardwalk, the resulting noise reminds you of an aircraft flying overhead. There is a muffled but nonetheless loud roar that approaches, reaches an apex and then recedes each time a vehicle passes. The vehicles themselves are silent but the tires on the boardwalk are not. It is annoying to say the least and, as traffic is heavy, it becomes more bothersome with each passing. Perhaps it is like living near railroad or subway tracks. After a while, you stop noticing when one passes. For Amingri this is going to be a systemic point of guest irritation and one that I am at a loss to suggest remediation. Short of paving over the boards, this annoyance will persist in perpetuity.
Then welcome news soon came from Shaufa: "If you want, we have a villa at the end of jetty for you. Please let me know if you would like to move to that Villa." I said "yes," and the move was set for 4:00pm. We have little to pack as this is a bathing suit destination of short duration.
Dinner last night at the Beach Shack where the menu was limited was just so-so. We expected lots of fish but that was not the case. I had a caesar salad, she had scollops and we shared some cauliflower. Tonight, we opt for a larger restaurant on the island. We have a reservation but it should not be needed as the resort is only 42% occupied tonight.
After the drone incident and walking the island and upon returning to the villa found B4 ready for breakfast so we walked there as well. Breakfast is an expansive cold buffet with an option to order hot food as well and is included in the rate. Oddly, they offer pork sausage as an optional side item. Breakfast was thankfully a very positive experience, at least once we were seated, and the day got better from there. Someone started out a tad grumpy between the drone and the noise. That noise thing, OMG! When ears were given out Paul was first in line and got the ears that were supposed to be given to a dog. There is nothing this man does not hear. Maybe i am partially deaf and don't know it and everyone hears like him? I seriously don't think so.
Back at 116 we began the activity we had planned for: relaxation. A dip in the ocean was followed by a dip in our pool which was followed by relaxation on deck lounge chairs which was followed by a drone-incident apology amenity of a bottle of champagne and some chocolates which was followed by packing our things to move to the new, unlisted and more isolated villa: 126. It's at the end of the jetty with fewer buggies passing--a blessed relief.
A fine day, actually.
