The Conrad Maldives Airport Lounge Review is part of the Trip Report: The $77,000 Trip Heard Round the World which covers 5 Continents, 13 Countries, and 17 Cities.
- Tokyo, Japan
- Melbourne, Australia
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Sydney, Australia
- Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Maldives
- Saigon, Vietnam
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Hong Kong
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Knysna, South Africa
- Durban, South Africa
- Mauritius
- Johannesburg, South Africa
- Doha, Qatar
- New York, New York
- Helsinki, Finland
Find the nerdy planning here. Find the picture preview here.
Before you take your $500 seaplane ride to your Conrad Maldives bungalow, the luxury (or misery) begins at the Conrad Maldives Airport Lounge. Perhaps it is called the Seaport Lounge. My experience at the lounge was far different from my companion’s.
Despite being the first off the plane, the first to clear customs, Ms. TPOL was bumped from her early noon flight to Rangali Island. She was stuck waiting in the lounge with old sandwiches for snacks stuck between the lunch and dinner service. Needless to say, she wasn’t pleased. The hotel blamed the seaplane company for the delay. The seaplane company blamed the hotel. In the end nobody cared.
Not to sound like a jerk but my experience at the lounge was great. Well rested after a night on Male, I arrived at the lounge in time for breakfast. Sitting on a reclining day bed, I drank my espresso, had some fresh eggs, and waited to board the seaplane for paradise.
I found it interesting to observe the manners of those waiting in the lounge who came from all corners of the globe. I assumed that these people were part of high society and would conduct themselves with grace. That wasn’t the case. Each time more food was brought out, it was a feeding frenzy of people who acted like they hadn’t had a good meal in forever. As someone who stays on points, flies on points, I am guilty of taking it too far in trying to exploit everything that is free. Nevertheless, I try to observe some rules of etiquette such as waiting my turn in line!
But in the words of Jay-Z, “You can pay for school, but you can’t buy class.”
After that comedy, it was time to board the plane to Rangali.
It is worth mentioning that lounge access is not offered for free on the return but must be purchased at the hotel. Due to a sprained ankle, Ms. TPOL got us complimentary access and endless bowls of pasta while we waited for our flight to Kuala Lumpur. The ravage behavior of hungry patrons was on full display for dinner as well. This time I can cut them some slack because we were all starving after enduring the unconscionable prices for subpar food at the hotel.
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