I’d like to start by saying that we’ve traveled extensively across the Maldives – currently visited 50 resorts - you can check out my Instagram @anezka_travel 👍🏼🌴 So, it’s safe to say we have a solid basis for comparison. I was quite excited about Conrad, but in the end, it turned out to be the biggest disappointment of all, which is why I ranked it second to last in my review. And why? Mainly due to poor service and incompetent management – you have little chance of speaking to anyone responsible, such as a resort manager or general manager (which isn’t an issue at other resorts). The most you’ll get is a duty manager, who solves absolutely nothing because he doesn’t care and isn’t accountable for anything. At resorts like Conrad, nobody cares because “we are Hilton” – and people will come for the brand name anyway. 😒 Service was bad from the start – they welcomed us with warm coconut water, handed us a form listing our nationality as Russian, even though we’re from the Czech Republic and didn’t even bother with a resort tour – they just drove us straight to the villa. Restaurant service – especially in the main buffet and at the bar – was slow. At breakfast, no one asks if you want coffee or tea, there aren’t enough salt and pepper shakers, so they take them from other guests. The orange-infused water tasted terrible, like they hadn’t changed the fruit for days and just kept refilling the water. Plates were dirty. Honestly, in such an expensive 5-star resort, this is a total disaster. The water villas have undergone some refurbishment, but they still stand on wooden stilts from 1997, meaning they will always look old and worn. We had a higher-category water villa – Grand Water Villa with Pool on the main island, but the pool was ridiculously tiny. What was even the point of building such a small pool? 🤔 We (unfortunately) brought friends along and they stayed in a beach villa, which looked much better. 🙏🏼 However, even they were unhappy with the service – there was always a long wait for everything and the staff wouldn’t even bring a menu, despite clearly seeing guests sitting there. One evening, there was supposed to be a “special” Easter buffet for an additional $65++ per person. We checked it out first – the buffet wasn’t any different (apart from some decorations) from the usual one, so we chose to eat elsewhere. Water at dinner is chargeable, even if you have half board. Instead of offering house water, which you get for free in the villa, they push imported bottled water like Voss or Evian, shipped from halfway across the world. (Yes, it makes perfect sense to “save the environment” by producing their own water, only to force guests to buy bottled water for every meal at $20 per bottle – absurd!). After complaining and two days of arguing, they offered a 25% discount on water! Absolutely laughable. Staying at Conrad isn’t cheap, yet they still look for every opportunity to charge their guests extra.😡 For such a huge resort, they don’t provide bicycles, supposedly for “safety reasons”. Oh! Funny how many other resorts (Waldorf Astoria, Vakkaru, Gili Lankanfushi, Ayada…) offer bikes with no issues. 😅 Buggy service is completely useless – always late, even if you pre-book it. The main issue behind all of this could be the Hilton points – yes, anyone who collects a certain amount can basically stay at this resort for free. That’s why the hotel then tries to make money on everything – charging for water, inflating prices across the board and naturally, the service will never be as good as in resorts where all the guests are paying full price. Visiting the underwater restaurant Ithaa was at least a nice experience – the food wasn’t top-notch, but it’s beautiful to watch sharks swimming by, just like in an aquarium. 🩵 That said, other resorts offer similar restaurants too – like Hurawalhi, You&Me, Anantara Kihavah, Niyama and others. Snorkeling is only possible on one side of the island. It’s not bad, but limiting, so too many people gather in the same spot. However, for beginners, it’s fine. 🐠 And finally, the sour faces at checkout were just the cherry on top. I honestly had to laugh – no one properly said goodbye, just the butler and a random housekeeper passing by. What a level of service! You can find all my stories in the “Conrad” highlight on my Instagram – enjoy!😅😂