Options to MLE & Malaysia: SQ or MH? & advice on overnight stay near Male Airport

[Kyo]

No, there isn't much to do, but you can do what I did and chill out at the Hulhule Airport Hotel down the road by the pool deck, it's quite nice and a good way to pass a few hours.

I don't know what your times/plans are for the following day, so you'd have to make that judgement call. I've no problem departing on the red-eye. The Taj courteously gave me a very late check-out at 8PM (no problem since it doesn't involve a seaplane transfer), so no problems there. I still spent 2 hours after that at the pool deck.

[KeithMEL]

No, there isn't much to do, but you can do what I did and chill out at the Hulhule Airport Hotel down the road by the pool deck, it's quite nice and a good way to pass a few hours.

Sounds like a great idea to prolong the Maldives experience for just that bit longer... I hope they have a bar somewhere.

OTOH I'm quite curious about Ku de Ta in SIN....

[Kyo]

Sounds like a great idea to prolong the Maldives experience for just that bit longer... I hope they have a bar somewhere.

My sentiments exactly. Yes, you lie down on a deck chair, they come over and take your order, and you get +12 hours in the Maldives. Everyone's a winner.

Ku De Ta in SIN is overpriced. They do not have the highest open-air views anyway, for that you need 1-Altitude.

[KeithMEL]

Looks rather nice for an airport hotel!
http://www.hih.com.mv/poolside.html
http://www.hih.com.mv/sunset.html

Basic itinerary finalised (ish). Now to hunt for award inventory....

Thanks for the invaluable advice!

[jhm]

I didn't like the Hulhule. It was shockingly expensive (something like £200 for the night IIRC) for what it was (basic rooms; a nasty breakfast; etc).

The W seaplane ceases operation at 1600, and assuming we arrive at MLE Airport around that time, is there much to do in Male till our flight leaves at around midnight?

I took that flight around that time and you'll probably find that the staff will try to make some money on the side by offering you a guided tour of Male. You can happily occupy a few hours of your time by wandering around Male (there's not much to do but just to soak up the atmosphere) followed by dinner somewhere but I wouldn't want to spend 8+ hours there.

[jhm]

However, if you don't mind splashing out on something like the Hulhule, perhaps you might want to look at the Traders hotel (part of the Shangri-La group) in Male:

http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/male/traders

It opened in 2009 (previously it was going to be a HI).

When I last went to Male, it wasn't open yet but I imagine the Traders hotel must be better than the Hulhule (albeit the Hulhule is just a walk down the road from the airport). Edit: looking at pictures, it looks a lot nicer than the Hulhule.

[KeithMEL]

We're not staying overnight in Male (though if we are, the Traders does look heaps nicer than the airport hotel). Just need somewhere with a bar and nice views to sit down at until check in opens. I hope there are luggage storage facilities somewhere in the event that we want to wander away from the airport area.

[pogonation]

edited

[KeithMEL]

In the end we ticketed MEL-xKUL-BKK-xKUL-MLE-KUL-MEL using a cheap as chips MH sale fare. $6836.20 all in for BOTH of us in Business. Win!

SQ might have the better hard product, but at more than half the price the MH sale fare is unbeatable value. Even if we could find award availability on SQ on the dates we desired (which would most likely only exist on the regional planes anyway), an SQ J ticket for one person would cost almost a whole grand more than what we paid. In fact, the MH fare costs only slightly more than our oneworld Circle Asia in whY that we did last Christmas! Rather excited about my first MH long haul experience in a long while.

Now to find out where to credit my MH miles. Currently have our Velocity numbers inserted into the booking, but this might change to QFF by the time we travel due to their status as oneworld member-elect.

We also require accommodation in Male for 1 night as we don't arrive in time for the seaplanes to the W. Is the airport hotel that bad? It might be more convenient to get to for a few hours of shut eye than the Traders (which apparently requires return transfers on a speedboat)?

[jhm]

We also require accommodation in Male for 1 night as we don't arrive in time for the seaplanes to the W. Is the airport hotel that bad?

It's not bad as such but you pay through the nose for the convenience of staying there, e.g. IIRC, it was around £200 for one night a few years ago.

[KeithMEL]

It's not bad as such but you pay through the nose for the convenience of staying there, e.g. IIRC, it was around £200 for one night a few years ago.

GBP200 seems a rip off for an airport hotel. Traders or Sheraton look a lot nicer (and cheaper in the Sheraton's case) but I don't fancy the whole faffing around to get there and back.

[jhm]

GBP200 seems a rip off for an airport hotel. Traders or Sheraton look a lot nicer (and cheaper in the Sheraton's case) but I don't fancy the whole faffing around to get there and back.

I've stayed at the airport hotel before and also on the capital island (at a local hotel before Traders and the Sheraton opened). In the case of the latter, it wasn't a private speedboat transfer but a water bus (or whatever it's called). The only fiddly part was watching my rollaboard (with laptop etc) get stacked with other cases but apart from that, the journey is quick (5-10 minutes IIRC); it's a very short walk from the airport to the jetty; and once you get to the capital island, there are taxis to take you where you want to go.

If the saving is significant compared to the Sheraton/Traders and I have enough time, I would personally avoid staying at the airport hotel again.

[jhm]

Here are the rates:

http://www.hih.com.mv/reservation.html

US$350 / 369 for a superior double room (+ US$73 if during the festive season)

[Kyo]

KeithMEL, if you're gonna make a night of it anyway, why not try the Embudu Village (refer to my first MLE TR). They're barely 15 mins by hotel speedboat away from the airport, and reasonably-priced. You'd be off to a great start, and then you just get a transfer back the following day for whenever you want to depart to the W by seaplane. Presumably the concierge at Embudu can contact the seaplane company and get this all sorted out whilst you're at Embudu also.

That'll save time faffing about, and it's way better than being on crappy Male itself, not to mention cheaper.

[jhm]

then you just get a transfer back the following day for whenever you want to depart to the W by seaplane. Presumably the concierge at Embudu can contact the seaplane company and get this all sorted out whilst you're at Embudu also.

No need for that - the W will if they haven't already make arrangements with KeithMEL for the seaplane ride. It's then just a case of turning up at MLE airport at the agreed time where W staff will meet and take you by minibus to the W lounge at the seaplane terminal a few minutes drive down the road.