The Maldives Full Moon Resort

As I previously posted, on a trip to Sri Lanka I decided to take the short plane ride over to the Maldives. The Maldives stand in contrast to Sri Lanka even though they're so close. The Maldives is more a luxury vacation whereas Sri Lanka, well, just is not. I will say neither of these locations are on my list to return.

The Maldives are an archipelago. A group of small islands comprising the island nation. Resort hotels are built on many of the islands and an entire island is dedicated to that resort. I reported on this also in the last post.

My resort was the Sheraton Full Moon Resort. This was a short boat ride from the launching point in Male. I'll post my stay details here.

This was just a two night stay. Unfortunately, I fell ill the first night there. I expect it was something I ate or suppose it could have been a 24 hr flu bug, regardless it ruined 1/2 my time there.

Anyway, on to the actual stay.....

I was happily greeted upon arrival:

After checkin there is a walkway through a well manicured path to the beach and the bungalows.

The beach was quite beautiful, but not unlike the beautiful beaches of the Florida Gulf which I'm used to seeing.

I had a Deluxe Marina View bungalow:

My bungalow was nice. It faced the water but was a short walk to the beach. These go for about $500 per night including breakfast, but I used my loyalty points for free nights each night.

Food is very expensive on the island because you're captive. If you add the dinner to the room rate expect to pay about $120 additional. Lunch adds another $50. If you were to go all-Inclusive add $270 to the base rate. That's per day.

Fortunately for me, my loyalty status allowed free breakfast and club lounge privileges. This included free soft drinks throughout the day and a free two hour happy hour in the evening which included food. I ate a big breakfast, skipped lunch, then ate at the club lounge for free in the evening.

If you want to upgrade to the over water bungalows like these expect to pay double or more.

Picture of the over water bungalows:

I saw no need to upgrade. I mean the water is steps away. I didn't find value in having my balcony sitting over the water, but many do. If this is a once in a lifetime vacation, then yeah maybe I can see it. But for me, who travels all the time, I can do without.

There was no trash in the walkways and the beach at the resort was always clean. Although there is much trash that washes up and you can see much around Male, it was quickly picked up here to maintain an Image of cleanliness.

Everyone came out at sunset. Either on the decks of their oversea bungalows or on the beach. It may have been the most popular event on the island.

The times I went in the water there were few, if any others. Most sunbathed on the beach. I spent little beach time as I'm not a tan nor sun lover. I'm more concerned with carcinogenic sun rays than tanned skin.

It was nice viewing the fish from the pier. These look like sharks, don't they?

There were activities to do on and off the island. Some were off island excursions such as island hopping, banana boat ride, diving expeditions, snorkeling expeditions, and day trips to Male. I did none of them because they were crazy expensive and besides, it cost so much to come to this island (even in loyalty points) for two days so why leave? Should people leave one touted paradise for another?

There were also island activities such as paddle boarding, wake board surfing (but not much surf), snorkeling at the island (no reefs so basically snorkeling under the pier), fresh water pool, and tennis court. Since I had gotten sick from food/bug, I was not up for anything much other than relaxing.

I did have an interesting experience my last night staying there. I had recovered sufficiently from the bug that I went to the club lounge to eat that night. There were not many others with the loyalty status or who had paid for the club lounge privileges, thankfully, so I was one of the few in the lounge.

I went to the buffet setting to get some food and as I walked back I walked right into a glass wall! All my food and plate everywhere. What's more, I hit my head pretty good such that it stunned me. I received a small head cut, but head cuts bleed a lot. It bled so much that it looked much worse than the cut actually was.

Of course, that demanded much attention from the staff, which was very embarrassing. That's not the first time I cut my head traveling but it was certainly the most embarrassing. I brushed them aside and asked if I could take some food back to my bungalow (which is against club lounge rules).

I was happy they not only allowed, but said that someone would actually bring it to me. They suggested I go to my bungalow and request medical attention. I told them I would if I required it, but I knew I didn't. It had stunned me for a moment, but mostly it was my pride that was hurt.

Later they brought me a small feast to my room. That was followed by a call from management to ask if I required medical attention. The cut was small and did not require stitches so I refused.

I had enough bad experiences on this island. I remained in and around my bungalow the rest of my last night there.

When it was time to leave the next morning I said goodbye to the island without pining.

Goodbye my "paradise "!