Conrad Maldives Rangali Island review: a new favorite

Context and arrival

My friend and I just returned from a terrific 7-night holiday at Conrad Rangali over the 2021/2022 festive season.

At the time of writing this review, I have been lucky enough to have visited 12 resorts in the Maldives (mostly in the 5* and above segment) and, after this holiday, Conrad Rangali has surely secured a spot at the top of my list of most favorite resorts thanks to the mind-blowing natural surroundings, idyllic Rangali island lagoon, and picturesque views from just about every corner of both islands. The entire Rangali complex is so absolutely visually stunning that when I first stepped foot on this property, I said to myself: “wow, WHY and HOW have I not come here sooner?!”. But more on that below…

The pre arrival communication process with the Conrad front office team was solid but not the best I have experienced.

Logistically, we had a bit of an unconventional arrival and needed to organize a private speedboat transfer pickup from W (the resort we visited prior to Conrad). There were a few hiccups with regards to organizing this inter-island transfer since the Conrad team was unwilling to accept third party transfers due to newly implemented covid-19 safety protocols, and at the same time was reluctant to lower their transfer rate to something reasonable and comparable to what the third-party company was offering (originally, Conrad quoted us something like $1200++ for a 25 mile speedboat ride… no thanks).

After a few days of back and forth, we negotiated on a rate that was somewhat favorable to us but still a far cry from competitive or reasonable. Overall, I just wish that Conrad would have been a bit more flexible and transparent in this regard (via email, Conrad claimed that the reasoning behind not allowing third party transfers had to do with covid guidelines set forth by the government which upon review of several documentation are still nowhere to be found). If you’re not going to allow third party transfers due to your own covid regulations, that is totally fine and up to your discretion, but please, at least price your private transfers accordingly… rant over. Let’s talk a bit about rangali!

Two islands

The Conrad Rangali property is set across two medium sized islands that are connected by a bridge. Rangalifinolhu is the larger, busier and more “family centric” island of the two and hosts both beach and water villas. It is also home to all restaurants except for vilu.

Rangali - dubbed as the “quiet island” is the soon-to-be adults only island that only hosts water villas, vilu restaurant one for breakfast and dinner, and the amazing quiet zone pool area. At the time of my visit, Rangali was undergoing renovations but for anyone visiting between now and march, rest assured that these renovations are very non-invasive (cosmetic upgrades to the room interiors have been the focus of the work) and there is no noise coming from Rangali. Rangali is also fully operational to guests so you can freely walk around all beaches and corners of the island without limitations or unsightly construction.

Grand Water Villa

Upon arrival at Conrad, we met our amazing villa host Nizam and I was super pleased to hear that we had been assigned Grand Water Villa (GWV) 414 - the room that I had requested in advance.

Our GWV was huge and stunning and one of the most unique rooms I’ve ever stayed in. This room is the most private water villa we have ever had in the Maldives primarily because it very well-spaced from neighboring villas which is a unique selling point given that many new high-end resorts are packing rooms like sardines.

The living area is super spacious and has its own AC unit separate from that found in the bedroom. This means that you can create a true indoor/outdoor living arrangement in the living room by opening all the accordion-style windows, without it affecting the heat level in the bedroom. A true plus given just how hot these rooms become if there is no good air circulation. The overall hardware of the room is also very solid. We had relatively strong eastwards winds when we visited and were not bothered by the sound of the howling wind. The same cannot be said about what we experienced at other properties in the Maldives with similar wind strengths…

The bathroom is also iconic from a design standpoint. I am a sucker for floor to ceiling windows and this bathroom hit the spot since it is almost entirely enclosed in glass. All corners of the bathroom have views of the ocean which is very relaxing and makes brushing your teeth exciting rather than mundane. In a similar manner, the bedroom is also very well designed with huge windows and breathtaking views from the bed. The windows do partially open and the only “con” I can think of is that there is no direct deck access from the bedroom.

Speaking of the deck, this is the one aspect of the room that left me somewhat … underwhelmed. The deck is unexplainably small and can only be defined as treacherous. I appreciate that there are no railings (PLEASE, whatever renovations you do in the future, don’t add railings!!!), however the size of deck makes it hard to comfortably walk around and tan. Since our room was facing eastwards, the top section of the deck receives very little sunlight and the 4 steps between the top level of the deck and the lower level of the deck make it very hard to move the sunbeds from the top level to the lower level. I don’t understand why this deck was not enlarged during the renovations in 2020 as really it is very 4* and not up to standards with the rest of the room which really has an amazing layout.

My favorite part of the room, however, was the view. I am super picky when it comes to lagoon quality and colors and this view/color scheme of the lagoon did not disappoint (top 2 views I’ve ever had from a room for sure). 414 is unique in that it is the only one-bedroom grand water villa (both with pool and without pool) to be set atop of a totally sandy area with a completely unobstructed views of the horizon. No large stones, no algae, no seagrass. Just pure turquoise beauty.

All adjacent 1-bed rooms grand water villas either face Rangali island or have several rocks, stones, corals under the room or both. This is a perfect example of why the “last room on the jetty” isn’t necessarily always the best room for everyone.

My only complaint is that – for soft sand lovers – the sand under this villa is nowhere near the sand quality one might find at Cocoa Island for example. It is not pure, fine sand but rather sand mixed with very small coral bits. This makes walking under the room not as pleasant as one would hope.

Food and breakfast

Moving onto F&B. We found food at Rangali to also be very good. I don’t come to the Maldives for Michelin star food and nor am not the biggest food expert nor food critic (so take what I say with a grain of salt) but all the meals we had were delicious. A 2-course dinner here will range you from 190-300 USD inclusive of water and maybe a couple cocktails, but not a whole wine. Not cheap, but not terrible either (by Maldives standards that is). We had a chance to dine at all restaurants and liked all of them equally. Menus are sufficiently varied so that you don’t ever feel like you’re repeating dishes.

We also had breakfast at both vilu and atoll market. We only went to atoll market once since the vibe is totally 4 and not up to standards of a proper 5 property. More on why we didn’t like it in the “cons” section at the end of the review… but If you’re a couple looking for peace and good food, vilu is the way to go.

Island and lagoon

Finally, I wanted to leave the last part of the review to talk about the stunning nature of Conrad, and in particular the quiet/Rangali island, which is the main reason for why I will certainly be coming back to this wonderful property. I don’t think I have ever visited an island that left me completely speechless for so many days in a row. Each morning I would make my way to the quiet area and be in total disbelief of what was in front of me.

The lagoon area by the quiet zone pool is literal perfection and something that I have only maybe ever experienced at one other island. The quiet zone area is the most perfectly designed pool area of any pool I’ve ever been to in the Maldives (the concept is great… quiet and in touch with nature) and is only complemented by a lagoon with the most electric shades of blue with no traces of anything except sand and a few pieces of coral rubble here and there. It is almost hard to put into words how at peace one may feel when visiting the quiet zone.

Every single beach on Rangali is totally picturesque and belongs on a Maldives brochure.

The sand around Rangali island is not necessarily the softest either. On the quite zone beach, the sand is powder soft, but as soon as you enter the water, it does start to get a bit corall-y and doesn’t turn into find sand until several meters later. Similarly, the sand area in front of the deluxe water villas is also extremely coarse and full of coral bits and almost impossible to walk on without water shoes which is a real pity.

If, like myself, you are a huge lagoon lover, please do not give Rangali a miss. I really believe that Rangali is one of the last-standing beautiful lagoons in the Maldives. Many old school iconic lagoon islands have since stopped maintaining their lagoons so that they are now sadly affected by unsightly, enormous patches of sea grass, algae, coral rubble and more which are not natural, despite claims that they are.

You will find none of that at Conrad Rangali. You are sure to be completely mesmerized by the colors, contrasts, and beauty of the island the second you arrive.

Areas of improvement

As I close my review, I wanted to also touch on some additional areas of improvement/cons that – if addressed - would only make Rangali better ……😊

House reef (this one is an observation rather than an area of improvement, since Conrad cannot do anything): the house reef at Conrad is sadly the poorest, most dead house reef I’ve snorkeled in the Maldives. Sadly, I cannot see this reef recovering any time soon. There is literally no sign of regrowth anywhere, and the entire top coral section of the reef is completely gray and graveyard-like. Fish life was also super poor. If you’re looking for a solid house reef, this is not your island.

Mass Market Feel in certain areas of the island: There is an extreme mass market feel by the main pool area on rangalifinolhu as well as by atoll market, and in general an overbuilt feel on rangalifinolhu compared to Rangali. It is comparable to the vibe that one might find at an AI resort in Cancun. I understand that rangalifinolhu is a family-centric island, but the bar is overcrowded with far too many tables and far too much stuff going on. In the evenings, when it is darker out and you lose concept of how large this place is, the bar becomes slightly more enjoyable, but it is far from an intimate setting. Since all venues on the quiet island is closed at night, this makes it impossible to enjoy a drink in a more refined atmosphere.

Buggy Shortage: Lack of buggy availability if not reserving one in advance. If you show up at the reception and ask for a buggy, be prepared to wait at least 10 minutes.

Lack of House Water: there is (to my knowledge) no option for house water at restaurants or bars… why do I need to pay $15++ for water when other, more expensive, resorts either offer free water during meals or have it at a nominal charge between 2 and 5 USD ++? Hydration should be a right not a privilege….

Lack of Management Intervention: Absence of management at sponsored HHonors cocktails, during breakfast, and in general around the resort was a tad disappointing. Conrad is one of the few islands where the GM did not come to introduce herself during our entire stay stay (feeding into the concept that at times, Conrad Rangali does feel too mass market despite the 5* rating, probably due to its sheer size). I would have loved to exchange some words with her about the property she is running, but nonetheless never had the chance to.

Newly renovated villas on Rangali: We toured the newer entry water villas that are due to open in the next month and were not impressed with the redesign… Considering that these are newly designed villas on the more exclusive of the two islands, I can’t understand why more thought was not put into the overall design to make them more competitive with the ever-growing 5* market in the Maldives. I am glad that I had a chance to see them I'm person so that I know to never book one in the future. Here are some aspects of these rooms that I just can’t for the life of me wrap my head around: o The barriers on the side of the rooms are extremely invasive and completely obstruct the view given that these barriers flap inwards towards the end of the deck, severely inhibiting the view when you’re at the top edge of the deck or in your pool. I wish that these rooms had been structurally redesigned (sort of like the superior and deluxe wv) so that these barriers would have been rendered unnecessary as they really are a huge eyesore. O The sunrise water villas, in addition to having the barriers on the side, also have railings on the deck further obstructing the view! O The pool for the new water villas is super small, bathtub like almost, and cannot be used to enjoy a nice swim. I can imagine it only looks good when taking pictures on iPhone using the.5 lens…. Why not make it bigger so one can enjoy it? O The sliding door/window is super short to the point that I (6ft3) had to lower my head in order to comfortably pass through

Final verdict

Despite some caveats (which hopefully will be addressed in the coming months/years etc.), we enjoyed our holiday to the fullest and this is for sure a property that I will be coming back to either this year or next year!

Conrad is the perfect example that shows that there still are some properties that are offering luxurious holidays without sacrificing the fantastic natural aspect that so many of us come to the Maldives to experience.

See you again soon!