Trip Report: Amansara (Cambodia) & Both Four Seasons Maldives
Mar 25, 2007, 12:37 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: UA1K, *G & Wife of UA1K MM
Posts: 3,432
Trip Report: Amansara (Cambodia) & Both Four Seasons Maldives
FLIGHTS
We flew the long way on this trip, trying to squeeze as much free business class as possible out of our Star Alliance miles.
We started with Thai biz class from JFK to BKK. The angled-flat seating, service, meals and on-demand video were all very good but just a notch below Singapore Air. The new BKK airport was very nice despite all the recent press. All of our flights (and there were many) came in and out on-time and with great efficiency. Baggage was pretty fast and the Thai lounges were crowded, but very nice and well-staffed.
Our economy Bangkok Air flight from BKK to Siem Reap and back was fine. It’s a good airline for these kind of 45 minute hops.
To get to the Maldives, we flew Singapore Air from BKK to SIN to CMB (brief overnight at the Taj Airport Garden Hotel) and then Sri Lankan biz class to MLE. It sounds worse than it was, though there are certainly more efficient ways to get to Male. The Singapore biz class even on these relatively short hauls still exceeded all other airlines in service, entertainment and dining. And the “Singapore girls” had memorized our names just 15 minutes into these flights when we encountered them outside of the restrooms or the galley.
In Colombo, the Taj Airport Garden Hotel had undoubtedly seen better days. The rooms matched the pictures on the website, but the pictures were taken a long time ago. Unfortunately, I don’t believe there are better options in the vicinity of the airport.
We flew the long way on this trip, trying to squeeze as much free business class as possible out of our Star Alliance miles.
We started with Thai biz class from JFK to BKK. The angled-flat seating, service, meals and on-demand video were all very good but just a notch below Singapore Air. The new BKK airport was very nice despite all the recent press. All of our flights (and there were many) came in and out on-time and with great efficiency. Baggage was pretty fast and the Thai lounges were crowded, but very nice and well-staffed.
Our economy Bangkok Air flight from BKK to Siem Reap and back was fine. It’s a good airline for these kind of 45 minute hops.
To get to the Maldives, we flew Singapore Air from BKK to SIN to CMB (brief overnight at the Taj Airport Garden Hotel) and then Sri Lankan biz class to MLE. It sounds worse than it was, though there are certainly more efficient ways to get to Male. The Singapore biz class even on these relatively short hauls still exceeded all other airlines in service, entertainment and dining. And the “Singapore girls” had memorized our names just 15 minutes into these flights when we encountered them outside of the restrooms or the galley.
In Colombo, the Taj Airport Garden Hotel had undoubtedly seen better days. The rooms matched the pictures on the website, but the pictures were taken a long time ago. Unfortunately, I don’t believe there are better options in the vicinity of the airport.
Mar 25, 2007, 12:38 pm
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: UA1K, *G & Wife of UA1K MM
Posts: 3,432
AMANSARA, CAMBODIA
Arriving in Siem Reap was a pleasant surprise. We did not expect much from an airport in a country with so much poverty. But it was lovely. And all check-in, immigration and baggage services were very efficient.
Our complimentary airport pick-up was done by a classic 1960s Mercedes limousine. The resort owns two of them and they were formerly owned by King Norodom Sihanouk as was the villa that makes up the main part of the resort. The drive to the resort revealed Siem Reap as a city undergoing tremendous growth, but there were so many new hotels under construction that we were glad we saw the temples now rather than waiting for all these additional tourists to arrive.
We booked a pool suite for 3 nights. The room was beautifully designed in a more modern style than the other Aman’s we’ve visited. The best part of the room was probably the wall of windows separating the living areas from the private outdoor courtyard and plunge pool. And while the suites were all under one roof unlike other Aman “villas”, the resort added a great deal of privacy by building very tall concrete walls around each suite’s courtyard. You could occasionally hear traffic noise since the suites were on the edge of the property, but this is probably unavoidable in a town as bustling as Siem Reap.
Our first day in Siem Reap was spent at a local school called Wat Bo. Before our trip, we made a donation to the Ponheary Ly foundation (www.theplf.org) which was used to send 68 Cambodian children to school. Ponheary and her driver picked us up at Amansara and drove us to what we later learned was the finest school in Cambodia and one that our designated kids were very lucky to attend. We were greeted by several teachers, the principal, and hundreds of smiling children. In an unexpectedly formal presentation, we handed out 68 pre-packaged bundles of school supplies, uniforms and flip-flops to some very cute and appreciative kids. Seeing their smiling faces was the most rewarding part of our trip, so much so that we hope to find similar charitable venues for our future vacations. And because the organizers of the charity (thank you Ponheary Ly & Lori Carlson) donate so much of their time, 100% of the donations go right to the children. In fact, our donation was originally budgeted to send 50 children to school and yet they managed to stretch the money to accommodate 68.
Food at Amansara was definitely up to Aman standards and the restaurant was great at accommodating my (mental) fish allergy by eliminating all fish and oyster sauces from the traditional Cambodian fare. On our last night, the chef arranged a private barbecue for us on the rooftop with a customized menu. Sitting cross-legged under the stars and surrounded by candles was very nice. Also, two daily meals were included with the nightly package rate, as were house wines (during the time of our stay, they were mostly South African and Australian).
For our first temple-related activity, we chartered a helicopter to Beng Melea and enjoyed an Aman-style sunset picnic. The flight was amazingly beautiful with spectacular views of Angkor Wat, many temples, small and large, Tonle Sap Lake and the Mekong River. The helicopter was not air conditioned, however, so be prepared for the heat. Our Amansara guide (who was extremely knowledgeable about all of the area temples, knew where to get the best photos and how to avoid crowds at all locations) was with us to explain what we were seeing and ultimately take us through Beng Melea. Beng Melea is best described as a temple utterly subsumed by jungle. For the more adventurous, park rangers literally “lent us a hand” through ancient windows and up to the highest points of the rubble which, in our case, provided for some great photos.
We also visited the main temple of Angkor Wat at sunrise, Ta Prom (the temple now famous for being featured in Laura Croft: Tomb Raider) and Bayon. I especially enjoyed the more “ruined” of the ruins like Ta Prom which seemed to appeal to my romantic notion of what Siem Reap would be. Sadly, we learned that the park fees charged for seeing these temples doesn’t stay in Cambodia but goes to a management company in Thailand.
Overall, service at Amansara was very efficient and extremely friendly. To ask for anything was to have it done, as is the case with all of the Aman properties in Asia. For the diehard Aman-junkies, however, we feel it necessary to provide a short list of annoyances. For all of Amansara’s merits (and there are many), this list reminded Mr. Ericka and me that “we’re not in Indonesia anymore”.
- Our first morning, we were out of the room for a couple of hours and yet housekeeping failed to clean our room. While we did not participate in an Amansara activity that morning, the front desk knew we left the resort and could have notified housekeeping.
- We were asked our room number a handful of times, even after we had volunteered our name.
- There was a note in our room from the GM encouraging us to generously tip our guides and drivers since gratuities make up the bulk of their income. While this sounds like a nice gesture on the surface, it made us wonder why the resort wasn’t paying them enough in the first place and why they’re not getting a generous piece of the service charge.
- The resort was charging $10 to attend a Khmer dance performance in the library. $10 is no big deal, but we don’t recall other Amans charging for performances of this kind.
- Our rooftop dinner wasn’t ready when we arrived (candles weren’t lit and no one was there) and we had to literally go find someone to get things started. As such, the dinner started late and we missed the above mentioned dance performance even though the people we scheduled dinner with knew we intended to join the performance for dessert and coffee.
- The GM didn’t greet us on arrival or departure. To his credit, when he bumped into us on the property, he knew who we were. But when we told him about the great experience we had at the school that morning, he was more interested in scolding us for not signing up for any of the complimentary house outings (temple tours). While he was absolutely right that our helicopter tour wasn’t as good as visiting on foot, his choice of words and tone felt condescending. We ended up following his advice (pushing ourselves despite the jetlag) and are grateful we did but it was awkward nonetheless.
Arriving in Siem Reap was a pleasant surprise. We did not expect much from an airport in a country with so much poverty. But it was lovely. And all check-in, immigration and baggage services were very efficient.
Our complimentary airport pick-up was done by a classic 1960s Mercedes limousine. The resort owns two of them and they were formerly owned by King Norodom Sihanouk as was the villa that makes up the main part of the resort. The drive to the resort revealed Siem Reap as a city undergoing tremendous growth, but there were so many new hotels under construction that we were glad we saw the temples now rather than waiting for all these additional tourists to arrive.
We booked a pool suite for 3 nights. The room was beautifully designed in a more modern style than the other Aman’s we’ve visited. The best part of the room was probably the wall of windows separating the living areas from the private outdoor courtyard and plunge pool. And while the suites were all under one roof unlike other Aman “villas”, the resort added a great deal of privacy by building very tall concrete walls around each suite’s courtyard. You could occasionally hear traffic noise since the suites were on the edge of the property, but this is probably unavoidable in a town as bustling as Siem Reap.
Our first day in Siem Reap was spent at a local school called Wat Bo. Before our trip, we made a donation to the Ponheary Ly foundation (www.theplf.org) which was used to send 68 Cambodian children to school. Ponheary and her driver picked us up at Amansara and drove us to what we later learned was the finest school in Cambodia and one that our designated kids were very lucky to attend. We were greeted by several teachers, the principal, and hundreds of smiling children. In an unexpectedly formal presentation, we handed out 68 pre-packaged bundles of school supplies, uniforms and flip-flops to some very cute and appreciative kids. Seeing their smiling faces was the most rewarding part of our trip, so much so that we hope to find similar charitable venues for our future vacations. And because the organizers of the charity (thank you Ponheary Ly & Lori Carlson) donate so much of their time, 100% of the donations go right to the children. In fact, our donation was originally budgeted to send 50 children to school and yet they managed to stretch the money to accommodate 68.
Food at Amansara was definitely up to Aman standards and the restaurant was great at accommodating my (mental) fish allergy by eliminating all fish and oyster sauces from the traditional Cambodian fare. On our last night, the chef arranged a private barbecue for us on the rooftop with a customized menu. Sitting cross-legged under the stars and surrounded by candles was very nice. Also, two daily meals were included with the nightly package rate, as were house wines (during the time of our stay, they were mostly South African and Australian).
For our first temple-related activity, we chartered a helicopter to Beng Melea and enjoyed an Aman-style sunset picnic. The flight was amazingly beautiful with spectacular views of Angkor Wat, many temples, small and large, Tonle Sap Lake and the Mekong River. The helicopter was not air conditioned, however, so be prepared for the heat. Our Amansara guide (who was extremely knowledgeable about all of the area temples, knew where to get the best photos and how to avoid crowds at all locations) was with us to explain what we were seeing and ultimately take us through Beng Melea. Beng Melea is best described as a temple utterly subsumed by jungle. For the more adventurous, park rangers literally “lent us a hand” through ancient windows and up to the highest points of the rubble which, in our case, provided for some great photos.
We also visited the main temple of Angkor Wat at sunrise, Ta Prom (the temple now famous for being featured in Laura Croft: Tomb Raider) and Bayon. I especially enjoyed the more “ruined” of the ruins like Ta Prom which seemed to appeal to my romantic notion of what Siem Reap would be. Sadly, we learned that the park fees charged for seeing these temples doesn’t stay in Cambodia but goes to a management company in Thailand.
Overall, service at Amansara was very efficient and extremely friendly. To ask for anything was to have it done, as is the case with all of the Aman properties in Asia. For the diehard Aman-junkies, however, we feel it necessary to provide a short list of annoyances. For all of Amansara’s merits (and there are many), this list reminded Mr. Ericka and me that “we’re not in Indonesia anymore”.
- Our first morning, we were out of the room for a couple of hours and yet housekeeping failed to clean our room. While we did not participate in an Amansara activity that morning, the front desk knew we left the resort and could have notified housekeeping.
- We were asked our room number a handful of times, even after we had volunteered our name.
- There was a note in our room from the GM encouraging us to generously tip our guides and drivers since gratuities make up the bulk of their income. While this sounds like a nice gesture on the surface, it made us wonder why the resort wasn’t paying them enough in the first place and why they’re not getting a generous piece of the service charge.
- The resort was charging $10 to attend a Khmer dance performance in the library. $10 is no big deal, but we don’t recall other Amans charging for performances of this kind.
- Our rooftop dinner wasn’t ready when we arrived (candles weren’t lit and no one was there) and we had to literally go find someone to get things started. As such, the dinner started late and we missed the above mentioned dance performance even though the people we scheduled dinner with knew we intended to join the performance for dessert and coffee.
- The GM didn’t greet us on arrival or departure. To his credit, when he bumped into us on the property, he knew who we were. But when we told him about the great experience we had at the school that morning, he was more interested in scolding us for not signing up for any of the complimentary house outings (temple tours). While he was absolutely right that our helicopter tour wasn’t as good as visiting on foot, his choice of words and tone felt condescending. We ended up following his advice (pushing ourselves despite the jetlag) and are grateful we did but it was awkward nonetheless.
Mar 25, 2007, 12:39 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: UA1K, *G & Wife of UA1K MM
Posts: 3,432
FOUR SEASONS RESORTS, MALDIVES
Arriving in the Maldives was just as we had imagined – Tiffany blue water dotted by tiny islands as far as the eye could see. The water and sugary-sand beaches matched and sometimes even exceeded, the beauty we’d seen in the Philippines and Bora Bora. And once underwater, we realized that there were many more fish species than we had seen in the above mentioned locales or Hawaii, the Caribbean or the Great Barrier Reef.
FS Landaa Giraavaru and FS Kuda Huraa were very different from one another, but generally speaking, LG surpassed its older sibling in every category except spas and restaurants, which were exceptional at both properties. In our experience, Landaa had better service, friendlier staff, a better equipped dive shop, and a more beautifully stocked gift shop. There was also more sense of isolation (few other islands in sight and no other resorts). The rooms at LG were spaced farther apart and offered more privacy from neighbors since the island was larger. It was also easier to access good snorkeling from the beach, though it was nothing like our experience at Hotel Bora Bora in that regard. As for service, we believe that FS poached many of their best employees from Kuda Huraa (after their stints at other FS properties post-tsunami) to get things up and running at Landaa Giraavaru. This is a tactic that worked very well for LG.
Food at both resorts, like all of the Maldives, was expensive but the portions were large so two people could easily share a lunch, for example. Breakfast was included in all room rates and was basically all-you-could-eat, whether at the great buffets or served in-villa. A glass of wine or cocktail averaged $12 USD. Smoothies and mocktails averaged $8. Lunch items were between $18-22 and dinner for two with a few drinks and dessert was usually about $150 in the better restaurants. More importantly, the atmosphere at all of the Four Seasons restaurants was perfect and carried a theme (Indian, Middle Eastern) without going over the top. The food was nothing short of exceptional and, unlike the rest of SE Asia, we didn’t worry as much about traveler’s diarrhea since the islands were so isolated and water came from a desalinization plant.
Arriving in the Maldives was just as we had imagined – Tiffany blue water dotted by tiny islands as far as the eye could see. The water and sugary-sand beaches matched and sometimes even exceeded, the beauty we’d seen in the Philippines and Bora Bora. And once underwater, we realized that there were many more fish species than we had seen in the above mentioned locales or Hawaii, the Caribbean or the Great Barrier Reef.
FS Landaa Giraavaru and FS Kuda Huraa were very different from one another, but generally speaking, LG surpassed its older sibling in every category except spas and restaurants, which were exceptional at both properties. In our experience, Landaa had better service, friendlier staff, a better equipped dive shop, and a more beautifully stocked gift shop. There was also more sense of isolation (few other islands in sight and no other resorts). The rooms at LG were spaced farther apart and offered more privacy from neighbors since the island was larger. It was also easier to access good snorkeling from the beach, though it was nothing like our experience at Hotel Bora Bora in that regard. As for service, we believe that FS poached many of their best employees from Kuda Huraa (after their stints at other FS properties post-tsunami) to get things up and running at Landaa Giraavaru. This is a tactic that worked very well for LG.
Food at both resorts, like all of the Maldives, was expensive but the portions were large so two people could easily share a lunch, for example. Breakfast was included in all room rates and was basically all-you-could-eat, whether at the great buffets or served in-villa. A glass of wine or cocktail averaged $12 USD. Smoothies and mocktails averaged $8. Lunch items were between $18-22 and dinner for two with a few drinks and dessert was usually about $150 in the better restaurants. More importantly, the atmosphere at all of the Four Seasons restaurants was perfect and carried a theme (Indian, Middle Eastern) without going over the top. The food was nothing short of exceptional and, unlike the rest of SE Asia, we didn’t worry as much about traveler’s diarrhea since the islands were so isolated and water came from a desalinization plant.
Mar 25, 2007, 12:40 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: UA1K, *G & Wife of UA1K MM
Posts: 3,432
FOUR SEASONS LANDAA GIRAAVARU
Once in Male, Four Seasons staff members shuttled us to the other side of the airport, a bustling hub of seaplanes. We were placed in a small nondescript lounge (there was a new lounge under construction which will be much nicer) and waited just over an hour for our seaplane. The flight itself was only 25 minutes.
The GM and several of his staff were at the LG marina to greet us and kick-off our 5 night stay. We were given a brief tour of the property along with a fantastic welcome drink (ginger, lime and honey) and then driven by buggy to our room, a beach villa with plunge pool. The room was quite large – 1475 sq. ft. inside and 2799 sq. ft. outside – with a 40 ft. plunge pool and a short sandy path to a private bale, our own white sand beach and the ocean. There was also a lovely “loft” with a daybed which proved to be the spot in the room with the best ocean view. The bathroom was a highlight featuring beautiful pre-cast concrete, an indoor rain shower, a large outdoor shower, and an enormous, edgeless bathtub. While these units were spread far apart and afforded a good deal of privacy to begin with, it is interesting to note that most of the “walls” around our compound were made of dense shrubs. We had requested a unit with more privacy and so we were given #225 which had very thick vegetation, but the thicker the vegetation, the less view you have of the ocean. There were beach villas with less vegetation, so just advise them of your preference before arrival. Lastly, villas 223 thru 229 had the best access to good snorkeling.
The service at Landaa Giravaavaru was absolutely fantastic. The staff members were all genuinely friendly and always knew us. For the few we hadn’t met yet, they had ways of asking for our room number without asking for our room number. “Where shall I send the confirmation?” or “Where can I reach you?”. The net effect was that even though there were well over 100 rooms at this property, we never felt like just a room number. The staff were always forward thinking, catching things before they became a problem and answering questions before we knew to ask them.
The dive shop and water sports center were very impressive. Besides the obvious advantage of having all new equipment, they offered nice touches like complementary loaner rash guard shirts for snorkeling. The centerpiece of the facility was a clownfish hatchery, where guests could watch “Nemos” in various stages of eggs, and fry, when they develop their characteristic stripe. The Four Seasons was helping setup and train locals on the use of hatcheries which will put them on the zero impact path of the aquarium trade. There was also a friendly marine biologist that worked in the water sports center, accompanied guests on guided dives and snorkel trips and offered nightly “fish talks”.
The spa was an enormous complex, made up of overwater platforms for daily yoga and meditation classes, overwater bungalows for massages and large, elaborate ayurvedic pavilions with their own private relaxation area, plunge pool, steam and outdoor showers. I opted for a 2-hour Shirodhara (2 therapists and a deluge of oil) and a lovely bit of henna art on my hands and feet.
One of our favorite activities at Landaa Giravaavaru was the private sandbank picnic. We worked with the activities manager to create a custom itinerary, including choice of boat and meal. We played with bottlenose and spinner dolphins, went to a handful of snorkeling spots and then stopped for lunch on a deserted island. The food was fabulous, and there was a special surprise in the way they set up the table (which we won’t divulge). Let’s just say the details were handled very well.
On our last night, we had a candlelight dinner in the courtyard of our room. The dinner was included in our romance package and it was very nice, with each of 4 courses individually served. But there wasn’t anything special about it. If we were at an Aman, there would be more than one candle – candles would be lining the perimeters of the courtyard and floating in the pool.
Unfortunately, after 5 perfect nights, we had to report a theft on our day of departure. When we emptied the safe, we noticed that our USD and Euros were gone. It wasn’t a lot of money and the thieves were “kind” enough to leave our jewelry, passports and credit cards. The guest manager and head of security were very gracious and professional, but it just goes to show you…
Once in Male, Four Seasons staff members shuttled us to the other side of the airport, a bustling hub of seaplanes. We were placed in a small nondescript lounge (there was a new lounge under construction which will be much nicer) and waited just over an hour for our seaplane. The flight itself was only 25 minutes.
The GM and several of his staff were at the LG marina to greet us and kick-off our 5 night stay. We were given a brief tour of the property along with a fantastic welcome drink (ginger, lime and honey) and then driven by buggy to our room, a beach villa with plunge pool. The room was quite large – 1475 sq. ft. inside and 2799 sq. ft. outside – with a 40 ft. plunge pool and a short sandy path to a private bale, our own white sand beach and the ocean. There was also a lovely “loft” with a daybed which proved to be the spot in the room with the best ocean view. The bathroom was a highlight featuring beautiful pre-cast concrete, an indoor rain shower, a large outdoor shower, and an enormous, edgeless bathtub. While these units were spread far apart and afforded a good deal of privacy to begin with, it is interesting to note that most of the “walls” around our compound were made of dense shrubs. We had requested a unit with more privacy and so we were given #225 which had very thick vegetation, but the thicker the vegetation, the less view you have of the ocean. There were beach villas with less vegetation, so just advise them of your preference before arrival. Lastly, villas 223 thru 229 had the best access to good snorkeling.
The service at Landaa Giravaavaru was absolutely fantastic. The staff members were all genuinely friendly and always knew us. For the few we hadn’t met yet, they had ways of asking for our room number without asking for our room number. “Where shall I send the confirmation?” or “Where can I reach you?”. The net effect was that even though there were well over 100 rooms at this property, we never felt like just a room number. The staff were always forward thinking, catching things before they became a problem and answering questions before we knew to ask them.
The dive shop and water sports center were very impressive. Besides the obvious advantage of having all new equipment, they offered nice touches like complementary loaner rash guard shirts for snorkeling. The centerpiece of the facility was a clownfish hatchery, where guests could watch “Nemos” in various stages of eggs, and fry, when they develop their characteristic stripe. The Four Seasons was helping setup and train locals on the use of hatcheries which will put them on the zero impact path of the aquarium trade. There was also a friendly marine biologist that worked in the water sports center, accompanied guests on guided dives and snorkel trips and offered nightly “fish talks”.
The spa was an enormous complex, made up of overwater platforms for daily yoga and meditation classes, overwater bungalows for massages and large, elaborate ayurvedic pavilions with their own private relaxation area, plunge pool, steam and outdoor showers. I opted for a 2-hour Shirodhara (2 therapists and a deluge of oil) and a lovely bit of henna art on my hands and feet.
One of our favorite activities at Landaa Giravaavaru was the private sandbank picnic. We worked with the activities manager to create a custom itinerary, including choice of boat and meal. We played with bottlenose and spinner dolphins, went to a handful of snorkeling spots and then stopped for lunch on a deserted island. The food was fabulous, and there was a special surprise in the way they set up the table (which we won’t divulge). Let’s just say the details were handled very well.
On our last night, we had a candlelight dinner in the courtyard of our room. The dinner was included in our romance package and it was very nice, with each of 4 courses individually served. But there wasn’t anything special about it. If we were at an Aman, there would be more than one candle – candles would be lining the perimeters of the courtyard and floating in the pool.
Unfortunately, after 5 perfect nights, we had to report a theft on our day of departure. When we emptied the safe, we noticed that our USD and Euros were gone. It wasn’t a lot of money and the thieves were “kind” enough to leave our jewelry, passports and credit cards. The guest manager and head of security were very gracious and professional, but it just goes to show you…
Mar 25, 2007, 12:40 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: UA1K, *G & Wife of UA1K MM
Posts: 3,432
FOUR SEASONS KUDA HURAA
Four Seasons arranged a direct seaplane transfer for us from LG to Kuda Huraa for our 3-night stay. We were greeted by a few staff members, given a similar welcome drink to the one at LG and driven to our room, a Navaranna Water Bungalow. Our room was #419 and was positioned on the end of a long row of water bungalows. In all of our travels, we’ve never booked an over-water bungalow before because they always reminded us of a trailer park. But the Navaranna units (particularly the ones positioned on the end) seemed to answer our need for privacy. Nevermind the fact that they were nearly twice as large as the other water bungalows at 980 sq. ft. of interior space and 592 sq. ft. of outdoor decking, had two lovely marble bathrooms and a panoramic 240-degree lagoon view. With windows on all sides, the views were spectacular, but you could see two other resorts in the not-so-far distance. Still, ours was definitely the most private of the accommodations at Kuda Huraa. There were three other Navaranna Water Bungalows. #319 was the other end unit and was on the sunset side of the island, but the neighboring resorts were even closer to it which would again impinge on privacy. The other types of rooms, except for maybe the Royal Beach Villa, gave the impression of being stacked on top of one another. The rooms on the beach were very narrow and packed tightly together. Yes, there was a wall dividing the units, but there was no privacy facing the beach because the thatched-roof bales that sat in front of each bungalow/villa were lined up very close together. When we were walking by on the main path that runs down the center of the island we could even see into some people's courtyards and see their small pools. We ended up having a great room and a very nice experience here but it's difficult for this property to compete with LG when it comes to base level accomodations because of its size (it's a tiny island) and age.
The service at Kuda Huraa was good, but it lacked the polish of Landaa Giravaavaru. When we asked for something, the first response would be something akin to “no” but then they would get around to fixing it before it became a problem. A good example of this was the dive shop. We asked to borrow fins for a few days, and they said they did not loan them out only to later decide that they would give them to us anyway. We asked to borrow a rash guard shirt and were told that they would be happy to sell us one for $60 (which we declined). Finally, we showed up for our scheduled morning dive, and they didn’t have us registered and the boat was already full. But they quickly provided a private boat and dive instructor to make up for it. The buggy service was terrible and it didn’t seem to matter whether we had reserved a buggy time or just called when we needed one; we usually got tired of waiting and walked.
We were delighted with our spa experience at KH. A small dhoni picked us up at the resort jetty and delivered us to the “spa island” where we were greeted in a romantically tented pavilion and shown to our private changing suite with both an indoor and outdoor shower. From there, we were escorted to our thatched massage pavilion positioned over the water. During our massage, we were able to watch many fish through a glass floor beneath our massage tables and I could swear I saw some sort of potpourri or dried flowers floating by. We indulged in a Kuda Huraa massage and Vanilla Sandalwood Wrap.
One note about the snorkeling at KH - there was a lot of fish life but because the water was very shallow and some areas had sea grass, it was difficult to snorkel right off the beach or the water bungalows. It’s best to take the daily boat to the house reef. KH, like LG also offered a marine biologist for these activities as well as nightly fish talks.
Lastly, our best night at Kuda Huraa came about after we got a call only hours before that our dinner reservation at the Reef Club had been cancelled due to a corporate photo shoot. Since we had already been inconvenienced by the same photo shoot at LG, we expressed our displeasure with the situation. We later heard from Kim, the food and beverage manager that they would be happy to serve us the Reef Club menu on a private table on the beach in front of the restaurant. When we arrived, they escorted us to a thatch-roofed gazebo perched over the lagoon with waiting glasses of complementary champagne. The sunset and the sound of the surf were amazing from this location and the food was some of the best we had during our stay.
Four Seasons arranged a direct seaplane transfer for us from LG to Kuda Huraa for our 3-night stay. We were greeted by a few staff members, given a similar welcome drink to the one at LG and driven to our room, a Navaranna Water Bungalow. Our room was #419 and was positioned on the end of a long row of water bungalows. In all of our travels, we’ve never booked an over-water bungalow before because they always reminded us of a trailer park. But the Navaranna units (particularly the ones positioned on the end) seemed to answer our need for privacy. Nevermind the fact that they were nearly twice as large as the other water bungalows at 980 sq. ft. of interior space and 592 sq. ft. of outdoor decking, had two lovely marble bathrooms and a panoramic 240-degree lagoon view. With windows on all sides, the views were spectacular, but you could see two other resorts in the not-so-far distance. Still, ours was definitely the most private of the accommodations at Kuda Huraa. There were three other Navaranna Water Bungalows. #319 was the other end unit and was on the sunset side of the island, but the neighboring resorts were even closer to it which would again impinge on privacy. The other types of rooms, except for maybe the Royal Beach Villa, gave the impression of being stacked on top of one another. The rooms on the beach were very narrow and packed tightly together. Yes, there was a wall dividing the units, but there was no privacy facing the beach because the thatched-roof bales that sat in front of each bungalow/villa were lined up very close together. When we were walking by on the main path that runs down the center of the island we could even see into some people's courtyards and see their small pools. We ended up having a great room and a very nice experience here but it's difficult for this property to compete with LG when it comes to base level accomodations because of its size (it's a tiny island) and age.
The service at Kuda Huraa was good, but it lacked the polish of Landaa Giravaavaru. When we asked for something, the first response would be something akin to “no” but then they would get around to fixing it before it became a problem. A good example of this was the dive shop. We asked to borrow fins for a few days, and they said they did not loan them out only to later decide that they would give them to us anyway. We asked to borrow a rash guard shirt and were told that they would be happy to sell us one for $60 (which we declined). Finally, we showed up for our scheduled morning dive, and they didn’t have us registered and the boat was already full. But they quickly provided a private boat and dive instructor to make up for it. The buggy service was terrible and it didn’t seem to matter whether we had reserved a buggy time or just called when we needed one; we usually got tired of waiting and walked.
We were delighted with our spa experience at KH. A small dhoni picked us up at the resort jetty and delivered us to the “spa island” where we were greeted in a romantically tented pavilion and shown to our private changing suite with both an indoor and outdoor shower. From there, we were escorted to our thatched massage pavilion positioned over the water. During our massage, we were able to watch many fish through a glass floor beneath our massage tables and I could swear I saw some sort of potpourri or dried flowers floating by. We indulged in a Kuda Huraa massage and Vanilla Sandalwood Wrap.
One note about the snorkeling at KH - there was a lot of fish life but because the water was very shallow and some areas had sea grass, it was difficult to snorkel right off the beach or the water bungalows. It’s best to take the daily boat to the house reef. KH, like LG also offered a marine biologist for these activities as well as nightly fish talks.
Lastly, our best night at Kuda Huraa came about after we got a call only hours before that our dinner reservation at the Reef Club had been cancelled due to a corporate photo shoot. Since we had already been inconvenienced by the same photo shoot at LG, we expressed our displeasure with the situation. We later heard from Kim, the food and beverage manager that they would be happy to serve us the Reef Club menu on a private table on the beach in front of the restaurant. When we arrived, they escorted us to a thatch-roofed gazebo perched over the lagoon with waiting glasses of complementary champagne. The sunset and the sound of the surf were amazing from this location and the food was some of the best we had during our stay.
Mar 25, 2007, 12:41 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: UA1K, *G & Wife of UA1K MM
Posts: 3,432
FOUR SEASONS EXPLORER
Our original reservation with the FS Maldives had been 5 nights at LG and 3 nights on the Explorer. We eventually changed our Explorer nights to KH because Mr. Ericka and I both experienced motion sickness on our last trip and we didn’t want to risk more of the same. We were, however, able to tour the boat while it was anchored at KH. The Explorer was every bit as beautiful as the pictures on the website. All the rooms were quite large for a boat, with king-sized beds and large picture windows. The highlight though was definitely the Explorer suite which was the size of a real hotel room, with a large closet, dressing area and windows across the entire bow of the boat and a private sundeck. All of the bathrooms were also very large and tastefully done with molded shower units and corian-like vanities.
The appearance of the boat certainly made us regret our decision to cancel, but even while anchored in the KH lagoon, we could still feel movement. Did it make us sick? No. But who knows how we would feel a couple of hours later? The best part about the Explorer is its ability to venture to the southern islands to dive with whale sharks and manta rays. For that, we might be willing to risk a little seasickness on our next visit.
Our original reservation with the FS Maldives had been 5 nights at LG and 3 nights on the Explorer. We eventually changed our Explorer nights to KH because Mr. Ericka and I both experienced motion sickness on our last trip and we didn’t want to risk more of the same. We were, however, able to tour the boat while it was anchored at KH. The Explorer was every bit as beautiful as the pictures on the website. All the rooms were quite large for a boat, with king-sized beds and large picture windows. The highlight though was definitely the Explorer suite which was the size of a real hotel room, with a large closet, dressing area and windows across the entire bow of the boat and a private sundeck. All of the bathrooms were also very large and tastefully done with molded shower units and corian-like vanities.
The appearance of the boat certainly made us regret our decision to cancel, but even while anchored in the KH lagoon, we could still feel movement. Did it make us sick? No. But who knows how we would feel a couple of hours later? The best part about the Explorer is its ability to venture to the southern islands to dive with whale sharks and manta rays. For that, we might be willing to risk a little seasickness on our next visit.
Mar 25, 2007, 2:04 pm
#8
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: BHD/DUB
Programs: BA Gold, TK*G, EI Elite
Posts: 7,622
Mar 25, 2007, 3:16 pm
#9
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Stuttgart, Germany
Programs: Too many...and an Amanjunkie
Posts: 1,667
Excellent report as always, Ericka !! ^
Good to hear you made it back safe.
Currently CNN Intl., BBC World and Skynews are reporting a rebel attack in progress on CMB airport...
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/...257456,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6494121.stm
May have been a good decision not to go to the Sri Lankan Amans this time...
Good to hear you made it back safe.
Currently CNN Intl., BBC World and Skynews are reporting a rebel attack in progress on CMB airport...
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/...257456,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6494121.stm
May have been a good decision not to go to the Sri Lankan Amans this time...
Mar 25, 2007, 3:27 pm
#11
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Stuttgart, Germany
Programs: Too many...and an Amanjunkie
Posts: 1,667
The military airbase with fighter jets and helicopters is right on the northern part of CMB next to the main runway opposite of the civilian terminal.
http://maps.google.it/maps?f=q&hl=de...t=k&iwloc=addr
http://maps.google.it/maps?f=q&hl=de...t=k&iwloc=addr
Last edited by ngfan; Mar 25, 2007 at 3:33 pm
Mar 25, 2007, 3:45 pm
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: IAD/DCA
Posts: 31,797
The military airbase with fighter jets and helicopters is right on the northern part of CMB next to the main runway opposite of the civilian terminal.
http://maps.google.it/maps?f=q&hl=de...t=k&iwloc=addr
http://maps.google.it/maps?f=q&hl=de...t=k&iwloc=addr
thats good to know.
Mar 25, 2007, 3:54 pm
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Programs: UA1K, *G & Wife of UA1K MM
Posts: 3,432
So it appears the attacks happened at "A military base adjoining Sri Lanka's international airport"
I guess I'll have to monitor this story for a while...
Kagehitokiri - We didn't actually walk on the boardwalk that supported the water villas, but from the water and the air, they looked pretty close together. But they gave a better overall impression than at KH. At LG, they used a combination of coral-stone walls and some sort of bamboo or thatch walls to screen the main decks from one another. The lower swimming platforms were wide open. Meanwhile, the screening makes the view pretty much straight ahead.
I guess I'll have to monitor this story for a while...
Kagehitokiri - We didn't actually walk on the boardwalk that supported the water villas, but from the water and the air, they looked pretty close together. But they gave a better overall impression than at KH. At LG, they used a combination of coral-stone walls and some sort of bamboo or thatch walls to screen the main decks from one another. The lower swimming platforms were wide open. Meanwhile, the screening makes the view pretty much straight ahead.
Mar 25, 2007, 6:10 pm
#14
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Posts: 304
Thank you Ericka, wonderful report.
But i'm shocked at the theft at your stay at FS LG.
I cant beleive that anything could be taken from a safe at a four seasons. Its not that it was a small amount, it could have been more. I am absolutely shocked, I would never have thought that would happen at FS.
regardless of how much was taken, I would have been put off the resort by that and would have had a discussion with the manager.
thank you for a wonderful report.
But i'm shocked at the theft at your stay at FS LG.
I cant beleive that anything could be taken from a safe at a four seasons. Its not that it was a small amount, it could have been more. I am absolutely shocked, I would never have thought that would happen at FS.
regardless of how much was taken, I would have been put off the resort by that and would have had a discussion with the manager.
thank you for a wonderful report.
Mar 25, 2007, 7:26 pm
#15
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Portland OR Double Emerald (QF and AA), DL PM/MM, Starwood Plat
Posts: 19,589
It isn't unique to the FS. Most in-room hotel safes use technology that makes them trivially easy to open, hence they frequently have a disclaimer that they are provided as a courtesy only, with no liability by the hotel for their contents, and you should use the real hotel safe (by the front desk) for any valuables. FS is no different in this regard. But there is presumably pretty limited and controlled room access at most FS, particularly remote locations. The usual scam is to remove a couple of bills, and leave the rest, hoping that it will not be noticed but just attributed to a miscount. Very common to have a traveler cheque stolen from the back of the book (so it won't be missed for a while).