9th Anniversary Celebration - Maldives August 2011 Part III

Continued from Introduction and Male, Seaplane Transfer & Land/Seascape of Hilton Iru Fushi.

Accommodation - Beach Villa, Water Villa and Infinity Water Villa

As mentioned, we stayed two nights at a Beach Villa, and two nights at a Water Villa. There are other types of villas available which include private pool but we reckon it's not necessary when there is the sea and also two public pools on the island.

The Beach Villa is made up of two circular buildings, one big and one small, with a dome-shaped thatched roof. Each villa also comes with a private pavilion.

Our unit is not located next to the beach (unlike the above photo), we've got to go through a short hidden path before hitting the beach, which allows more privacy.

That's our private pavilion, which we didn't get to use at all, since weather wasn't very good during our stay in the beach villa. I believe it would be nice to laze around the pavilion which overlooks the beach and sea while enjoying a cuppa and good book.

A lounge area outside the villa, which we also didn't use.

The comfortable bed, which was heavenly.

Customised furniture to fit the unique circular structure of the villa. Full set of amenities are provided like mini bar (chargeable), drinking water (two free bottles a day), coffee and tea making facilities.

Another lounge area inside the villa itself which we made use most often.

Huge bathroom, with a jacuzzi bathtub and yet another lounge sofa. Haha, the idea here is to laze around wherever we are in the villa. The jacuzzi bathtub was great as it's deep and spacious :)

His and hers wash areas, no more fighting for space :p The indoor shower and toilet are located below both wash areas respectively.

A trolley of bath amenities. The toiletries supplied here are from Crabtree & Evelyn.

There's even an outdoor open-air shower area.

Wardrobe and dressing area, with access to the bathroom.

All in all, we were very satisfied with the Beach Villa, which was well-appointed and offered very luxurious space and facilities.

That said, we looked forward to our shift to the water villa on our third day, since it offers another different type of lodging experience. Nevertheless, the shift wasn't a pleasant one but fortunately turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

On the morning of the third day, we went diving and won't be back till after 1pm which was the check-out time for our beach villa (in order to check-in to our water villa). We requested for a late check-out of the beach villa but was turned down (due to full occupancy, which was bulls*** we thought). We had no choice but to check-out early in the morning, just before we went for our dives. The front office assured us that our water villa would be ready by 1pm, and that our luggage (which we packed and left in the beach villa) would be sent directly to the water villa by then too. Ok,we trusted them since this is supposed to be a basic service, yes?

So we happily went for our dives and was back by 12+pm, and we went for lunch first. By 1+pm, we were done and proceeded to the reception/front office to check-in for our water villa. We asked if our luggage was in the villa already and the staff said yes. Then a buggy was arranged to send us to our water villa.

To our dismay, our luggage were not in the villa :( The staff said they would check and send them immediately. So I took the opportunity to take photos of the villa while waiting.

There's a living room.

The king-size bed which opens to the balcony.

The signature "glass-hole" on the floor which peers into the sea.

A large bathtub overlooking the sea. I was already looking foward to my bath since I was all sticky and uncomfortable after the diving in the morning.

The bathroom was quite spacious with a sofa set.

The balcony, with lounge sofa.

Sunbathing deck chairs and seating area.

Platform and stairs which lead directly into the sea :)

20 mins past while I happily explored the villa and our luggage has still not arrived. So we called the reception and the staff told us that they were actually sent to the wrong villa and someone would be going to that villa to get them; and please give them another 15 mins. We were like huh??

In addition to our woes, the air-conditioning wasn't working properly and we requested the reception to send a staff to check as well. After waiting for another 15 mins, our luggage were still not here, neither were there any staff to check the air-con. We called the reception again, and the staff told us the guests were Chinese-speaking and they couldn't communicate??? They would send a staff to bring us to that villa to get back our luggage. By then we were exasperated as we were hot and sticky from the diving and malfunctioned air-con and nothing to change into. We waited for 10 mins but no staff came, so we took matters to our own hands and walked to the villa which was a few units away (we called the reception to ask) to ask. The guests told us our luggage were not there. They were quite helpful and told us, probably could check with their friends since they checked in as a group. So we walked under the hot sun to two other villas which were some distance away, and once again, no luggage! By then, we were fuming. I was getting flustered as we had a spa appointment in 30 mins' time, and we certainly had to bath and change before that.

I called the reception, blasted at the receptionist and demanded to see the General Manager of the resort. The call was somehow cut off and I called again. The receptionist gave some excuse that the GM was in a meeting. Then the front office manager took over and promised to look into the matter (of both the missing luggage and malfunctioning air-con). Finally after 10 more mins, our luggage arrived. We told the buggy to wait for us and hastily bathed/changed before heading to the spa, just in time.

BUT upon returned to the villa after the spa, we discovered that the air-con was still not working. Once again, we got worked up since the front office manager had promised that it would be fixed during the hour that we were away. Once again, we called the front office and the staff said they needed to check again. So we waited for 10 mins before a staff appeared who told us that the air-con was working! We were flabbergasted. I called the front office again and insisted on speaking to the GM. This time they said the GM was off-duty (WHAT?). I was like, ok whatever, and demanded a room change. The front office manager took over and said he would come to our villa with an engineer to check (yet again??). When he came in, both hubby and I blasted at him (for wasting so much of our time, losing our luggage, not fixing the air-con). He was apologetic and would make some arrangements in 15 mins' time, requested us to pack our luggage for the shift.

By then, both of us were exhausted and just wanted to settle into a new room quickly. 15 mins later, the front office manager came and brought us to the other wing of the water villas.

And to our pleasant surprise, upgraded us to the Infinity Water Villa. We were pacified by this act and decided not to raise the matter to the GM anymore since the front office manager was sincere in his apologies and had tried his best in service recovery.

So ok, here we were, at the Infinity Water Villa, the size was like two times that of the water villa.

Upon entrance to the villa is the mini-bar area, followed by the spacious living room.

This was where we lazed and watched DVD during the next day's stormy afternoon.

Next to the living room is the bedroom, separated by sliding doors.

And next the huge bathroom, with wardrobe and dressing area, toilet, two shower areas (open-air and sheltered), large jacuzzi bathtub and sofa.

Wow, I was certainly impressed by the size of the bathroom.

There's of course an infinity dip pool, which was actually not a bad idea. We would swim in the sea first, followed by a dip in the pool.

Seating area. Nice for refreshment or even dining if weather permits.

Pavillion with lounge sofas.

Deck chairs and platform leading directly into the sea.

While lazing around the deck in the last morning, I even spotted an eagle ray swimming past our villa :)

It was quite nice to soak in the infinity pool while admiring at the scenery. The sea did get choppy at times and took too much effort to swim.

Even managed to catch sunrise :) Well, the sun had already risen by the time we woke up, but still a beautiful sight nonetheless.

So there you have it, the three different types of lodging experience we had in Hilton Iru Fushi. Next up, will share some activities we did, as well as the food!