Maldives

​Mario and I headed to Maldives for 5 days of paradise. With our 14th year anniversary happening in August, we decided to go on an early anniversary trip or the honeymoon we never had. Maldives make country 33  and adds a new continent to my list!

Our adventure started with us taking the local train to Stuttgart main train station. From there we took  the high speed train to Frankfurt main airport. We pre booked seats right next to the luggage cart, so we would have a place to put our luggage. Masks are required on all public transportation in Germany. We arrived in Frankfurt early in the evening and checked into our hotel. We would be staying at the Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Hotel and Conference Center which is located right off the train terminal and next to the airport. 

The next morning we headed to Maldives. We decided since our trip was about 15 hours with a layover we would book business class seats. Yes, they were pricey but worth every penny. We checked out and walked to the check in desk, which had no one waiting in the business lane . Prior to arriving I checked in online and completed the verify to flight. 72-48 hours before our flight I had to complete the traveler declaration application, which was needed to enter Maldives. This application asked for your personal information, passport information and then what countries you visited in the last 14 days and to upload a recent photo. Once it was accepted you received a QR code. This also needs to be done before you can leave Maldives too.
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After checking in, we headed to security and was able to take part in the business class line which had no one while economy had about 30 people. Once we cleared security we headed to the Lufthansa lounge which was part of our ticket. We enjoyed some breakfast and drinks.

From there we headed to our gate and boarded. We would be flying Etihad all the way to Maldives. Our first flight was from Frankfurt to Abu Dubai which was 6 hours and left at 11:20 am.  We enjoyed our business seats and food selection. When arriving we took a bus to the terminal and then had to go through security. We had a layover of 5.5 hours in Abu Dubai. We headed to the business class lounge which was right next to our gate. There was buffet and drinks.

Our second flight was a red eye flight leaving around 1am to Male which is the island the airport is on. This flight is a little over 4 hours and would be arriving the next day at 6:05am. Maldives is 3 hours ahead of Germany, so 9 hours from the east coast. We had dinner and tried to get some rest. After almost 20 hours of traveling we arrived in the Maldives. During this journey, masks were required on the planes and the airports, luckily we didn’t have to wear them in the Frankfurt airport. Before each flight a travel pray was sung in Arabic on the monitors.

After deplaning, we took a bus to the terminal. The bus was only for business class, there were other buses for economy. A girl could get used to this type of luxury. Once at the arrival hall, we got our passport stamp/visa which allowed us to stay for 30 days. Then we got our luggage and headed out. When exiting the baggage area, there were many people holding resort signs. We located ours, we would be staying at Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria on the island on Ithaafushi. The whole island is the resort. Our hotel greeters took us outside to wait for the yacht. Yes, you read right, a yacht! Instead of taking a seaplane we took a yacht, a private one at that since we were the only guests on it. We were greeted by the staff and we decided to sit on top and enjoy the views. The weather was sunny with a nice breeze. The yacht ride would be about 45mins. Along the way we saw dolphins swim by, didn’t have my camera ready to get any pictures.

Our resort offers different accommodations. There are 1-3 bedroom options. They have an over the water villa (100% over the water), reef villa (back over reef while front on land) and beach villa (access to your own private beach. There are bigger villas called  Stella Maris Ocean Villa not connected to land, so access by boat only. Then there is a private island which has 3 villas. This private island is the biggest in the Maldives. All villas have their own private pool. We chose the grand king reef villa because we got both the reef and land.

We were greeted by the staff and offered a cool towel and a welcome drink. We meet our personal concierge, Yunus, who would be available 24/7 simply by texting him on WhatsApp. We were given a quick tour of the island by golf cart.

hen we headed to breakfast. With our early arrival we opted for early check in. There are numerous restaurants at the resort but the Tasting Table is the only one that offers breakfast. It was a good size buffet. From there we checked in and were shown all the amenities our villa had to offer. Transportation is either by golf cart, walking or riding a bike. Each villa has bikes the guest can use. 

We rested a bit and then I headed into our private pool to take in the amazing day. Then I sat on the swing under the shade taking in the views while eating our welcome snack which was fruit, cookies and champagne, but I passed on the champagne. Then we walked around a bit and then headed to dinner. We ate at the Tasting Table, which is the same place we had breakfast. You access the menu buy taking a picture of the QR code on a wooden block. We booked the Live Unforgettable Package which includes half board which is breakfast and dinner but drinks aren’t included. Also includes the yacht transfer to and from the resort. For meals, we could eat dinner at the Tasting Table and it would be included on our package, but if we ate at any of the other restaurants we were given an amount that was covered anything above would be out of our pockets. It is important to make a reservation for dinner or any activities you wanted to do. The resort didn’t seem too busy, but it’s there rainy season. For dinner we had an appetizer, main courses and dessert which was part. Mario got the crispy jumbo prawn, soft shell crab burger and red velvet cake. I got a Caesar salad with chicken, rigatoni with wagyu beef bolognaise and raspberry sorbet for dinner. I also tried a fruit punch mocktail. After dinner we walked back to our villa taking in the starry night and then sat on our back porch taking in the evening breeze.

​The next morning, we woke up to amazing views from our villa. We were ready to explore the island on our first full day. We walked to breakfast, which is about a 5-10 minute walk. After breakfast, we rested and then walked one half of the island. We saw the pools, restaurants, spa and the other villas. On the way back a storm was rolling in, so we hurried back. 

We relaxed a bit and then decided to head to the resort pool for lunch. There are two pools and a kiddie area. At the pools there are two restaurants; Nava and The Ledge. We picked the Nava,  where we had pizza and tacos. We played a game of pool, Mario winning, since he has some pool playing skills. After lunch I swam in the Indian Ocean for a bit. Then walked back and swam in our pool and went snorkeling off our villa.

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Today marks two months until our 14th anniversary. We told the resort we were here for our anniversary. We needed to celebrate it early due to the fact that our real anniversary is in August when I’m back to work. We headed to dinner where they had set up a special romantic table for us.  We had  pan seared scallop and lobster bisque soup, Triple Decker Club Sandwich, Wagyu Beef Burger and red velvet cake and ice cream for dessert. Then headed back to the villa where we found the bed decorated, a bath made for me in the massive tub and an anniversary cake. This was all Mario doing… he continues to spoil me after all these years!  Right after we got home a storm hit and it rained hard for a bit, super glad we didn’t get caught in that.

Next day we woke up to windy and cloudy weather with storm clouds on the horizon. I got a quick bike ride in before breakfast. Then we walked to breakfast. From there we got ready for our 10:30 spa appointment. Mario booked us an Aqua therapy Bonding time which consisted of 60 minutes of aqua therapy and then 60 minutes massage. The hydrotherapy pool consists of different stations with water jets and water massagers focusing on different areas of your body. The station rotation ending with the hot tub. From there we changed for our couples massage which would be located in an overwater mini villa. The villa had a glass bottom which you could look at while getting your massage. It started with a foot massage/cleaning and then off to the massage bed, Wow, 60min full body massage.

​From there we went to The Ledge, which had a small lunch menu. We  had tacos,  cheeseburger and caesar lettuce wraps. One must remember some potions are super tiny but still expensive. The tacos were two small circles about the size of a Pringle and cost $10 and the bottle of water was $40. Since we weren’t satisfied we headed over to Nava which is where we had lunch yesterday and shared a pizza. We sat and enjoyed the views and watched the storms roll in and quickly pass. While talking with the restaurant manager, we learned that when  it’s windy the storms will pass quickly, it’s when there is no wind the storm will be slow. All the staff are super friendly and willing to help you in any way. Later we headed to dinner at the Tasting Table sitting on our usual spot. We got the crispy jumbo prawn, Caesar salad, Wagyu Beef steak with mashed potatoes, Triple Decker Club Sandwich with vanilla and strawberry ice cream for dessert.

Today was our last full day. We headed to breakfast and then walked the other half of the island. We relaxed around the villa waiting for the storm to pass. Then we went to Nava for lunch. Today we got nachos and cheese pizzas. We went swimming in the infinity pool. Then headed back to the villa to relax till dinner. We headed to dinner at the Tasting Table. We ordered what we got the previous night. We also spoke with Yunus, our personal concierge, finalizing our departure time for tomorrow. After dinner we walked back to our villa and sat on the balcony enjoying the ocean breeze.

We woke up to beautiful skies on our last day in paradise. These past couple days have been truly magical. We went to our last buffet and headed back to the villa. I decided to take a walk around the island but the incoming storm soon ended that hope. The storm soon passed opening to sunny skies. We spent the day relaxing around the villa, preparing for our overnight flights back to Germany. This trip was absolutely amazing and was worth every penny! Still pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

Since we opted for late check out we left our villa at 5:15pm and arranged a quick dinner at the Peacock Alley before our yacht ride back to the airport. The hotel staff helped us get thought the initial security and check. So glad we were business class, because the lines for economy were pretty long. Our first flight was at 8:20pm and would take us to Abu Dubai where we had a 2.5 hour layover there. At 2am, we boarded our final flight and head back to Frankfurt. We arrived the next morning at 7:50am. After collecting our luggage, we head to the high speed train which would take us back to Stuttgart. Another amazing trip in the books!