(UPBEAT MUSIC)
The Vivanta by Taj Coral Reef in The Maldives is about as close as you can get to paradise
without remortgaging the house.
The staff all have customer service down to a tee, the food couldn’t be more varied
and the room is so nice, it’s the most fun I’ve had standing still.
If you’re thinking of staying at the Coral Reef, we will help you decide if this really
is the place for you, with some tips and tricks along the way.
Or, if you’re just interested in seeing what the all The Maldives fuss is about, then
stay with us.
We will be going through the sorts of things to expect in any Maldives holiday as well
as some money saving methods to get the most from your coinage.
This is Suitcase Monkey, on Vivanta by Taj, Coral Reef in The Maldives.
First, start with accommodation.
We questioned for months whether the upgrade cost from a Beach Villa to a Water Villa would
actually be worth it.
If ever you are browsing holidays in The Maldives, checking that box that says Water Villa can
often make for an eye watering increase.
But, for us, staying in the house on the stilts was a bucket list item and I’m please to
say it was worth it in the end.
Waking up in the morning and being able to sit here with this calm relaxing view was
a highlight of our stay.
One morning we had a Heron join us out of the blue, fish were constantly visible in
the water and there’s even a school of stingrays that swim passed around 6pm every single night.
Later in the evening, we would be treated to a sunset right in front of us and for the
most part, it all felt like a very private experience, despite having neighbours either
side of us.
The room itself was of a very high quality with lots of space for 2 people.
In the living room there are all the amenities you would hope for.
Moving into the bathroom, they have a really nice duel power shower.
They also had a large bath which of course had to be sampled, but only for the purpose
of this review.
An alternative option are the Beach Villas, located on the other side of the island.
From what I’ve seen from promotional footage and Vivantas website, internally they are
very similar, if not the same.
The beach in front is beautiful white sand and was always kept clean throughout our stay.
It was also great that we didn’t need any mosquito spray while we were there.
They gas the island with insect repellant twice a day to keep the bugs away.
Whether you stay in a water or beach villa, you can’t really make a wrong decision.
Overall, it’s how important the whole house on the stilts experience is for you.
But either way, you can be safe in the knowledge that you will not be disappointed with your
accommodation, since every aspect of our room was first class.
Whilst I wasn’t overwhelmed with the optional extras provided at Coral Reef, sometimes due
to their cost, there are many great option to break up your time here.
For free and being one of the highlights of the day, is the 5pm feeding of the stingrays.
A tradition 20 years in the making, you get the chance to feed the countless stingrays
as they swim up close and personal.
Some days, this would also include sharks and all other manner of creatures in a feeding
frenzy.
It was always followed by some light bites on the beach and was a nice time where everyone
on the island came together.
The package we had booked, which we will get into later in this video, included a sunset
cruise, which is normally a payable trip.
This involved an hour or so on a boat, watching the sun goes down.
Since we had the water villa, this didn’t really offer anything we hadn’t already
seen but it was nice to look at the island we’d been living on, from afar.
What we did love was the really high quality couples massage.
Complete with an elegant reception, dressing rooms and preparation areas, a massage is
usually on our to-do list and this definitely ranks amongst one of the best we’ve had
together.
As additional activities, these range from private dining to boat excursions, island
hopping, scuba diving, water sports, fishing, dolphin spotting and submarine tours.
If money is no object then there are definitely a couple of days worth of activity here to
mix up the relaxation.
Oh and there’s a free gym also.
With big weights and those exercise things.
We didn’t really use the gym, if I’m being honest but we probably should have, given
all the food we ate.
Anyway, the one activity we did take advantage of was snorkelling.
The snorkelling gear itself was free but oddly, you have to pay $8 per person, per day for
a life jacket, which was one of my only gripes about this resort.
It seemed a bit strange to charge people for wanting to keep safe, when the snorkelling
equipment itself was free.
But nevertheless, with the added benefit of our room backing into the sea, it became a
daily activity to grab the Go Pro and swim with the fishes.
Most of the time you are kept out of currents due to some rock breaks in the water so even
less confident swimmers shouldn’t have a problem.
The pool ticked all of its required boxes, along with a jacuzzi and infinity view.
But again, having our water villa, we mostly stuck to the sea for any bathing.
Lets get this out of the way first by saying that the food at Coral Reef is fantastic.
There is so much variety and quality presented, it’s often hard to imagine its all coming
from one kitchen.
There are 3 main restaurants.
There is Latitude which is the main location for breakfast and is also open for lunch and
dinner.
It looks right out onto the beach and is a perfect spot to enjoy the wildlife over a
morning coffee or evening dessert.
The second is Open the Grill, an al fresco restaurant, making a great alternative for
dinner under the stars.
During the day, it serves pizzas and at night, turns its attention to Central and South American
cuisine.
And finally, there is the Reef Bar.
Here, they serve lighter snacks and it’s more a place to relax with some refreshing
drinks.
There’s also some ping pong, and a pool table to test your skills.
One night here, over some cocktails, we also really enjoyed hearing a talented duo perform
an acoustic set.
(DUO PLAYING SLOW 'BILLIE JEAN')
Breakfast at the Latitude was for me, a holiday in and of itself.
We were staying as half board and were just overwhelmed with the options.
First, you are presented with an a la carte menu which you can order multiple dishes from.
Everything you are seeing here is from that menu and it changes daily.
It would go from French to Japanese, to English, to Mexican to local to Chinese to Indian to
Sri Lankan to American.
This was the nicest French toast i’ve ever had, look at the bounce on this, soaked in
cinnamon flavoured egg custard, with whipped cream and maple syrup…
And then, once that was over with, there was then the actual breakfast buffet itself.
I just don’t know what else to say apart from it was great.
And then for dinner, it was an ever changing menu of international flavours.
Again it was amazing how one team of chefs can master so many different cuisines.
The only thing I found hard to swallow was the $7 charged per bottle of water during
your meal.
Considering this is the same water as provided for free in your room, it feels a bit unnecessary.
The Maldives can often be seen as a once in a lifetime experience.
But even after keeping our eyes open for deals, we never quite found an offer that was justifiable.
So here’s how we did it and please comment below with any tips or suggestions you may
have.
These tips go for pretty much anywhere in The Maldives, not just the Coral Reef.
The first thing was deciding to go half board.
We had initially planned on going full board or all inclusive.
But especially when the breakfasts are so good and filling, we found that sharing a
pizza for lunch was more than enough.
We also aren’t big drinkers which meant that all inclusive wasn’t really beneficial
from that side either.
After emailing Vivanta, we found out that if we wanted to upgrade from half board to
all inclusive, it would be an extra $150 per person, per day.
And for us, we just couldn’t justify it.
Half board was therefore perfect for us.
If we had gone with breakfast only, it would have certainly been less value for money overall.
To give you an idea of the la carte prices, a pizza for lunch was 40 US dollars.
With drinks and service charge, that’s easily 50 dollars per head.
For a pizza, albeit a good one.
Now, given that everywhere in The Maldives is an island, there are certainly reasons
why costs are higher than normal, but the point is, its advisable to look at food packages
beforehand so costs are more easily managed.
There are then no surprises once you arrive and you can just enjoy the food and forget
about the price.
For ourselves being based in the UK, we often use a website called Secret Escape to book
our holidays, which I’ve linked to in the description.
This site offers luxury accommodation with some great discounts.
We were able to get a deal during March (which is one of the best months to visit The Maldives)
for around £1800 altogether.
This for was for 2 adults, over 4 nights in a water villa, at half board, including a
sunset cruise, a couples massage and a return boat transfer to the island.
We found this to be a really good deal.
We could have saved a few extra hundred pounds if we had opted for the beach villa but as
mentioned, the Water Villa was a must for us.
I’ve also linked below to Vivantas website to check official prices for yourself.
But be prepared to spend around $800 per room per night for a water villa during peak season
and $430 per night for a beach villa.
And those are both just with breakfast included.
So its always worth it to keeping an eye out for deals on third party websites.
The second thing we did for price is kind of a hack so bare with me while I explain.
We actually flew to the Maldives following a weeks holiday in Sri Lanka.
If we counted The Maldives costs as separate to what we spent in Sri Lanka, it did make
it a more reasonable price on a per country basis.
One reason for this, is that the one hour flight from Colombo is a comparatively cheap
add-on.
Two, it meant that staying for 4 nights became more appropriate.
Normally for a long haul destination, there’s an unofficial rule you want to stay long enough
to justify the flight time and cost to get there.
This post Sri Lanka excursion made 4 nights seem just right.
And 4 nights in the Maldives is a lot more affordable than 7 nights in the Maldives.
And finally, it acted as a great contrast to all the travelling and culture and activity
we had experienced in Sri Lanka.
If you are interested in this beautiful country, then please check out our full week exploring
Sri Lanka which I’ll link to in the video and description below.
If you’ve found this video useful, please give it a like since it really helps us spread
the word and is appreciated.
Do check out my other Maldives video, as well as our growing back catalogue of travel around the world.
Thanks for watching Suitcase Monkey.