Maldives

 After spending time in Singapore, hopped onto my Singapore Airlines to Male. Upon landing into Male, my group had to wait a few hours for the interisland transfer on Trans Maldivian Airways. Our flight carried passengers to the Le Meridien Maldives and another hotel an island over. I think there was some important folks on the flight as the welcome party from the hotel was out in force and clearly welcoming these two individuals. It was nice to see a welcome party reminiscent of Fantasy Island. There was a front desk agent waiting with a cart to which my group to the lobby for check in.

After a brief discussion of the facility and opting into the all-inclusive dining option, I was able to get a look at my overwater villa for the week. As standard in many overwater villas, you have the all-important deck leading into the ocean. In addition, the tub/shower room has direct access to the deck making it useful when you're coming in from the ocean and need to rinse. I did make it a point to take a bath during sunset and catch the views.

Sunset view at Le Meridien Maldives

The villa didn't have a good view of either sunrise or sunsets but it was still nice to look.

Le Meridien Maldives Overwater King Villa

Le Meridien Maldives Deck

Le Meridien Maldives Shower and Tub 

In the Maldives, you don't have any option but the resort dining venues and the area around. On this trip, I ate at all the dining venues because of the all-inclusive dining option. I didn't explore the little island as much as some of my peers as I discovered later that there was a small soccer field for the hotel staff. As the hotel is still in the soft opening stage, the entire island isn't fully operational with half the rooms are still under construction or dark.

From a snorkeling perspective, the water has very strong currents and I've seen some hotel guests struggle to stay in the reef area. Ultimately, I found it easier to book the houseboat for a snorkeling tour. The guide was very accommodating and very few guests booked 8 am rides. Ironically, the best time to snorkel is not a popular time with most of the guests at the hotel.

Manta rays are common

The hotel also offers free access to standup paddle boards and I spent an afternoon tooling around the bay (boundary established by the overwater villas on one side and the seaplane and boat docks on the other side).

Le Meridien Maldives Bay Beach

I also opted in for a massage and pedicure at the local spa. The massage was nice but I've had better pedicures.

If you do not drink, the all-inclusive is not really necessary and you could be satisfied paying a la carte. Since I did have the all-inclusive dining, I went as far as I could for both eating and drinking. In general, I was able to access all the eating establishments I wanted except for Wednesday. One of the restaurants shuts down for the day mid-week which makes the other dining venues more crowded. You are supposed to make reservations of when and where you want to eat, I think as a reaction from COVID as well as their limited offerings and reduced occupancy. I did enjoy the buffet option for breakfast at Turquoise and they do offer a limited menu of food off the buffet offerings. The menu does rotate to make it interesting so you're not eating the same thing every day. 

Turquoise Buffet Stations

Velaa Bar & Grill is the second bar on the island able to make mix drinks. The menu is closer to a traditional western restaurant with a heavy emphasis on grilled meats. It's a nice choice if you want something heartier in your diet.

Tabemasu is the Japanese restaurant serving traditional Japanese food and sushi. Overall, it was good quality and easy to enjoy. There is a preset menu option for those on the all-inclusive plan. 

Riviera is the pool bar option. I did like eating here often in the afternoon for lunch. There is no attached kitchen, so the food is brought in from somewhere else. 

Latitude is the afternoon tea/coffee lounge. Next to Tabemasu, Latitude has enclosed air conditioning. Like Riviera, there is no attached kitchen. It is just a casual lounge to eat and you can order from a phone in the room.

The other benefit of the all-inclusive dining option is that everything in the room's minibar is included but you have to consume all the alcohol before it is replenished.

At the end of this trip, I had an extensive amount of time in airport lounges at Male Airport, Changi Airport, and Haneda airports. Due to the travel changes, I had to 12 hour layovers at Changi and Haneda airports.

At Male airport, I stayed at the priority pass lounge which has limited signage. The folks from TMA try very hard to get you to pay them to be your porters. After shaking off the people, I was able to find the lounge and spend a few hours to snack and drink. It is a basic lounge but better than hanging out in the open-air food court. 

Male Airport Priority Pass Lounge

At Changi airport, I booked a few hours at the Ambassador Hotel. The hotel also operates a priority pass lounge next to the lobby. After spending hours at Male as well as flying redeye, I thought it would be nice to have a few hours. The time I booked must have been after everyone generally stays at the Ambassador as I saw alot of rooms getting cleaned when I walked in. In addition, my king room because a four bed family room suite. I didn't mind as there was a computer desk in an alcove to work while my partner rested. As I was not as tired, I did walk around the airport shopping for toiletries and gifts. After the time expired at the hotel, I went to the Singapore airport lounge. Due to COVID, there is some lounges not opened and Singapore had closed their first-class lounge which made the regular lounge more crowded.

At Haneda airport, I had an ungodly number of hours as there were many flights out of Japan being canceled due to COVID. Unfortunately, there were few things open inside the airport because of the lack of foreign travel. It was odd to see such a large airport virtually empty. Luckily, the ANA lounge was open and being a United Premier member, I had a first-hand account of the ebbs and flow of the lounge activity in Haneda. The lounge was virtually empty during the mid-day hours. The busy times were early morning and evening. Had I known, I would not have rushed to the showers and waited for people to leave and enjoy unlimited time in the showers (you're only supposed to use the facility for 30 minutes). I was excited to get my ANA curry and karaage! After failing to get some on my last Japan trip, I had an unlimited supply during this layover. I also discovered that there is a Suntory whiskey (world whiskey) only available in DFS shops and bought a few bottles to bring home. Definitely something to seek if you are flying through Japan.

I did some damage at the duty-free shops with the Japanese kit kats!