A Week at the Conrad Maldives

In 2017, my wife and I celebrated our honeymoon in the Maldives and it is a trip that we still fondly remember. Not only did it offer us infinite beauty in every direction, the hospitality of the Maldivian people left us humbled.

As our son was turning 1, we wanted to do something special for the grandparents, aunt and uncle - so we decided to splurge and booked 4 villas at the Conrad Maldives.

My wife and I spent a lot of time planning the trip over a period of 6 months and coordinated with the hotel in advance - not knowing if we were going to be able to go until a month prior - thanks to COVID spikes every few months.

After making dining, diving and spa reservations for each of the days we were there - the time came to finally pack our bags and head to the airport.

Upon landing at Male airport - we were greeted by the Conrad representatives and were escorted to the sea plane lounge. We were the first ones there and were offered cereal, coffee and some other pastries from the limited breakfast menu. We also spent some time finishing up all the resort paperwork for all the rooms to ensure that there was no billing confusion upon arriving at the resort.

Approximately 2 hours later, it was time to board the sea plane and fly to the resort. The sea plane flight from Male to pretty much any resort has to be the happiest flight on the planet - the excitement is palpable.

After 30 minutes, we landed at the resort and were immediately introduced to our island host - Shiraz. He introduced himself and mentioned that he would be in charge of all 4 villas. While we did reach before check in time, a beach villa was already prepared for us - before our complimentary upgraded villas were ready.

The beach villas are the base villas at the Conrad Maldives. However, our jaw still dropped when we walked in for the first time. There’s just something special about the Maldives.

After settling in, we ordered some lunch and a few minutes later, got word that our Grand Water Villa is ready and that they would deliver our meals to the new room. We packed our bags and took the buggy over to our new room. While the beach villa definitely led to dropped jaws, I’m fairly certain our jaws reached the floor when we saw our new home for the next week - it was absolutely incredible and huge! A living room, a separate bedroom, a large changing area / bathroom and a beautiful outdoor deck with an unparalleled view.

As the rest of the family slowly arrived, every was excited for the week ahead. During our stay, Shiraz, our host made sure that everyone was taken care of - that everyone got to their dining reservations and other appointments on time and that we were kept in the loop about special activities.

The first night, we were invited to the General Manager’s reception - which featured a cotton candy sunset with cocktails and canapés. Every night after that, we were at the free happy hour for elite members. While it was only for an hour, the drinks and cocktails were free-flowing into the 50% off happy hour. We made sure to attend each and every single one.

Every morning, we truly enjoyed our elaborate breakfast with fresh foods, juices and a large variety of food options.

Every sunset, we would spend some time in the hot tub and watch the sun set into the horizon - while dipping into liquor and beer bottles from the mini bar.

And every evening, we enjoyed delicious meals at each of the restaurants that the island had to offer.

On our second to last day, we had booked a boat to celebrate our son’s first birthday. Not only did the crew go above and beyond in terms of their effort - but in terms of their hospitality.

And on the very final evening, we moved to the Grand Beach Villa and were once again impressed as to how special every room at the property feels.

All in all, we flew back home incredibly thankful for the opportunity and cannot wait to return in the very near future. This truly was the trip of a lifetime - we enjoyed every sunrise, we had fun on every dive, we ate some incredible meals and enjoyed the company of everyone close to us after a long time.

A huge and humble thanks to Shiraz and the entire Conrad Maldives team for truly making this one of the most memorable trips we’ve ever taken.

Cancun - Hyatt Ziva All Inclusive Review

I’ll be the first one to admit - I was not a huge fan of all inclusive resorts. They felt like vacations in a box. But, after our trip to Cancun - I can admit that my opinion of all inclusive resorts has completely changed.

My wife, son and I flew down to Cancun from Newark this past weekend. Our goal was to take celebrate our honeymoon in the sun, before the harsh reality of winter came knocking on our doorstep. The flights were relatively inexpensive as was the hotel.

Upon landing, we got in our rental car and drove 30 minutes to the resort. Unfortunately, our suite wasn’t ready just yet - but the hotel was kind enough to provide us with a complimentary room so that our son could take a nap. A short while later - we got a message indicating that our suite was ready and that someone would be along shortly to move our bags.

As soon as we got to our suite - we were in awe. The hotel had decorated our suite and even had a bottle of champagne, a small dessert and balloons in the bedroom. This trip took a whole new turn.

For the 3 days that we were there, we had one of the most relaxing weekends that we’ve had in a very long time - it was heavenly to not carry around a wallet everywhere. Everything was included - including alcohol and room service. We dined at a handful of hotel restaurants - including the dedicated dessert one and had drinks the entire day - starting at breakfast to the swim up pool bar.

We didn’t need to leave the hotel once and the staff was amazingly accommodating to various food allergies. They even accommodated the various custom requests that we had for our son’s food prep and it was correct every single time - truly - a huge accomplishment given the scale of the operations.

We spent our days in the pool and on the beach just spending time together.

For some reason, the simplicity of it all just made it an incredibly relaxing experience and I can’t wait to visit again and try some of the other all inclusive properties.

Maui 2021 - Hawai and COVID-19

Maui sunset

Hawaii and in particular, Maui is one of my favorite places to travel in the world. It used to be an annual pilgrimage. The food, the culture, the raw beauty of the islands are inspirational.

We booked Hawaii as our first big family trip after the vaccines were being rolled out and booked the trip nearly 8 months in advance. At that time, the hotels, the flights and even my favorite restaurant - Mama’s Fish House - were quite affordable and easy to book.

Hawaii also dropped its testing requirement right after the July 4th holiday. With that and our vaccine cards, we uploaded all our information into the Safe Hawaii portal and left New York. It was our son’s first ever commercial flight and we were excited to start taking him around the country with us.

The flight to Maui was relatively uneventful and only when we landed in Maui did we realize how many people were on the island. Everyone has heard of stories of car rental companies being sold out - and while that is no longer the case - Maui airport was absolutely packed.

After grabbing our car, we drove to Andaz Maui and everything seemed well and good as we put our son down to sleep and enjoyed dinner on the little balcony while enjoying the live music.

The next day is when the craziness started:

• The wait for breakfast - at our own hotel was upwards of an hour on some days.

• The wait for takeout - regardless of meal - was nearly 90 minutes every single day.

• We couldn’t get dining reservations at our own hotel’s restaurants for the entire duration of our 9 day stay.

• The pool chairs were all reserved by squatters by 6am.

• In order to use the hotel cabana (which costs $300 - $500), we had to make reservations a few days in advance.

• Mama’s Fish House - the restaurant that we made our reservations for nearly 6 months before the trip with relative ease had no reservations left until February of 2022.

• Every park, beach, outdoor activity was overflowing with visitors.

And worst of all - during our flight back from Maui to New York - the security line started at baggage claim - causing a lot of people to miss their flights. And the staff at Kahului Airport - possibly the least helpful and unaccommodating to visitors.

As much as I love Hawaii and look forward to visiting again - it certainly will not be in the near future. From the hostility of the locals to the overcrowding - it is simply not worth it.

We booked Hawaii as our first big family trip after the vaccines were being rolled out and booked the trip nearly 8 months in advance. At that time, the hotels, the flights and even my favorite restaurant - Mama’s Fish House - were quite affordable and easy to book.

Hawaii also dropped its testing requirement right after the July 4th holiday. With that and our vaccine cards, we uploaded all our information into the Safe Hawaii portal and left New York. It was our son’s first ever commercial flight and we were excited to start taking him around the country with us.

The flight to Maui was relatively uneventful and only when we landed in Maui did we realize how many people were on the island. Everyone has heard of stories of car rental companies being sold out - and while that is no longer the case - Maui airport was absolutely packed.

After grabbing our car, we drove to Andaz Maui and everything seemed well and good as we put our son down to sleep and enjoyed dinner on the little balcony while enjoying the live music.

The next day is when the craziness started:

• The wait for breakfast - at our own hotel was upwards of an hour on some days.

• The wait for takeout - regardless of meal - was nearly 90 minutes every single day.

• We couldn’t get dining reservations at our own hotel’s restaurants for the entire duration of our 9 day stay.

• The pool chairs were all reserved by squatters by 6am.

• In order to use the hotel cabana (which costs $300 - $500), we had to make reservations a few days in advance.

• Mama’s Fish House - the restaurant that we made our reservations for nearly 6 months before the trip with relative ease had no reservations left until February of 2022.

• Every park, beach, outdoor activity was overflowing with visitors.

And worst of all - during our flight back from Maui to New York - the security line started at baggage claim - causing a lot of people to miss their flights. And the staff at Kahului Airport - possibly the least helpful and unaccommodating to visitors.

As much as I love Hawaii and look forward to visiting again - it certainly will not be in the near future. From the hostility of the locals to the overcrowding - it is simply not worth it.

Andaz Maui

We booked Hawaii as our first big family trip after the vaccines were being rolled out and booked the trip nearly 8 months in advance. At that time, the hotels, the flights and even my favorite restaurant - Mama’s Fish House - were quite affordable and easy to book.

Early morning paddle

Hawaii also dropped its testing requirement right after the July 4th holiday. With that and our vaccine cards, we uploaded all our information into the Safe Hawaii portal and left New York. It was our son’s first ever commercial flight and we were excited to start taking him around the country with us.

The flight to Maui was relatively uneventful and only when we landed in Maui did we realize how many people were on the island. Everyone has heard of stories of car rental companies being sold out - and while that is no longer the case - Maui airport was absolutely packed.

After grabbing our car, we drove to Andaz Maui and everything seemed well and good as we put our son down to sleep and enjoyed dinner on the little balcony while enjoying the live music.

The next day is when the craziness started:

• The wait for breakfast - at our own hotel was upwards of an hour on some days.

• The wait for takeout - regardless of meal - was nearly 90 minutes every single day.

• We couldn’t get dining reservations at our own hotel’s restaurants for the entire duration of our 9 day stay.

• The pool chairs were all reserved by squatters by 6am.

• In order to use the hotel cabana (which costs $300 - $500), we had to make reservations a few days in advance.

• Mama’s Fish House - the restaurant that we made our reservations for nearly 6 months before the trip with relative ease had no reservations left until February of 2022.

• Every park, beach, outdoor activity was overflowing with visitors.

And worst of all - during our flight back from Maui to New York - the security line started at baggage claim - causing a lot of people to miss their flights. And the staff at Kahului Airport - possibly the least helpful and unaccommodating to visitors.

As much as I love Hawaii and look forward to visiting again - it certainly will not be in the near future. From the hostility of the locals to the overcrowding - it is simply not worth it.

NYC Skyline at Night

I’ve had the privilege of flying on a lot of photo flights, but doing it over New York at night has to be one my absolute favorite experiences. Definitely worth the price of admission - and a significantly better option than flying with the heavily marketed tour companies.

Quarantined Summer

I love summer. The random weekend getaways and the extra hours of daylight make it one of my favorite seasons of the year.

Unfortunately, 2020 has been incredibly different. In New Jersey, we started our summer as the lockdown was ending. We made as many socially-distant outdoor plans as possible - from boat rides to beach trips.

It has been a unique summer and I’m certainly glad we got to explore our own backyard. Here’s a quick glance of our quarantine summer: