Maldives: Sea Planes, Sunsets, and Tropical Drinks

This post is the first glimpse into how amazing the Viceroy company treats their guests (especially the Viceroy Maldives!). As I mentioned in my first Maldives post, I truly believe the amazingness of our trip was heavily reliant on our choice of resort.

Getting off the plane from Abu Dhabi, things were pretty hectic. We went through customs, got our luggage, and then began to navigate our way through the airport. We followed an equally confused crowd of arrivals down an escalator and stopped at the bottom, looking around at people rushing this way and that trying to find where they were supposed to be going. 

Then, the crowd parted and a man in a Viceroy uniform approached Chris with his hand out and said 'Hello Mr. Galis! Welcome to the Maldives! I will be taking your bags and guiding you to your seaplane, follow me.' WOW. Feeling pretty much like celebrities, we tried to hide our surprise and smiles as we parted the now staring and still flustered crowd around us. 

Talk about a great start to the trip! we avoided what definitely could have been a huge headache and a possible missed flight. After he took our bags, we took a private car to the seaplane airport (as people waited for taxis). We watched as our helpful guide walked right past the long line for the ticket counter and collected our tickets in seconds. Next, we walked into the waiting area that had no breeze in the hot and humid climate, was overcrowded, and honestly everyone already waiting there looked a little miserable. 

Thankfully we were guided to the Viceroy's large, private waiting lounge that was air-conditioned, stocked with appetizers and pastries, flat screen TVs, plush couches and seating, and made-to-order Nespresso coffee. There was only one other private lounge (for the Four Seasons resort) out of hundreds of islands and resorts that reside in the Maldives. Again, so very happy with our choice!

I looked at Christopher in amazement and asked if he knew all of this special treatment was going to happen. He said he knew the Viceroy would treat us really well, but he didn't know it would be that over-the-top amazing. We couldn't help but think- if this is how they treat us before we even make it to the resort, then we might be in for the vacation of our lives!

We said thank you to our amazing guides and Viceroy staff, and headed to our seaplane!

After two stops at other resorts along the way, we were the only ones left on the plane as we headed for our island. This was partially what appealed to Chris when choosing the Viceroy, because you avoid the loud noise of seaplanes flying over your island all day long during your stay. 

It's illegal to fly a seaplane after sunset, due to no visibility, so our pilots landed us at a neighboring resort. We were greeted and welcomed by the staff, who let us order anything we wanted on the house (!!!). We sipped on our tropical drinks as we watched the beautiful sun set over paradise, completely relaxed while we waited for a private boat to pick us up and take us to the Viceroy. 

After the short boat ride to our island, the welcoming crew at the Viceroy introduced themselves and apologized over and over again for the inconvenience of our seaplane not making it to the resort before sunset. We kept assuring them it was completely fine, we were quite happy with our little detour and boat ride!

Nonetheless, when we arrived in our room to complimentary desserts and champagne, we were again surprised to have a staff member call and ask us if we'd like to order room-serviced dinner on the house to make up for the seaplane snafu. Blown away by their kindness and attention to detail, it was official that we had picked the best resort in the Maldives.

What's your dream vacation?!

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