Maldives Honeymoon

We decided on the Maldives for our honeymoon and stayed on Rangali Island in the South Ari Atoll. The Hilton hotel will soon be converted into a Conrad, the posh-est of the Hilton family. So book your stay there soon before they increase their rates later in 2007.
We flew direct from Heathrow to Male on Sri Lankan which was great. Then we were escorted to the Hilton resting area near the airport on Male (the capital), where we were greeted with air conditioning, drinks and a massage while we waited for our sea plane. The taxi ride to Rangali Island takes 30 minutes and the views are amazing.
Arriving at the hotel we felt like we were in a paradise, miles from the real world. We stayed in a deluxe ocean villa which was huge, private and beautiful. (room 235) The private plunge pool was nice to jump in after a swim in the ocean. The outdoor shower was amazing, the bath area too.
This hotel has a number of restaurants. We went half board so that our breakfast was included. You have two choices for breakfast, the main buffet or the spa restaurant called Mandhoo. Go to Mandhoo, it's nice to sit on the water for breakfast and the food is generally better.
The Arabian night didn't seem to be very appealing to us as the restaurant is above the shops, but it turned out to be a great place to eat and relax. The food is buffet style but a nice selection of lebanese / arabic foods. At the end of the night we shared a shisha with friends we met in the restaurant.
As a honeymoon gift the hotel took us on a sunset cruise to the exterior of the atoll and beyond, where we were able to see many dolphins.
We snorkeled 3 times per day, went scuba diving, went on a sunset cruise and ate at the underwater restaurant.

Top Tips for Hilton Maldives:

1. Bring only flip flops or flat shoes ladies. Sand is everywhere and heels don't work.
2. Bring LOTS of sun cream, it's very expensive on the island and you would be surprised at how many bottles you can go through in just 1 week.
3. Bring a diveskin or something to wear snorkeling in the water, you look strange but we saw a lot of sunburned bodies.
4. Don't stay in villa's by the pier where they load/unload the garbage at night and make noise. The beach is eroded away on this side too.
5. The underwater restaurant is over-rated but if you are there you must try it. They chum the water before dinner begins so you get around 20 minutes of sting ray's and eels swimming freely around the glass. After that it's like sitting inside an aquarium.
6. If staying on half board you can eat breakfast at the buffet or out at Mandhoo on the water. Go to Mandhoo, it's better scenery, better food, nicer all together.
7. I read some other complaints about kids making too much noise at the pool. We did not visit the pool once, we stayed on the other side of the island in beach chairs relaxing, reading books, and snorkeling all day. Once or twice a day a man goes by and you can buy cold drinks.
8. This is a scuba divers paradise, and worth bringing underwater casing for your digital camera. Diving is not required, but it's worth trying out. You can see Eels, Sting Ray, lionfish, sharks, puffer fish, pipefish, etc just snorkeling. The benefit of diving obviously is that you can get closer to things.
9. The Hilton has two excellent house reefs to snorkel on.