Review: Transfer from Park Hyatt Maldives to Male

Introduction
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300ER First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Resort & Park Villa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Water Villa
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200ER Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco

We were dragged kicking and screaming moved out of our water villa around noon and were drive over to our spa villa immediately adjacent to the spa pool where we had spent so much time during our stay.

The spa villa (Dhigga) was actually really nice and looked like a nice place to get a massage and relax for awhile.  There was an air conditioned room with two massage tables, and outdoor bathtub and covered sitting area, an outdoor shower, and an enclosed bathroom/shower.

Spa Villa Entrance

Spa Villa outdoor area

Spa Villa outdoor tub and shower

We dropped our stuff and headed to the pool to relax for the next 4 hours or so.  We had a late lunch as we knew we weren't going to be eating for awhile.  Around 5PM we made our way back to the spa villa to shower and change.  While Emily was finishing up, I headed over to the "office" to settle up.  Checkout was a breeze and we were both on the jetty ready for our 6PM departure to Kooddoo.

There were three other couples joining us.  None of them seemed very excited about the boat ride - at least not as excited as we were.  Our luggage was tagged at the end of the jetty and the boat crew asked us to verify that everything was there.  Certainly a nice touch - it would really suck if you left anything behind here.  We had 10 minutes or so before the boat left and spent the time chatting with the staff about the island, how they built the hotel, supply everything, etc...It was (as silly as this sounds) one of the highlights of the trip for me.  The island is really a special place and getting a bit of a glimpse into how they run the operation was pretty cool.

It was finally time to leave and we boarded the boat and settled in for what would be a pretty awesome sunset cruise.  As the boat backed away from the dock, the staff in attendance lined up (this is standard departure protocol I'm told) to waive goodbye.  While we were both VERY sad to leave this place we left smiling knowing that we'd be back.

Time to head home

The seas were calm and the sun was setting - what a way to head back to civilization.  We arrived at Kooddoo after 30 minutes or so and were escorted into one of the waiting buggies for the ride to the shack terminal.  The check-in process was pretty hilarious as this is a one-room airport.

Luggage trolleys

There was a language barrier so most of the communication was done through hand signals. Once everyone from our group was checked in, we went through "security" which consisted of us walking through the metal detector, getting scanned by the wand, and then being waived into the waiting room

Flying made simple

Our plane arrived maybe 20 minutes later.  Unfortunately we weren't able to get the "direct" flight to Male...instead we'd need to fly 30 minutes to Kaadedhdhoo where we'd drop off a few passengers, pick up a few, and then head out to Male.  This added an hour or so to the transit time - not ideal but it is what it is.  Sounds like most people end up with the 2 flight transit on the way home from the resort.

Our ride to Male

There were some amazing views of resorts/islands out the window during the flights but it was too dark to get any picture.  We landed at Male around 8:45 which gave us 40 minutes to get off the plane, grab our bags, walk over to the international terminal, and check-in before the baggage cutoff.  It was going to be tight.

We waited around 20 minutes for bags, grabbed a trolley and headed over to the international terminal.  I thought things were going to be tighter than they ended up being.  There was no security line to enter the building and we were able to walk right up to the Singapore Airlines counter with 15 minutes to spare before the cutoff.  Check-in was easy and with fast track immigration we were airside with an hour to kill before our flight to Singapore.

Our ride to Singapore

Final Thoughts:

There is no easy way to get to/from the Park Hyatt Maldives.  That is a big factor in either loving or hating the place.  It took nearly 12 hours to transit from Dubai and nearly 13 to Singapore.  The transfer involves a boat ride, a golf cart ride, 1-2 flights, and a decent walk with all of your luggage.  Not to mention a 3-5 hour flight.  But in my opinion, it is/was totally worth it.