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Good value Maldives deal
Luxury Escapes has another good deal on the Maldives with the Mercure Maldives Kooddoo Resort which is a 60-minute domestic flight from Malé and gets an impressive 5/5 on Tripavisor.
If you look at pricing on other sites, it may not look like it is much cheaper, but the deal is all-inclusive, which is not priced within the other deals I have looked at. You are, in effect, a captive audience in a Maldives hotel, and the country is strict on the ban on importing alcohol, so your best option is usually to be all-inclusive. However, it is always worth checking priced for your exact dates on other websites too. The prices for the basic room start at £2299 for 5 nights in a beach villa.
The deal is available most of the year except peak season between January-April 2025. There is a choice of room types from the basic beach villa to an overwater bungalow.
Here is what is included for two adults per room:
- Roundtrip domestic flight transfers to and from Malé
- Daily buffet breakfast at Alita Restaurant
- Daily lunch at Alita Restaurant or Vista
- Nightly dinner at Alita Restaurant or Vista
- All-inclusive daily free-flow premium drinks
- Daily snacks at Pool Bar and Vista
- Daily bucket of beers and minibar replenishment
- Arrival airport lounge service in Malé with drinks and snacks
- Choice of one activity per person
- Choice of one excursion per person
- Daily recreational activities, including watersports equipment hire
- Green tax included
Choose between the following excursions:
- sunset fishing
- 50% discount on a sandbank excursion
- snorkelling adventure
You’ll also enjoy one fun-filled activity, picking between:
- A 15-minute fun tube ride
- Tank dive
- Champagne and canapes for two (counts as two activities)
- A one-time 30% discount on massages at Suvadiva Spa
Manchester’s reimagined private terminal to escape the madness
Manchester has to be one of my least favorite airports in the world, which I actively avoid thanks to the poor BA lounge and overzealous and poorly trained security staff. However, I have never tried their private terminal which was called PremiAir. This is now due to be relaunched and could perhaps persuade me to give it another try.
The private terminal has not reopened since the pandemic, and it has now been announced that it will relaunch on 4 November with a new name “Aether”. I think PremiAir was more fitting personally.
The building is located next to Runway Park to the south of the terminals and will offer a BMW chauffeur service from the private terminal to the gates, as well as a menu created by local award-winning chef Adam Reid.
You can use the terminal with the following airlines:
- British Airways
- Brussels Airlines
- Cathay Pacific
- Emirates
- Hainan Airlines
- Turkish Airlines
- SAS (Scandinavian Airlines)
- Virgin Atlantic
I think the cost is not bad for the lack of hassle. I’d be inclined to go economy on a short haul flight rather than business class to save the money to try it out. The only option, which includes checked luggage, is a little pricey, but I guess you could just drop the bags off yourself first.
If you are connecting, you can use the service with the Inclusive options, and you will be chauffeured from the aircraft to the private terminal building with private passport control and checked luggage transferred.
Express Pass: (Departure only)
- Price: Starts at £90 per person (hand luggage only)
- Includes: Light refreshments
- Arrival window: Up to 75 minutes before departure (must arrive at least 60 minutes before)
Lounge Access:
- Price: Starts at £150 per person (hand luggage only)
- Includes: Full a la carte dining experience
- Arrival window: Up to 3 hours before departure (must arrive at least 60 minutes before)
Lounge Access (Checked Bags):
- Price: Starts at £170 per person (checked luggage included)
- Includes: Full a la carte dining experience
- Arrival window: Up to 3 hours before departure (must arrive at least 120 minutes before)
Booking will open on 6 June but you can register for the waitlist now by visiting the official website: experienceaether.com.
Dior spa finally opens at Doha’s Hamad International Airport
When Qatar opened their new lounges last year, we were told that there would be a Qatar-branded spa and a Dior spa to open, which I have been waiting to see. Last week, the Dior spa finally opened, and it’s the brand’s first-ever spa located within an airport. The spa is similar to the Louis Vuitton cafe in that it is by the lounge but can be accessed from outside the lounge.
The spa is situated near the airport’s indoor tropical garden, “The Orchard,” and is an impressive 800 square meters (over 8,600 square feet) spread across two levels, making it the largest spa under the Dior brand globally.
The spa has the first Dior treatment area for men, featuring a bespoke barber service. It also has a couple of suite, The Constellation, which has a double suite, a private hammam, and a jacuzzi, as well as two treatment beds. Other highlights include a rose quartz bed and a range of 15-30 minute add-ons including LED therapy and foot massage.
You can find more details on the Dior website here.
5 comments
Your comments about the Manchester ground staff are outdated. We have had a number of very positive experiences and interaction over the last 12 months. Maybe it is “time you revisited”
Agree with this – a typical view from people in easy distance of LHR. The new terminal 2 is looking good and I’m sure will be a great facility when fully open next year. It is has been a major infrastructure project – heavily disrupted by Covid, which clearly has a knock on impact on the dated T1 (set for closure) and unpleasant T3 (set to be a low cost terminal).
I’ve done a few flights through T2 and found friendly staff, efficient journey through security, reasonable lounges and smooth arrival home.
Criticising MAN for the service BA provide to its customers seems unduly harsh – even this should also improve post T2 move with new lounge facilities
I’m with Michelle on this.
No BA-branded lounge at all now, and you’re told to go and sit in the corner of whatever crappy 3rd party lounge they use.
And yes, security is absolutely the most over-zealous and inefficient of anywhere I’ve flown from. An empty bag will get pulled from the conveyor here.
Be careful with Mercure Kooddoo as it has an airport on the same island!!! It is not quite the small island experience. It is a lovely resort but you cannot walk around the whole island due to the airport taking up so much area and their will be some noise from the 5-10 flights per day (not exactly Heathrow busy!) One advantage though is that the transfers don’t involve a speedboat as the ATR turboprop planes land on the runway next to the resort!!!
As an aviation geek I like the sound of it! Thanks for the update Kevin.
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