Maldives Money Saving

Chomeur

Going to the Maldives for a week in November and have had the hotel email me its menu lists. The main courses are not too bad (e.g. $25 for chicken tandoori) but the starters and desserts are ridiculous (e.g. $25 for yoghurt and fruit cake). So, while I wouldn't normally be this tight, it seems it's got to be worth taking as much food as possible ourselves. So maybe dried fruit and nuts, cup-a-soups, cheese, bread. Anything else? I guess chocolate would probably have melted before we had a chance to get it in a fridge and it's not worth the risk of trying to take alcohol in. Any other thoughts?

HXDave

do the hotel do an all inclusive option? eating & drinking in the maldives can be very expensive as the majority of things have to be imported, due to the nature of the islands.

an AI upgrade might seem expensive to start with, however i'm sure it will work out cheaper in the long run - depending which hotel you are in.

Regards.

Chomeur

HXDave wrote: »

do the hotel do an all inclusive option? eating & drinking in the maldives can be very expensive as the majority of things have to be imported, due to the nature of the islands.

an AI upgrade might seem expensive to start with, however i'm sure it will work out cheaper in the long run - depending which hotel you are in.

Regards.

We thought about that but we weren't convinced it would be. AI is an extra £600 each - almost £100 a day! It seems as if it ought to be possible to spend about £30 each for dinner each night, eat a big breakfast every day, and bring food with us to cover the rest.

Moonchild

Chomeur wrote: »

We thought about that but we weren't convinced it would be. AI is an extra £600 each - almost £100 a day! It seems as if it ought to be possible to spend about £30 each for dinner each night, eat a big breakfast every day, and bring food with us to cover the rest.

I presume all-inclusive includes drinks / alcohol? If so, i'd say that's not a bad deal.

I got stung for over £16 for a rum and coke (single).

dmg24

Moonchild wrote: »

I presume all-inclusive includes drinks / alcohol? If so, i'd say that's not a bad deal.

I got stung for over £16 for a rum and coke (single).

It is a good deal if you drink alcohol.

OP, do you drink a lot? Do you need a starter and dessert everyday? Remember it will be hot, which tends to stop me eating a great deal.

Moonchild

dmg24 wrote: »

It is a good deal if you drink alcohol.

OP, do you drink a lot? Do you need a starter and dessert everyday? Remember it will be hot, which tends to stop me eating a great deal.

Maybe I was reading too much into

it's not worth the risk of trying to take alcohol in

, but yes you are right.

Another thing to take into account is that the menu's you have from the hotel probably exclude service & taxes which in other countries could add 21% to the cost of ordering a la carte (do check that though - as that might not be true).

Whereas the a/i option is probably fully inclusive.

Just might narrow the gap a bit more between the two options.

Chomeur

dmg24 wrote: »

It is a good deal if you drink alcohol.

OP, do you drink a lot? Do you need a starter and dessert everyday? Remember it will be hot, which tends to stop me eating a great deal.

A couple of beers an evening should do me and they're $6 each, similar to London bar prices. In the heat I eat less too - I can get away without eating lunch.

Chomeur

Moonchild wrote: »

Another thing to take into account is that the menu's you have from the hotel probably exclude service & taxes which in other countries could add 21% to the cost of ordering a la carte (do check that though - as that might not be true).

Whereas the a/i option is probably fully inclusive.

Just might narrow the gap a bit more between the two options.

Menus I've been sent do include tax and service charge.

Pollycat

Do you really want to do what would be, to most people, a dream holiday 'on the cheap' by sitting in your room having a cup-a-soup or making cheese sandwiches?

If it's not outside your budget, I'd seriously consider the AI option.

Chomeur wrote: »

A couple of beers an evening should do me and they're $6 each, similar to London bar prices. In the heat I eat less too - I can get away without eating lunch.

Although you say a couple of beers should "do you", going AI would mean that you could (probably) have cocktails (non-alcoholic, if that's what you prefer) watching the sun going down and not have to worry about how much things cost.

It would be awful if you got home and your holiday memories were spoiled by self-enforced penny-pinching.

Just my opinion, really.

KimmyCustard

Friends of ours did the bed and breakfast thing in the Maldives and their bill was £1000 mark for two weeks! They didnt drink an awful lot of alcohol as its so hot there but it was an extra £1000 to pay on top of the price of their holiday. We went for the AI in the Maldives and am v glad we did, our hotel was only 3* but it was over £15 for one cocktail, had we been paying for it.

Or buy a travel kettle and a week of Pot Noodles??!

Chomeur

OK, maybe Pot Noodles and cup-a-soups would be a bit ridiculous but I still think lots of nice snacks like pistachios nuts, good cheese and bread sticks make sense given the high prices. I prefer beer to cocktails, and will be diving so don't want to drink that much. So still not inclined to go AI.