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Original poster

I worked in luxury resorts in Bermuda & the Maldives......

28 replies

PeachQueen · 17/08/2018 09:10

May or may not be of interest to anyone....but bored so thought I would give it a go!

I was in Bermuda for a year and the Maldives 18 months...ama!

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ShirleyPhallus · 17/08/2018 09:13

Did you ever shag Richard Branson?

S0dabread · 17/08/2018 09:17

What kind of people visited. Did they bring many staff with them ? How much would you pay for a week ? Best bits and worst ?

Original poster
PeachQueen · 17/08/2018 09:22

@ShirleyPhallus

Ha ha - as far as I am aware he never visited :)

@SOdabread

In Bermuda mostly New Yorkers/Americans (2hr flight for most) but also lots of English and people that had been visiting the resort for years. Quite a few Celebrities too.

Maldives was lots of guests from Australia and Europe. We had quite a few families with Nanny's in tow and one came with own hairdresser. But we provided a lot of the services they would normally require, or could get hold of it for them.

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Original poster
PeachQueen · 17/08/2018 09:30

Sorry @SOdabread pressed enter too soon!

For a week in one of the standard rooms in Bermuda I think it was around 1600Gbp (this was in in 2001) & the Maldives was around 3000GBP in 2002.

Best bits of Bermuda was I LOVED the job, it was my first real experience of working with & looking after Americans, and I LOVE America and its people! Also the ex pat lifestyle was fantastic and I lived with some great people who I still keep in contact with and visit.

Worst was the early starts!

Maldives was out of this world, I remember sitting one night watching the shooting stars thinking if I never travel again I will be fine with that as I am in heaven right now! Worst was the Culture shock - there were 175 Muslim men that worked and lived on the island I was on & I was the only western female so that had its challenges.

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S0dabread · 17/08/2018 10:24

Wow sounds like an amzing experience ! Thanks for answering. If you could would you go back for a holiday or are you over all that now ?

CurlyWurlyTwirly · 17/08/2018 10:27

Where would you recommend staying in the Maldives if you don’t have a luxury budget and want to travel ( as a single mum) with an 8 year old.

Original poster
PeachQueen · 17/08/2018 10:27

I'd go back in a flash! If I could afford it! Blush

But seriously if you get the opportunity defo go to the Maldives!

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Original poster
PeachQueen · 17/08/2018 10:36

@TwirlyWurly

You can get some good deals on some of the Cinnamon resorts - take a look. All inclusive is ideal as you'll get all drinks and snacks inc but if you're not a drinker then Half Board would be lots cheaper!

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S0dabread · 17/08/2018 10:58

Well I hope you can make your wish come true some day !

JellyBears · 17/08/2018 14:39

Ahh I was a nanny in Bermuda for a year.

What was your favourite thing about the island 🌴? And are Bermudians not the friendliest ppl alive haha

Original poster
PeachQueen · 17/08/2018 15:55

@jellybears

Oooh lucky you!

I loved Main St especially when the cruise ships were in, Mickys @ Elbow Beach for the Pina Coladas - to die for! Also loved Pink Beach - it wasn't far fro where I lived in Southampton.

The restaurants as well Wineha ha!

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Xocaraic · 17/08/2018 16:45

Would you recommend Bermuda if you have sporty kids and parents who are a bit more lazy Grin

nellyolsenscurl · 17/08/2018 17:12

there were 175 Muslim men who worked and lived there

Was this a shock? Maldives is a Muslim country 😬

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PeachQueen · 17/08/2018 17:34

@Xocaraic

Yes defo - especially if they like water sports?

It's perfect for lazy parents too Wink

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Original poster
PeachQueen · 17/08/2018 17:37

@nellyolsenscurl

Not particularly - just that I was a 23yr old western female with high career goals and they felt that the role I was doing should have been given to one of their male relatives. So at first I had to work a million times harder to prove myself to them.

However they were fantastic people and really looked after me.

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CurlyWurlyTwirly · 18/08/2018 09:22

Thanks for your tip OP.
I looked at the Cinammon resort and then ended up booking a guest house on a Huraa island which had 5 star reviews. Even that was £100 a day.
I cannot believe the prices I saw on the booking.com website, £1,500 a night!

tedX · 25/08/2018 07:04

What was your job and how did you get into it?

kaytee87 · 25/08/2018 08:06

Was it not in the Maldives that a young teenage girl was convicted of having sex outside marriage due to her step father raping her? She was being held in prison and due to be stoned to death on her 18th birthday?

The Maldives looks beautiful but after reading that news story, I couldn't in good conscience go there.

Original poster
PeachQueen · 25/08/2018 09:03

@tedX

I was a Resort Host - so a receptionist really but I just looked after English speaking guests. We had other resort host for other nationalities. I would meet guests at the jetty and walk them to their room then basically do anything that wanted whilst they were with us. As I said it was a luxury island so guests could either be very demanding or just want total privacy and not to be bothered. It was such an experience.

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Original poster
PeachQueen · 25/08/2018 09:05

@kaytee87
I've not heard that story Shock

The people of the Maldives are extremely hospitable & certainly the ones I worked with were very kind and genuine.

However I guess in any country there could be bad eggs!

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Original poster
PeachQueen · 25/08/2018 09:07

@tedX

I got into into just through working in hotels in the Channel Islands & being experienced in 5* properties.

I'm still in the same sort of industry now but more office based!

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ihatethecold · 25/08/2018 09:08

My bucket list is to go to the Maldives at some point in my life although the thought that an island is just for rubbish is really depressing.

Op, how do people choose which island/ resort to stay at?

I will have a look at Cinnamon resorts.
Is that where you worked?

tedX · 25/08/2018 09:14

Oh that's interesting! What was the most demanding request you've had? What if you couldn't sort it out for them?

Original poster
PeachQueen · 25/08/2018 09:48

@tedX

Well it was things we couldn't get that were always in demand. There was a tiny gift shop on the island that sold Chocolate and nuts etc but not Cadbury's or walkers/smiths etc.
So we would ALWAYS get asked to get them which meant a 2hr round trip to Male to try get them - we would stock up but always run out.

There was an English couple that came with their 2yr old DD and wanted a babysitter every night for the 10 nights they were there and asked if I would do it. The rate was $10 an hour but the husband always just gave me whatever was in his pockets. After 10 nights of just sitting in their beautiful villa watching tv (which I hadn't seen for months!) is aren't the equivalent of 2 months wages!

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Bitchywaitress · 25/08/2018 10:50

Before I went to the Maldives I read in guides to tip $10-20 per week for man that does room, waiter etc. This seemed really low to me considering the hotel was almost a grand a nightConfused

We ended up doing about $100 per envelope but what is the norm? And should we have tipped the British resort host? We didn’t because we assumed they were paid more. Is this the case? Arggg first world guilt!!