I have to confess to a longstanding prejudice regarding Kuoni. Ever since my parents returned from a holiday of a lifetime in the Far East over 25 years ago, Kuoni had been a family household word, synonymous with outstanding quality. So when I saw the name Kuoni at the foot of an advertisement for a holiday in the Maldives that attracted me, I felt immediately reassured and had very high expectations. The publication was the Daily Telegraph magazine, another upholder of values that I felt I could trust.
I tore out the advertisement and for about 6 weeks did nothing about it. There was one aspect of the advert that intensely annoyed me and that was the small print that read something along the lines of “Price assumes 2 people sharing”. There was room in the advert to show the exact price for each week of the year for these “2 people” but not a single indication of the price that would be payable by those of us who like a room of our own.
Feeling one morning more in need of a holiday than ever, I resolved to enquire about the dreaded single supplement. I was told that it would depend when I wanted to travel. It would be in the region of £240 at peak time but less at other times. If I was prepared to travel in June, it would be waived altogether. June was the time at which the cost of the holiday was at its lowest rate. £599 for 10 nights, inclusive of flights, bed, breakfast, transfers by boat to and from the resort island of Kurumba, 1 dinner and tours of the capital city Male’, a trip to another inhabited island, plus a tour behind the scenes of the hotel. It all sounded too good to be true. What was wrong with June? They didn’t tell me, but rainfall charts clearly show the progress of the Indian monsoon has some impact on the Maldivian climate at this time of year. I have been in India at monsoon time and I was happy to take the risk.
I had never booked a package holiday by phone before but it was straightforward. The lady who took my details was extremely knowledgeable about the islands and was even able to give me options as to where on the island my room would be. On a small island, less than a mile long, this seemed a little unnecessary but, guided by her, I opted for the slightly longer walk to breakfast and the slightly broader stretch of beach just outside
my room. The administrative side of things was extremely simple. I was able to pay over the phone. The invoices and tickets arrived exactly as and when I was led to expect. I was advised to get insurance but not tied to doing so through them.
The only point that arose before I left that slightly concerned me was Kuoni’s choice of Qatarairlines for the air travel. It is surprising to consider that less than a year ago I had to reach for an atlas to work out where Doha was. I was told this was the location of the hub of Qatar airlines and that I would be changing planes there. Its future role in the Iraqi war as the command centre for the coalition forces was a long time in the future. At that time friends and family were more worried about the mounting tensions between India and Pakistan. Was this the right time to be traveling to the Indian Ocean?
Waiting at Heathrow airport, it was easy to distinguish the travelers bound for a Maldivian holiday from the other mainly male business travelers and few female travelers in traditional muslim attire. On a sudden impulse I purchased a scarf at the airport in case I would need to cover my head as I realized I was the only female traveler without one. It was not at all necessary. The transfer at Doha airport was one of the most efficient I have experienced. I was actually slightly sad that we did not have time to look at the shops as we passed through. I should have trusted Kuoni. Qatar airlines was a good choice.
Male’ airport has its own island and the full length is needed for the single runway/landing strip. I had been forewarned that there was often a 100% search of baggage and that in particular any alcohol or religious artifacts such as a crucifix would be confiscated. I was carrying neither and customs showed no interest in my arrival. The Kuoni representative greeted us at the airport, explained that she would be coming with us to our island where she lived and explained that she needed us to leave our tickets with her to confirm our return flights. We also left our main luggage which we were told would be taken to our island for us. It was slightly disconcerting parting with both tickets and luggage so immediately on arrival but at least there were a number of us doing it. We were told that there would be a boat along shortly and shown to a shady area in which we could buy and drink water. By the time we had to board the boat which was not long in coming, about 10 of us had introduced ourselves to one another and were happily minding each others’ things.
The island resort lived up to its brochure. All the rooms had air conditioning and ensuite bathrooms. Upstairs rooms had balconies; downstairs rooms had terraces. All had easy access to the beach. The sand on the beach really is the silver white colour it appears in the photographs and the sea is a clear light turquoise. The fish really do come in every colour of the rainbow and the geckos are shy rather than friendly but not as shy as the crabs. There were 2 swimming pools on the island which I found preferable to the sea for swimming: one in the shape of a clover leaf, surrounded by palm trees and bougainvillea; the other more traditionally rectangular. Cool drinks could be brought to you by pleasantly mannered bar staff. There were impressive menus of cocktails. In the evening there was often musical entertainment in one of the bars.
There were several different restaurants within the resort offering a regular choice of Italian, Chinese and Indian cuisine in addition to whatever the set menu choices were in the main restaurant. Weekly buffets at which you could eat as much as you wanted for a fixed price were organised in each of these restaurants and staggered so that most nights there was a buffet somewhere. There was a barbecue grill area near the beach and also a 24hour coffee house offering a wide range of lighter meals. Other guests were envious of those of us “from Kuoni” as we had the freedom to eat wherever we liked whereas other tour operators had negotiated half-board arrangements where the meals had to be taken in the main restaurant.
One of my more attentive traveling companions remembered that the Telegraph advert had mentioned discounts being available in the restaurants. The Kuoni guide appeared to know nothing about this which caused a little unrest until she said she would look into it. We were told the next day that we could obtain vouchers each morning if we specified where we were going to eat in the evening. For whatever reason most of us seemed quite incapable of remembering to ask for the vouchers in the morning or of deciding in advance where we were going to eat in the evening. It became an in-joke within the Kuoni group that we had relaxed so much that even this simple task was beyond us. Our representative must have said something to the management of the resort because when the time came to settle our bills I found that all my restaurant bills had been discounted by “the Kuoni discount” regardless of whether I had presented the allegedly necessary vouchers.
Another example of common sense judgement on the part of our local Kuoni representative occurred in advance of our half-day trip to the Male’ capital. Kuoni and non-Kuoni alike were to share a single boat to travel the 15 minutes or so across the sea but Kuoni had organized a walking tour for us with a local guide. By then I had made friends with a lady from Germany who was not traveling with Kuoni but who wanted to visit the capital preferably with me. A number of the male members of our group had decided to stay in Kurumba to watch the world cup match so the numbers taking the trip were down on those expected. Our representative had no hesitation in telling me that if I wanted my friend to join us she would be welcome.
It was easy to underestimate the power of the sun and on the day we went to the capital it was particularly hot. On the boat going over, I wished I had brought water with me and aware of the potential problems of dehydration I wondered how soon I would have the opportunity to get a drink. The walking tour guide who met us took us straight to a bandstand in the middle of a park where there were crates of drinks – “with the compliments of Kuoni”. There could not have been a better illustration of the quiet, unobtrusive, competent service that we were by now coming to expect of our agent.
Unbeknown to our male traveling companions who had stayed behind in Kurumba we were also taken to a Maldivian coffee house with wide screen TV on which we could watch the world cup match if we wished while sampling Maldivian snacks.
The behind-the-scenes tour back at the resort was a Kuoni “Exclusive” and not at all what any of us were expecting. We were shown first a carpentry workshop staffed by skilled craftsmen from the Philippines. It was explained to us how all the wooden furniture and carved paneling were made on site not imported. We were then guided round the Water filtration plant being shown both the efforts to use sea water and the mechanisms for collecting and treating rainwater. We were shown a highly mechanized laundry and a sewing area staffed by contract workers from Bengal. Again it was explained that all the staff uniforms and linens were made on site not imported. Our guide for this tour was obviously slightly bemused by our interest but politely answered all our questions.
A 10-day holiday is about right for a single resort in the Maldives. At the start of the 10 days we had listened eagerly to the Kuoni guide explain to us all the extra activities we could take part in if we wished. These included going fishing, taking a trip in a glass bottomed boat, even taking a seaplane to another island, and of course snorkeling and/or diving. On that first evening the non-divers of us had all eagerly taken notes and wondered why none of these additional activities had been included in our tour. But by the end of our holiday we had understood. You have to have time to enjoy your own island and as our guide put it. “When you find paradise, you stop rushing around looking for somewhere else to go”.
On the final day, our cases were all taken from our rooms to the boat while we enjoyed an early breakfast. At the airport I joined a lengthy queue to check in. The people in front seemed to have a problem of too much luggage and were being asked to pay extra. An airport official immediately came up to me and said “Kuoni?” I nodded. He beckoned me to follow him to a desk labeled business/1st class. I was hesitant as I didn’t want to lose my place in the queue. Then I realized he meant our whole party to follow, and we were all processed ahead of the others waiting.
There was one aspect of my holiday for which I don’t hold Kuoni responsible. I took the gamble of going there at a time when there should have been heavy rainfall. It did rain once on the very last evening of our holiday. I nearly missed it. Heavy vertical tropical rain fell for half an hour, and then it stopped. Even with Kuoni, a little bit of good luck helps.
For any of you wishing to follow in my footsteps, the resort at Kurumba is closing shortly for extensive renovation work but will be re-opening later in the year. It is featured among many other wonderful potential holiday destinations on Kuoni’s website.
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Advantages: Wide range, wedding service excellent, easy booking and helpful!! Disadvantages: Often perceived as the most expensive,online booking little confusing
bluetedgirl 21.01.2007 (21.01.2007)
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Review of Kuoni
Advantages: Wide range, wedding service excellent, easy booking and helpful!! Disadvantages: Often perceived as the most expensive,online booking little confusing
bluetedgirl 21.01.2007 (21.01.2007)
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Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Kuoni
Apr 9th, 2003
(Apr 10th, 2003)
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