THE FACTS ABOUT RANGALIFINOLHU & RANGALI

Maldives

Hilton's Maldivian outpost is two islands joined together by a 500-metre bridge across the lagoon. Rangalifinolhu is the less expensive original hotel, with 100 beach villas, plastic sun loungers, theme nights, meal plans and buffet-style dinners. It's a four-star, with rooms starting at US$190 a night. On the other side of the lagoon is Rangali, the more recent opening, with 50 overwater bungalows and the resort's star restaurant, Vilu. It costs US$520 for the cheapest villa, but then the sun loungers are teak. Whether or not this combination works is debatable. If you're staying on the 'poor' island, there's a risk of being permanently jealous of the 'rich': they get priority at Vilu - which has a wine cellar below sea-level packed with 4,000 bottles - and at the superlative Over Water Spa. However, if you're on the 'rich' side, you might not want reminding of the 'poor' when you're paying a small fortune. That said, the combination is perfect for families with teenagers. The adults go 'rich', the kids go 'poor', and everyone meets up for dinner in one of the restaurants. The resort has an attractive location, a 30-minute seaplane flight south of Malé, at one remove from the cluster of hotels surrounding the capital. The water is exceptionally clear, with harmless baby reef sharks circling inside the lagoon (you can watch them through the glass floor of the spa). Dine at the Sunset Grill, Rangalifinolhu's overwater restaurant, and black manta rays sweep to join you. The house reef has some of the best snorkelling of all the resorts, and diving in South Ari Atoll is described by experts as excellent. Equipment, for both resorts, is certainly of a very high standard. Comfortingly, a doctor lives on island. In terms of service, the resort is faultless. In terms of style, it suffers from a surfeit of Duotan-orange, overvarnished wood. However, the rooms (including the smaller beach bungalows) are airy, with open-air bathrooms. The overwater villas on Rangali are sleeker, with less rattan, and more Tasmanian oak; and the eight large deluxe water villas come with a large bathtub, a sun terrace with Jacuzzi, and a four-poster bed. The top rooms are the two-bedroom, Sunset water villas located down a 100-metre-long walkway, although the isolation can be a little unnerving on the rare occasions when the wind is up. The floor in the sitting room is made of glass and lit from below to ominous effect. Then there's the circular bed, which turns through 180 degrees to 'follow the sun'; the flat-screen televisions with their numerous, confusing control consoles (one descends from the ceiling) and the Bose surround-sound theatre system; the Bang & Olufsen telephones and the electronic blinds, lights and air conditioning. Thankfully, the most technologically advanced villas in the Maldives also come with dedicated butlers to resolve any electronic difficulties. BEST FOR Family gatherings on mixed budgets, and divers. ROOM TO BOOK On Rangalifinolhu, deluxe beach villas 222 to 252 are on the longer beach with easy access to the house reef for snorkelling. Number 254 is a favourite at the tip of the island. Avoid beach villas in the low 200s, which are afflicted by an annoying whirr from the generator. On Rangali, deluxe water villas 313 and 348 are particularly private. BOOKING DETAILS 00 960 450629; fax: 450619; email: Maldives@Hilton.com; www.hilton.com/worldwide resorts. The One-Week Package Beach villas from £1,091 and water villas from £2,024 in low season, from £1,673 and £2,606, respectively, in high season