We are heading back to Rangali for the 2nd time in September (Last trip was end of 2016).
1. You will be fine with no shoes especially in the morning and night, the walkways will get quite warm during the day so thongs are fine the sand never got too hot to walk on.
2. I have no personal experience but I would expect there will be no problems but discretion may be advisable in the public areas to avoid causing offence to local staff (the same should be said for straight couples).
3. If you have your hear set in Ithaa I would book as soon as you can to avoid disappointment. There is no real advantage to booking late. We only did the coughtail hour which was enough for us. I would rather spend the money elsewhere during our stay.
4. If you have Gold/Diamond status then the coughtail/afternoon tea is a good option. The fish feeding at Mandhoo is also worth going to at least once.
5. There is no need to tip, a 10% service charge is included in everything which does get distributed to staff.
6. 10 days is not too much as long as you are happy to relax, swim, read etc there is enough variety in the food offering and activities to keep us occupied. We are only going back for 5 nights but that is because of it being part of a larger 1 months Europe trip. It is up to you but I would enquire about the upgrade cost to a Deluxe Beach Villa and either a Superior or Deluxe water Villa (these two are both on the sunset side). Alternatively request a Water Villa on the sunset side and your beach villa on the sunrise side.
7. There are only a couple of small shops that are ridiculously expensive. $50 for sunscreen being an example so make sure you pack your own.
8. Best is rather subjective. Ithaa is their most expensive and most unique but you are paying a very large premium for the location.
We found Sunset Grill and Vilu much better value while still having fantastic views. We didn't go to Mandhoo last time but most likely will this time. Ufaaa and Rangali Bar were good reasonably priced (in relative terms) options for lunch. Koko Grill was great but we will probably swap this for one of the beach dinners (Champagne & Lobster or Fisherman's BBQ).
Vilu is much better for breakfast than Atoll if you don't need the massive buffet.
I did a trip report here but unfortunately a lot of the photos are broken.
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