GIVEAWAY: Would You Like a Free Stay in the Maldives?

by Gary Leff

Regular readers know that I love the Maldives. I’ve been 5 years in a row. It’s the only place I’ve found where I can really unplug. The distance is a feature not a bug, by the time I get there I’m really ready to relax and the time difference helps me to do it — I can answer work emails in the morning, and everyone is gone from the office the rest of the day so I can just enjoy myself.

I’ve gone to the same place each time, because I could use points, but there are some fantastic properties that I’d love to try some day. One that’s really worth checking out is Loama Resort.

A new property, a 45 minute sea plane from the airport in the capital, this was a Buddhist refuge dating back centuries. Artifacts from the Ching dynasty were unearthed during the construction of the hotel. The property was listed in Conde Nast Traveler Middle East as one of the Best New Hotels in the World.

A beach villa here runs ~ $840 plus taxes. And I’m giving away 3 nights there with breakfast.

The resort looks fantastic, and gets a certificate of excellence from TripAdvisor.

Whether you want to dive, snorkle, spa or just relax this is going to be tough to beat. Combine it with a points stay somewhere else in the country, or drop in on nearby Sri Lanka (flights from Male are cheap and it’s less than 500 miles) and make a bigger holiday of it.

This is a very special giveaway, thanks to my good friends at Luxury Travel Diary. Regular readers know them as a high-end travel blog with great reviews. They’re based in the UK and run travel auctions with real bargains.

As I’ve said before, folks who already know about these auctions don’t like this added attention, because there don’t seem to be enough bidders for many of their best offerings relative to the value available. Some of their items go way too cheap.

This prize is being given away by the hotel and Luxury Travel Diary, I’m just helping to highlight it and randomly select the winner.

To enter: leave a comment on this post with your favorite item up for auction at Luxury Travel Diary, or why you would choose to stay at Loama Resort. You may enter two times if you wish and answer those two questions one time each in separate comments.

Contest deadline and drawing winner: Entries close Sunday, September 4 at Noon eastern. I will draw winner with the assistance of random.org.

The fine print: Advance booking is required and it’s subject to availability. Terms and conditions apply. Winner will have one week to respond to email notifying of the prize, otherwise the prize will be forfeit and made available to another reader.

For avoidance of doubt, I have no affiliation with Luxury Travel Diary or Loama Resort. I am not getting anything in exchange for running this giveaway other than an opportunity to share the place with readers.

The hotel is solely responsible for providing prize to winner. All decisions made in the course of running this giveaway are final and unappealable and your entry signifies your acceptance. The goal here is to make readers aware of a pretty cool auction opportunity, and to give away a stay. So please don’t make it hard on me for doing so!

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  3. My favorite auction item is 5 Nights For Up To 5 At Villa Koru, Koh Samui, Thailand, because I have exactly 4 friends in my life and they have all forgotten their wallets back in Koh Samui, Thailand, and they need to go back there to get them.

  6. Just can’t wait to hit Loama Resort. Between here and there – it’s in no place – and that means r-e-l-e-a-x-a-t-i-o-n uninterrupted!

  10. Looks lovely – haven’t been to the Maldives for 10 years since our honeymoon so would love to go back.

  11. I love the Maldives, and by proxy I’m sure I’d love to stay at the Loama. I’ve simply never felt, in all my other travels, the feeling of sheer remoteness that I felt stepping off the seaplane onto the tiny island adrift in the middle of the Indian Ocean; priceless. It’s also the only place I’ve ever been able to truly unplug, and relax.

  12. Loama looks lovely – haven’t been to the Maldives for 10 years since our honeymoon so would love to go back.

  13. I’ve been to the Maldives before – it is truly a unique and beautiful archipelago. I hadn’t heard of the Loama Resort before. However, it looks like a wonderful place. The overhead view of the resort with the beautiful lagoon and surrounding reef brought a big smile to my face. 🙂 It truly looks like a “stunning natural tapestry of sun-kissed lagoons”. I would love to visit someday and enjoy dinner on the beach.

  14. If I had to pick something else, South Africa is on our bucket list, so the 2 Nights At Makakatana Bay Lodge In South Africa, sound pretty good, especially at the about $70 it’s presently going for

  17. We got engaged in the Maldives, so it would be lovely to return, even if not to the same spot. I’m sure the Loama would do just fine!

  19. My favorite auction item on Luxury Travel Diary is “3 Nights At The Serene Aava Resort & Spa In Khanom, Thailand”.

  21. I’ve always wanted to visit Thailand, and the 6 Nights at the Crown Lanta Resort looks just about perfect.

  25. The auction item is very attractive to me is 3 nights at Fort Bazaar Galle Town House Hotel, Sri Lanka, because its also closer to Maldives!

  30. My top choice for the auction would be Loama Resort. It’s a world away from my reality life and could totally forget about chemo treatments every 5 weeks for stage 4 lung cancer. Looks like a total dream!

  32. I would love to bid on the hotel nights in koh samui. Who doesn’t love the Maldives? I would love to relax by the beach at this resort.

  39. My favorite item up for auction is the 3 nights in a stylish beachspoke cottage retreat in Cornwall. My wife and I love the scenes of the rustic Cornwall coast. The opportunity to live for a few days like Doc Martin would be irresistible. Indeed, from the cottage we would visit nearby Port Isaac (Portwenn on the Doc Martin TV series) to feel like we are part of the set for our all-time favorite TV series. We would also try an early morning kayaking trip along the Cornish coast to see oystercatchers, guillemots, gulls, and other local sea birds. And, of course, we would try a local seafood house.

  40. Loama Resort looks absolutely incredible. I’d love to win as it would be a terrific way for my wife and I to spend our upcoming anniversary. Thanks! Josh

  45. I would choose to stay at the Loama Resort, because my friend (who will be celebrating her 60th birthday!) and I will be in Trivandrum, which is just a short one-hour plane ride from Male.

  50. My favorite auction is for 2 nights at Amalaya Beach house in Canggu, Bali. We are heading that way to a weddin in a few months.

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