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. Why would I stay at loama resort? To unplug just like you. It’s basically impossible to get away from it all. I’d love to do so.

  4. I have been postponing to go to Maldives, now this beautiful Loama is the best reason to finally go.

  12. Would love to win the Luxury Travel Diary auction for the LUXURY VILLA IN KOH SAMUI, THAILAND for my Thailand trip this fall!

  13. The Loama Resort looks amazing. My partner and I have been taking scuba lessons and looks like a great place to put them to use!

  16. My favorite item for action is definitely the 4 nights at the Luxurious Karawan Riad Hotel in Fez, Morrocco

  17. I would choose to stay at Loama Resort because the place looks absolutely stunning and also because the Maldives are on my bucket list for so long and it would be wonderful to go there with my future husband.

  22. My favorite item up for auction at Luxury Travel Diary is 4 nights & All Inc. Spa Treatments at Fusion Maia Da Nang.

  24. I’ve never been to Maldives and frankly think it an overpriced destination, but those overwater villas at Loama look gorgeous!

  25. I would love to visit this spot with my wife because my phone most likely wouldn’t get any reception. #unplugged

  26. I would love to go to the Loama for a few days since being a recent college graduate, it is highly unlikely I will be able to afford this for quite some time.

  28. Planning a trip to Thailand soon and would love to stay at At Kata Rocks Ultra-Luxury Resort, Phuket, Thailand. Hope it happens by getting selected. Cheers!!

  32. And of course never been to Maldives, the Loama looks amazing, quiet, serene beach with blue water and the fact that it has interesting history makes me want to stay there.

  33. I would love to stay there as an opportunity to go back to the Maldives. And the villas look gorgeous!

  34. My favorite item up for auction is the 3 Nights At The Serene Aava Resort & Spa In Khanom, Thailand! At only £51.00 currently, it’s a steal! That’s less than $25/night!

  36. The Loama Resort looks amazing. I also have trouble unwinding and it looks like a place one can truly relax. It’s been a dream to go to the Maldives since I did a couple of layovers on my way to Colombo. It was so painful to have to stay on the plane!

  37. My wife and I would like to stay at the Beachspoke Cottage Retreat In Cornwall featured on the luxury travel diary site – we’re hoping to visit next year.

  38. I’ve never been to the Maldives, and staying at the Loama Resort looks like a pretty great place to be!

  41. My favourite item up for auction is definitely the 1 Night In A Suite At Le Méridien Bangkok In Thailand. Its the first ever SPG property i stayed in, and they have always been nice to me.

  43. The 2 nights at Cottar’s 1920s Safari Camp, Maasai Mara, Kenya looks so romantic. I’d love to go there with my husband.

  45. The Loama Resort looks magical especially those beach Villas, even the inside is to die for….it looks like a resort from a magazine. I have seen beach villas in Tahiti but never knew they had them in the Maldives. I’d love to stay there with my husband to unwind and relax.

  50. Would love to win the auction for 3 nights for 4 people at the luxury villa in Koh Samui. Have a trip planned to Koh Samui and have been wanting to stay in a villa.

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