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Departing Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa for Male Airport photo by Simon_sees –

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa, Maldives

When tourists think of the Maldives family holidays, they may think of a super luxury all-inclusive holiday, beautiful clear waters, white sandy beaches and adults only. They’d be right about everything except the adult-only part.

Nowadays, there are more family-friendly Maldives hotels than ever before. One such resort is the Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa, Maldives. A barefoot paradise with a palm-fringed beach and dazzling lagoon, Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa Maldives is surrounded by the clear waters of the South Ari Atoll and stands out for its panelled walkways and feudal buildings.

It provides the ideal island getaway for everyone. The island’s expansive villas over water and suites blend in seamlessly with the surroundings, along with its multitude of activities and first-rate facilities, making it a perfect getaway for honeymooners and couples as well as a family-friendly vacation spot.

 Here are the top 10 fascinating facts about Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa.

1. Centara Grand Island Resort was built in 2009

The 112-room Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa, a premium resort, was built in 2009 and offers the Maldives an amazing value. In comparison to other upscale hotels, room rates are reasonable, and few provide Centara’s all-inclusive benefits.

The inclusion of alcoholic beverages, a la carte dining, daily 30-minute massages, supervised kids’ activities, Wi-Fi, and excursions set this resort apart from the competition.

2. The island resort is 25 minutes from Male by air

Male City Aerial, The Capital city of Maldives photo by Ibrahim Asad –

Transfers to the resort are by seaplane. Visitors are required to go to the Centara desk at Male airport where staff will look after them and take them to the seaplane check-in desk.

The flight is around 25 minutes and if they get a chance to have a window seat, they will have beautiful views as you fly over the other islands.

3. Centara is located on its private island in Machchafushi

About 65 miles southwest of Male in the South Ari Atoll, Centara is situated on a separate private island. Visitors may easily stroll everywhere on the half-kilometre-long island in under 10 minutes.

The quickest and least expensive method to get to the island is to fly domestically for 25 minutes from Male International Airport to the nearby island of Maamigili, and then take a 15-minute boat ride to get there. Those with extra money can travel by seaplane (which offers a better view).

A speedboat takes passengers the remaining distance to the resort after dropping
them off at a floating pontoon by seaplane.

4. It’s surrounded by white sand beaches and a turquoise lagoon

Photo by Ameen Fahmy on

Centara is surrounded by lovely white-sand beaches and a clear, turquoise lagoon.
Guests can take their pick from numerous lounge chairs (some are a bit faded, and
some have palapa umbrellas), and beach towels are provided in rooms.

An impressive reef is located just offshore, and guests can easily wade out to view colourful fish. Less-than-picturesque walls of sandbags are used to prevent erosion in some areas, but for the most part, the beaches are attractive. 

5. It’s one of the few family-friendly resorts in the Maldives

Photo by Robert Edward Bradley on

 One of the few resorts in The Maldives that allows families with children to stay in overwater villas is Centara (many properties are on the side of caution and make overwater villas adult-only for safety reasons).

Their five-person Deluxe Family Water Villas feature bunk beds, PlayStation gaming systems, and locks to prevent young children from climbing from the overwater patios.

A “villa host,”  a name given to the butler assigned to the largest two-bedroom Luxury Beachfront Pool Villa (1,711 square feet or 159 square meters), will schedule excursions and bookings for restaurants

6. A 270-person staff lives and works at the resort year-round

A 270-person staff lives and works at the resort year-round. The multilingual staff of Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa Maldives speaks Hindi and Tamil, making
guests feel at home in a new city.

Emphasis is on the people working there, at all levels!!! They truly make the stay a wonderful one, always trying to help, assist and please the guests.

7. Centara Grand Island Resort has six room categories

Photo by Ibrahim Mushan on

Beachfront Suites, one- or two-bedroom Luxury Beachfront Pool Villas with private plunge pools, and overwater villas with steps leading into the lagoon are just a few of the six-room categories offered by Centara.

Beach Suites and Deluxe Water Villas are the most basic room choices, both of which provide plenty of space at 936 square feet (87 square meters). These apartments have hardwood flooring, blue and orange accent pillows, big bathrooms with soaking tubs, and bright, modern decor.

The second story of Beach Suites includes a bedroom and an additional bathroom, giving them the appearance of a beach house rather than a suite.

Every room has a minibar (stocked with complimentary items), a stereo, a DVD player, a flat-screen TV, a private patio, bathrobes, an electric kettle, free bottled water, tea, and Wi-Fi.

8. Centara Grand Island Resort technically has four restaurants

Centara technically has four restaurants, in consideration of the private restaurant in the club area, but most guests only have access to three. The main buffet restaurant, Reef, serves champagne breakfasts, lunch, and dinner.

It’s the only restaurant that doesn’t require reservations — but it also has disappointing food for a luxury resort. Dining at the two a la carte restaurants: Azzuri Mare (Italian and seafood) and Suan Bua (Thai) is highly recommended because of their culinary expertise.

There’s also a live-cooking teppanyaki table at Reef restaurant where guests can reserve seats.

9. Centara hosted the first underwater wedding in the Maldives

Photo by Muhammadh Saamy on

Beautiful locations are available at the resort for once-in-a-lifetime weddings and honeymoons. The resort provides several traditional Maldivian marriage or vow renewal packages, including the Moodhufini Wedding Package and the Underwater Wedding Package, designed for an all-inclusive experience of a lifetime.

Centara Grand Island Resort hosted the first underwater wedding in the Maldives on a shipwreck just offshore.

10. The resort is a haven for water sports enthusiasts

The resort has a dedicated PADI Dive Center where guests can take courses, lessons and guided snorkelling and scuba-diving trips on the house reef, the house wreck, and the surrounding islands.

A wealth of water sports is also offered from pedal boating and paddle-boarding to canoeing, kayaking, sailing, snorkelling, windsurfing, and sailing.

Motorized water sports such as jet skiing, wakeboarding and parasailing are also offered, and guests can enjoy daily half-day and full-day excursions, including snorkelling tours, traditional dhoni sunset cruises, local island discovery tours, and sunset fishing.