Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa Maldives

My wife and I stayed for 2 nights in a Club Sunset Overwater Pool villa in early December 2024. The villa was lovely; no complaints! It was wonderful to watch the sunset from our private deck, and also to explore the house reefs literally at our doorstep. The staff were all very friendly and helpful -- a big shout-out to Mitchel, Yuva, Ashik and June for taking good care for us! The food at The Club and at Suan Ba were excellent. However the dinner buffet at Reef Restaurant was underwhelming for US$89/pax. (We ended up getting a seafood platter instead). We also wish that the operations team had booked us on an earlier arriving seaplane as we had requested, especially since we only had 2 nights on the resort, rather than putting us on the last plane out, which led to us arriving in our villa after sunset. :-( Those negatives aside, we had a wonderful stay at Centara and are already dreaming of our next visit. :-D Read less

With just two days remaining of what has been a truly memorable holiday, I would like to share our experiences with the wonderful people here at Centara Grand. We arrived on the island on November 16th 2024 having booked 28 days. We were greeted by Belle and some of the other team members . At that point we had no idea that they would become such good friends. We were shown to our rooms and very quickly settled in. The accommodation was of excellent standard and was fully equipped with everything we would need. Amarnulla has looked after our rooms during the entire stay and has shown an attention to detail that’s worthy of the five star rating given to this amazing resort. Often we would return to our rooms to find the most creative art work on our beds of flowers and towel models of assorted animals. Amarnulla always greeted us with a friendly smile and nothing was too much trouble for him ,he gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from us . House keeping is excellent throughout the resort and Inaz has been labelled by a lot of the team that we have spoken to as being like a big brother who has time for every one of his staff, and has their respect for the way he leads . We have also had the pleasure of getting to know Inaz and understand why he is so highly regarded. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Inaz. Our day begins in the Club . We are always greeted with a friendly smile from Mitch , who had six very different orders to cater for, but made sure we were all very well looked after. Senthil ( our regular chef) prepared our food , perfectly ! He always came out of the kitchen to greet with an amazing smile, that has to be there even while he sleeps . Mitch and Senthil get ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from us . As a party of six people that regularly holiday together, we like to play cards, and always play the same game. We quickly found a place to sit and a table to play cards every morning, the Aqua Bar was perfect. Roshan looked after our every need. He takes care of the morning shift and runs the Aqua Bar as if it was his own bar . He is always looking for something to do, even if he isn’t busy. He is so well organised and does everything at pace ( never standing still for a minute). Roshan is a happy man who obviously loves his work, and his enthusiasm sets us up for the day . Roshan definitely gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from us. During the day we often speak with the front desk team ( Belle, Pat , Silver, Farouk, Madoo, Shimol and in the evening Shifau. ) and organise our daily routine, where we would eat ? and any excursions or events we would like to do. Everyone on the front desk are professional and friendly. We have received gifts from Silver ( thank you Silver ), and the overwhelming gift of friendliness from the entire team. A very well deserved ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from us all . We switched between the Mare Azzurro and Suan Bua almost every night and enjoyed the food every time. Even if it wasn’t on the menu it was never an issue for our two amazing chefs, Gethin and Mr Charn. They are incredibly talented and looked after us , which was not easy given how many times we would dine there in a month, definitely ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ , thank you both . The two restaurant teams that took care of us have been incredible and deserve special recognition. Mare Azzurro , Irfan, Sonny, Ashik, ( thank you Ashik for your very kind gift ). You have been amazing. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to you all. Suan Bua team , Meaw , Pablo, Alf ( Sweetie 😂 ) and Dana are beautiful people that are dedicated to their work, but always delivered with a smile and warm conversation. Every single one of you get ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from us all , thank you. Shameen, ( restaurants manager), has two incredible teams and runs them impeccably. Most evenings we finish off relaxing in the Coral Bar . Siva and team took great care of us . Constantly asking if we needed anything while making sure we were comfortable with fans and cushions etc. A very well run bar and a great way to end every day. Roshan makes a weekly appearance as DJ , and somehow fits in some of our favourite music. The Coral team certainly deserve our ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating. The Spa also gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from us all . Impeccably run by very professional people who have years of experience. Everyone deserves to be spoiled from time to time, and there is no better place to go and totally relax. Thank you to everyone who made it special. Back to the Aqua Bar and the afternoons . Anil is a warm friendly man who always greets us with a smile when he begins his shift in the afternoon. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is too much trouble for Anil . We have enjoyed his company throughout our stay here, and will remember Anil with great fondness, of course ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for Anil. Incredibly we were invited to two very special events. The annual prize giving for all the amazing people that have made our holiday so special. The event was held in the staff quarters and we were treated to music, dance and a whole lot more. It was an honour to be included and to witness the achievements of those who were awarded for their stand-out performances. That night will be remembered by us all and a very special thank you to, Francesco,Nalin ,Victor, Inaz . A ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ memory made by you all, thank you. Secondly, we were invited to the opening ceremony and first football match of the island five a side tournament. WOW ! We really didn’t expect such a warm welcome and incredible hospitality that was shown to us all.Nalin , you referred to us as family members and that’s just how we feel. Both teams were awesome. We were surprised by the level of talent and thoroughly enjoyed the game. Man of the match gave everything he had and ended up on the winning side, well done Chappe, great performance. A ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ event and thank you all for the memories. As in every great team, there are people that support and very often go unnoticed, but we have noticed you all. Shimol, the entire security team, the support team in the various kitchens, and everyone that makes this resort so special, thank you all. If we have left out anyone, please accept our apologies , there are so many of you ( too many to remember). Finally, we will leave here with lasting memories of you all . Belle, you have an amazing voice and we have the video evidence to support that . You are by far the most humble person we have ever met and such a beautiful soul. We want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for everything you have done during our stay here . ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for you Belle . We will definitely return to see you all again as this has been a wonderful vacation and one we will never forget. Nalin , Thank you so much for. Thank you all . Joe and Susie , Ray and Sally, Garry and Jennifer, ( rooms 64,63,61 ). With just two days remaining of what has been a truly memorable holiday, I would like to share our experiences with the wonderful people here at Centara Grand. We arrived on the island on November 16th 2024 having booked 28 days. We were greeted by Belle and some of the other team members . At that point we had no idea that they would become such good friends. We were shown to our rooms and very quickly settled in. The accommodation was of excellent standard and was fully equipped with everything we would need. Amarnulla has looked after our rooms during the entire stay and has shown an attention to detail that’s worthy of the five star rating given to this amazing resort. Often we would return to our rooms to find the most creative art work on our beds of flowers and towel models of assorted animals. Amarnulla always greeted us with a friendly smile and nothing was too much trouble for him ,he gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from us . House keeping is excellent throughout the resort and Inaz has been labelled by a lot of the team that we have spoken to as being like a big brother who has time for every one of his staff, and has their respect for the way he leads . We have also had the pleasure of getting to know Inaz and understand why he is so highly regarded. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Inaz. Our day begins in the Club . We are always greeted with a friendly smile from Mitch , who had six very different orders to cater for, but made sure we were all very well looked after. Senthil ( our regular chef) prepared our food , perfectly ! He always came out of the kitchen to greet with an amazing smile, that has to be there even while he sleeps . Mitch and Senthil get ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from us . As a party of six people that regularly holiday together, we like to play cards, and always play the same game. We quickly found a place to sit and a table to play cards every morning, the Aqua Bar was perfect. Roshan looked after our every need. He takes care of the morning shift and runs the Aqua Bar as if it was his own bar . He is always looking for something to do, even if he isn’t busy. He is so well organised and does everything at pace ( never standing still for a minute). Roshan is a happy man who obviously loves his work, and his enthusiasm sets us up for the day . Roshan definitely gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from us. During the day we often speak with the front desk team ( Belle, Pat , Silver, Farouk, Madoo, Shimol and in the evening Shifau. ) and organise our daily routine, where we would eat ? and any excursions or events we would like to do. Everyone on the front desk are professional and friendly. We have received gifts from Silver ( thank you Silver ), and the overwhelming gift of friendliness from the entire team. A very well deserved ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from us all . We switched between the Mare Azzurro and Suan Bua almost every night and enjoyed the food every time. Even if it wasn’t on the menu it was never an issue for our two amazing chefs, Gethin and Mr Charn. They are incredibly talented and looked after us , which was not easy given how many times we would dine there in a month, definitely ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ , thank you both . The two restaurant teams that took care of us have been incredible and deserve special recognition. Mare Azzurro , Irfan, Sonny, Ashik, ( thank you Ashik for your very kind gift ). You have been amazing. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to you all. Suan Bua team , Meaw , Pablo, Alf ( Sweetie 😂 ) and Dana are beautiful people that are dedicated to their work, but always delivered with a smile and warm conversation. Every single one of you get ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from us all , thank you. Shameen, ( restaurants manager), has two incredible teams and runs them impeccably. Most evenings we finish off relaxing in the Coral Bar . Siva and team took great care of us . Constantly asking if we needed anything while making sure we were comfortable with fans and cushions etc. A very well run bar and a great way to end every day. Roshan makes a weekly appearance as DJ , and somehow fits in some of our favourite music. The Coral team certainly deserve our ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating. The Spa also gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from us all . Impeccably run by very professional people who have years of experience. Everyone deserves to be spoiled from time to time, and there is no better place to go and totally relax. Thank you to everyone who made it special. Back to the Aqua Bar and the afternoons . Anil is a warm friendly man who always greets us with a smile when he begins his shift in the afternoon. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is too much trouble for Anil . We have enjoyed his company throughout our stay here, and will remember Anil with great fondness, of course ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for Anil. Incredibly we were invited to two very special events. The annual prize giving for all the amazing people that have made our holiday so special. The event was held in the staff quarters and we were treated to music, dance and a whole lot more. It was an honour to be included and to witness the achievements of those who were awarded for their stand-out performances. That night will be remembered by us all and a very special thank you to, Francesco,Nalin ,Victor, Inaz . A ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ memory made by you all, thank you. Secondly, we were invited to the opening ceremony and first football match of the island five a side tournament. WOW ! We really didn’t expect such a warm welcome and incredible hospitality that was shown to us all.Nalin , you referred to us as family members and that’s just how we feel. Both teams were awesome. We were surprised by the level of talent and thoroughly enjoyed the game. Man of the match gave everything he had and ended up on the winning side, well done Chappe, great performance. A ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ event and thank you all for the memories. As in every great team, there are people that support and very often go unnoticed, but we have noticed you all. Shimol, the entire security team, the support team in the various kitchens, and everyone that makes this resort so special, thank you all. If we have left out anyone, please accept our apologies , there are so many of you ( too many to remember). Finally, we will leave here with lasting memories of you all . Belle, you have an amazing voice and we have the video evidence to support that . You are by far the most humble person we have ever met and such a beautiful soul. We want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for everything you have done during our stay here . ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for you Belle . We will definitely return to see you all again as this has been a wonderful vacation and one we will never forget. Nalin , Thank you so much for. Thank you all . Joe and Susie , Ray and Sally, Garry and Jennifer, ( rooms 64,63,61 ). Read less

Our trip to the Maldives was truly unforgettable, from the moment we arrived to the moment we departed. This resort is, without a doubt, one of the best we’ve ever experienced. The adventure began with a scenic seaplane ride, setting the tone for what would be a dream vacation. We stayed in an overwater sunset pool villa (#55), and it was nothing short of breathtaking. The villa was beautifully designed, with stunning views from nearly every angle. The bed was incredibly comfortable, and our room attendant ensured every detail was taken care of, making our stay effortless and luxurious. The staff were exceptional—friendly, attentive, and always ready to go above and beyond. Mitchel in the Club Lounge was an absolute gem, remembering every detail of our preferences for breakfast and high tea. We dined at all the restaurants, and while the Italian cuisine was a standout, the biggest surprise was the Thai restaurant. Living in Thailand, we have high expectations for Thai food, and this surpassed them. My partner, who is Thai, gave it a glowing five stars. Meaw, our server, was fantastic—her recommendations were spot on every time. The Reef restaurant was enjoyable, and we dined there a couple of times. Coral Bar was a favorite spot for evening cocktails, with Rox crafting excellent drinks and providing great suggestions. The dive center was another highlight. Alex was incredibly helpful, and we’re already looking forward to our next trip in April when we plan to go diving with him. The marine life around the resort, especially right in front of our villa, was absolutely mesmerizing—a true underwater paradise. This was more than just a vacation; it was an experience of a lifetime. We can’t wait to return and are booking a week for Songkran in April. Read less