Overall: 4.5 out of 5
Most guests recommend for "everybody" (3 reviews)
Ratings are averaged based on 4 reviews.
What an amazing place with fantastic facilities, food, drink and most of all people. This was on my "bucket list" and did not disappoint. I thoroughly recommend Centara Grand.
Great value for an amazing place. Our reef and snorkelling was awesome and the resort was magic.
Only a few resorts in the Maldives have fenced, family-friendly water villas like Centara. We traveled with a 2.5-year-old, and the fenced area outside provided peace of mind, as we didn't have to worry about our little one accidentally running off and falling into the water.
The family villas are right on top of the coral reef, offering better snorkeling spots compared to other water villas. We snorkeled multiple times a day and occasionally swam with turtles. The jacuzzi is a bonus, and we used it when we couldn't snorkel or when our little one was asleep.
We opted for half board with breakfast and dinner, which worked out well for us. Our little one had a snack in the room in the morning, followed by a late breakfast around 9 AM, and then dinner at 7 PM as soon as the restaurant opened. This schedule gave us time to snorkel in between meals without having a full stomach. Since our little one eats early, around 6 PM, before the restaurant opens at 7 PM, they were accommodating of our child's needs. They allowed us to order a kid's meal early, around 5 PM (it takes 30 minutes to cook), which we could eat at the Coral Bar. You need to make arrangements with the reception and order through them, as the staff at the Coral Bar can't place orders for you. My little one is fussy when it comes to eating and doesn't eat at the same time as us. He often refuses to eat when it's super hot (there's no air conditioning in the restaurants), but the staff had no problem with us taking some bread or other items back to our room for him.
The staff is friendly. The most challenging part was the seaplane, as it was very hot and noisy. Unfortunately, our journey involved two stops on the way to the resort, and our luggage had to come on a later seaplane. I suggest packing a small bag with essentials for the few hours after you arrive at the resort, just in case this happens. This will save you from having to search through your luggage in the TWA terminal.
If you don't need a water villa, the beach option is honestly just as good. We stayed one night in a beach villa, and I would personally prefer that over the water villa. However, my wife loves snorkeling, so the water villa was the more ideal choice for us. The beach villa is easier for our little one to play on the beach and is closer to the restaurant and water sports. We took little one to beach where beach villas are located as water is more clam and suitable for little one. You can snorkel to coral reef from beach too, only take a couple minutes really.
Overall, we had a really enjoyable stay. We've stayed in an adults-only resort, Lomani in Fiji, before, and this experience was on another level.
Have to start with how amazing the staff were, always super friendly, always working hard and would go above and beyond for you. The location was amazing and the reef around the island is so worth seeing.
Value is the main sticking points. Day trips well over priced for what they were and clearly the hotel is price gouging in that respect. We paid for all inclusive which included the buffet. If you like indian or Asian foods that are spicy it will be right up you alley, otherwise you might struggle.
The included restaurants food was amazing and the service was great, my only criticism there was that you won't be able to book in for a few days and the hotel tries to push you away from using them.
Overall the service is what you will remember, they are so friendly. Is there better hotels in the Maldives..absolutely..but there are also many that would be worse. Overall it was a positive experience.
