While the world goes into heatwave mode, there’s one hotel channelling all the cool vibes this summer. Pitched pretty in the heart of the South Ari Atoll, Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa Maldives knows a thing or two about the joy of dipping one’s toes in the ocean, and with its surrounding cerulean waters enveloping the resort from each and every angle, and umpteen private pool villas, it provides plenty of ways to cool down under the summer sun.
Decked out with timbered walkways, colonial-style buildings and thatched roofs, with vibrant flora and fauna creating a visual masterpiece across the island, you’re invited to kick off your shoes, feel the sand beneath your feet and really tune into the resort’s barefoot paradise vibe.
With plentiful pools, a transformative spa, a beautiful lagoon and kaleidoscopic house reef to explore, you’re invited to do as little or as much as you want and, most importantly, to relax like never before. If fine food is your thing, you can drift between the resort’s six restaurants and bars, sampling everything from sea-to-table dining at Reef to Mediterranean magic at Azzuri Mare and the taste of a traditional Thai home-cooked meal at Suan Bua.
When it comes to resting your head, choose your snooze space wisely from one of the villas suspended over the water, where the sounds of the Indian Ocean will drift you off to sleep and rouse you in equal soporific glory. Or retreat into one of the resort’s beach suites that blend beautifully into the island’s natural setting, the perfect hideaway for couples and families seeking privacy and peace.
To really make the most of this slice of paradise, the resort’s ‘Maldives Summer Escape’ offer, available for stays before December 20, 2022, serves up a cool 25 per cent off Best Available Rate on all meal plans (except Grand All Inclusive), an extra 15 per cent off when you sign-up or log-in as a CentaraThe1 member and 20 per cent discount on seaplane transfers (for stays until October 31, 2022). You can also relax into your holiday with a chilled bottle of wine and fruit basket on arrival, 20 per cent off selected spa treatments, a floating breakfast for pool villas or an in-villa breakfast for non-pool villas, and late check-out to 4pm on day of departure to enable you to really maximise the magic of the Maldives at Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa Maldives.
Not that a trip to the Indian Ocean need be any more enticing, but just in case you're looking for one more reason to escape the Middle East heat this summer, the resort also has a GCC Celebration offer for stays until December 20, 2022. The special offer includes 20 per cent discount on seaplane transfers, $30 spa credit per person per stay, 20 per cent off special dinner discount for Beach or sand sofa dinners, a welcome bottle of sparkling or non-alcoholic wine and chocolates in your room awaiting your arrival, a private in-villa floating breakfast for Pool Villa guests, a sunset cruise for those staying four or more nights, and a 10 percent discount on a photoshoot package, so you can commit your once-in-a-lifetime Indian Ocean adventure to celluloid forever.