We were met by Centara representatives at their desk at Male airport. The journey to the resort in their speedboat took about 20 minutes.
On arrival we were given a friendly welcome at the resort jetty, check-in admin was quick, our AI package inclusions & exclusions were explained but we already knew what they were.
Our room wasn’t ready so we were taken to lunch at Oceans buffet restaurant.
After lunch we were taken by buggy to our villa, no. 375 which was almost at the end of the boardwalk. It seemed a long ride, we considered making a request to be moved to one nearer the pool but then we thought for us it was actually a blessing to be far - it at least gave us some much needed exercise walking to & fro three times a day.
There is a lot to eat at this resort!
Our outdoor spa tub water villa was fantastic, it was a good size with a massive bed, lovely toiletries, snacks & drinks replenished daily and best of all, two sturdy sun loungers we could dangle our feet off and observe ‘Simon’ the shark & his mates go by. The reef is also really close to the villa steps and it’s easy to swim to the edge, hold on to the rope & watch lots of colourful fish, if you’re lucky even black tip sharks, turtles & rays. Another highlight of our room was stargazing from the double jacuzzi hot tub!
There are a few transportation ships passing by but we enjoyed watching them and they don’t seem to affect the marine life?
The resort is in a beautiful setting, there’s a lovely long stretch of clean sandy beach, a couple of water swings & ample sun loungers, 2 big pools with swim up bars and low level music playing in the background. Our favourite was the Waves bar & pool for its design and size. We went to the other pool area only once and it was full of what seemed like day pass guests but it didn’t impact us or our use of the facilities. Close to the second pool was another boardwalk & more water villas.
Facilities & activities we used and really enjoyed at extra cost, was the massage treatments, beach seafood dinner, Thai street food dinner and for free, the kareoke evenings, beach disco, beach film night with popcorn, acqua yoga / gym, and the live musicians that played daily at the various bars and restaurants from late afternoon to evening, keeping the island holiday vibe going.
There are four restaurants, all serving authentic tasty dishes; Thai, Italian, Arabic & Oceans buffet restaurant which did a great job with their various theme nights, our favourite was Indian & Mexican - spot on.
Oceans also has to be mentioned for the delightful range of fresh breads, salads & hot & cold desserts. You really won’t go hungry or get bored with the food at this resort.
And they serve a quaint afternoon tea in the glorious setting of the Vue bar.
This wouldn’t be a fair review if we didn’t mention the few things that could be improved on such as: the hotel doesn’t have any standby buggy’s to take you to the far end of the boardwalk, we suggested to hotel management that having one available especially late afternoon, would enhance the experience particularly after spending a day in the sun & when you’re feeling lethargic with sunstroke! I’m pleased to say the feedback seemed to be taken on board as one was visible during our last couple of days.
We also thought the cost of motor sports, eg jet ski’s etc was very high eg $500 plus taxes for an hour and that was a special offer - it’s a shame they were mostly unused. We would have had a go if they were reasonably priced.
The non alcoholic drinks were a bit sweet but the staff were happy to adjust to taste.
So back to the positives and the most important aspect for us was the staff - from maintenance & security you see around the resort to the General Manager, they all exceeded our expectations by keeping the resort looking lovely, safe, hospitable, they create a wonderful relaxing holiday vibe. Credit to the GM who clearly empowers his team to use their initiative & be flexible and they all seemed extremely motivated and eager to please.
Although all the staff were good, apologies for not mentioning them all, here are a few that were exceptional and made a difference to our stay:
Shubu - our eager to please villa attendant
Unoo & Amber - always happy to see us at Oceans
Faisal, Suatz, Husenti who topped our water glasses up & chatted as they went about their business.
Special mention to Yaya, Nadiya & Nuzmul for being so charming, caring & kind & for creating a romantic last night dinner for us.
Our favourite live cooking chefs Jeet & Gurdan (probably spelt that wrong) in Oceans who made us the most delicious hot flaky buttery nan breads and other treats.
And Chef Tiron thank you for always checking we were having a good time and our culinary needs were met.
Thank you Team Centara Ras Fushi, Maldives for an amazing holiday, we appreciated all your efforts.
