A five-star island in South Ari Atoll, formerly Centara Grand Island, with 112 villas, most of them over the water, a house reef with a 52-metre wreck, and whale sharks a short boat ride away.
Machchafushi is a small island in South Ari Atoll, 25 minutes from Malé by seaplane, open since 1992 and renovated in 2016. It was Centara Grand Island until it took back the island's own name as part of The Centara Collection. The house reef runs out from a shallow lagoon to a 60-metre drop, with the Kudhi Maa, a 52-metre cargo ship sunk as an artificial reef, at 12 to 30 metres on its edge, and the South Ari Marine Protected Area, with its whale sharks, is a short boat ride south.
About three-quarters of the 112 villas are over the lagoon: the Overwater Villas (86 m²), facing the sunrise or the sunset, with a soaking tub and a sundeck with steps into the water; the Reethi Muraka Overwater Villas (106 m²) with a catamaran net; Family Overwater Villas (93 m²) with a kids' bedroom; and the Club Sunset Overwater Pool Villas (114 m²). On the beach, 42 Duplex Beach Villas (87 m²) put the bed on a mezzanine, and eight Club Two Bedroom Beach Pool Villas (159 m²) have their own pool. The Club villas come with The Club, a lounge with its own pool and beach.
Reef serves buffets with live stations and a teppanyaki counter; Suan Bua cooks Thai food in a pavilion over a lotus pond; and Mare Azzurro serves Italian food and seafood over the lagoon. The Coral Bar is the two-storey social hub, with pool tables and a teens' games room, and the Aqua Bar faces the sunset. Rates are bed and breakfast, with half board, full board and all-inclusive plans. There's SPA Cenvaree, a PADI dive centre, a big pool and the Camp Safari kids' club.
Most of this profile comes from travel agencies, checked against Centara's own pages for the villas and price. Most villas are compact, only the 28 Club villas have a private pool, and every villa takes at most two adults. Some agencies still list it as Centara Grand Island.
One of 42 villas on the beach, with a king bed on a mezzanine, a living room and a large bathroom with a bathtub and an outdoor shower. Two adults and up to two children.
King bed
An overwater villa facing the sunrise or the sunset, with a king bed, a bathroom with a Jacuzzi bathtub and a separate shower, and a private sundeck with steps into the lagoon. Two adults and a child.
King bed
A larger overwater villa with rattan and hardwood furnishings, a spacious terrace for private dinners, a catamaran net and direct access to the lagoon. Two adults and a child.
An overwater villa with a king bed, a kids' bedroom with bunk beds and a games console, a Jacuzzi in the bathroom and a secure, child-friendly sundeck with direct access to the lagoon. Two adults and two children.
King bed and bunk beds
An overwater villa facing the sunset with a 12 m² infinity pool, a spacious sundeck, a bedroom looking out to sea, and access to The Club lounge, its pool and beach. Two adults and a child.
One of eight two-bedroom villas on the beach with a deck with sun loungers, a plunge pool and access to The Club lounge. Two adults and up to three children.
The same resort and the same villa, booked through people who live here.
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Buffets for every meal with Maldivian and international dishes, live cooking stations and a ten-seat teppanyaki counter
Home-style Thai cooking from four regions of Thailand, for dinner
Italian food and seafood: pasta, pizza, prime cuts and the day’s catch, for dinner
A lounge for Club villa guests: à la carte breakfast, afternoon tea and an apéritif hour with canapés and premium drinks
Cocktails, afternoon tea, pool tables and board games
Classic cocktails and light bites
Private dinners on the beach
Thai-style treatments
A PADI centre with dives on the house-reef wreck, Kudarah Thila and Broken Rock, and whale shark and manta trips in the marine protected area
A kids' club with indoor and outdoor play areas, and the E-Zone games room for teenagers above the Coral Bar
A gym, kayaks, paddleboards, windsurfing, parasailing, water-skiing and jet skis
The shape comes from OpenStreetMap, simplified: a guide to the layout, not a survey. © OpenStreetMap contributors.
A 25-minute seaplane flight from Malé, sometimes with stops at other islands.
Dates, budget, who is coming. We will come back with three resorts that fit, and why.
