So you've arrived at Centara Grand Island Resort, Maldives and having made the 3 minute boat ride form the sea taxi pontoon to reception you are hopefully now sat on a sofa with a welcome drink in hand (mango juice with mint cordial - very nice)
Firstly reception is attached to the Aqua Bar, which also happens to be one of the best locations to watch the infamous Maldivian sunset. Behind you are the Luxury Sunset Villas, to your left the Azzuri Mare restaurant, and in front of you the main island with the watersports centre being most obvious.
When you are given your room key (electronic) you are also given a map, which looks exactly like this:
The main restaurant, where breakfast is served, is on the North of the island and is called the Reef Restaurant and sits alongside the Coral Bar. The island is tiny so nowhere is more than 10 minutes away even if you had a villa right out on the edge.
Eating and Drinking
An important part of any holiday should, in my opinion, involve enjoying the local food and drink. At time of writing (April 2012) Centara is fully inclusive, meaning you can go your whole holiday without buying and food or drink. Of course like all inclusive packages there are certain items that aren't included. Items from the mini bar in your room being a good example, ,nor premium beers, wines or spirits. Here's a summary of the drinks position:
Lager
The local lager is called Lion Lager and is brewed in Sri Lanka. It's nice and reminds me of the Corono/Sol type of beers in the UK. In the bars, this your only all inclusive choice, but in the restaurants you can order Tiger or Carlsberg on your inclusive package. Corona is chargeable as are some of the other premium brands. There is no beer/bitter nor Guinness.
Vodka
All inclusive brand is called Petrov, which sounds Russian but is actually The Netherlands. Grey Goose and Absolut are available for a charge.
Gin
Gin is called Dry London Gin, but again, is from the Netherlands. Bombay Sapphire and Gordon's available for those wishing to upgrade.
Wine
Red and white is by the South African brand Two Oceans and the sparkling wine is by Kraeur. All very pleasant and I've certainly paid for worse in UK pubs over the years.
In summary, the all inclusive options are very good and I've been pleasantly surprised by how good they are. If you want to upgrade then you can and the choice is extensive so all tastes are catered for. Given how expensive alcohol can be in the The Maldives, I think this is a real advantage of holidaying in Centara.
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