I had read a lot of reviwes before going to Centara Ras Fushi and was a little worried as i booked it for my honeymoon. I can honestly say we had the best time there and wouldnt have changed it for anything.

The staff could never be talked about highly enough, they are so friendly and helpful and go over and above in everything they do. Our house keeper Mode was the nicest guy and our room was absolutely spotless twice a day.

All the little things i read before i went did concern me but things like rubbish island is no more than a large industrial island that has no real impact on your holiday whatsoever and can be seen from all islands in the area not just Centara. The lack of vegatation i also didnt seen as as true , its a beautiful little island. We also stayed in the water villas and even though there is a walk to the main land, i wouldnt ever say it is very far and was very surprised that this was an issues for some people.

Please dont be put off by this hotel, this was my honeymoon and i was in no way disappointed, the diving is out of this world, the place is paradise, the food is lovely! :)

This review has been long time pending. We stayed at Ras Fushi for 11 days to celebrate our honeymoon in the month of June. After exhausting search of many resorts we homed on to Centara; this being a new property and wonderful reviews on the Trip Advisor.

Now about the resort:

1. The property being new has a gorgeous new speed boat that whisks you away from airport to island in less than 20 mins.

2. You are greeted with pleasing staff who give you all the info you need about the island and the resort. A welcome drink follows of course.

3. You can walk around the island or can choose to use their complimentary buggy service which is very effective. The island is not very big so you can comfortably roam around and enjoy the whole place.

4. We stayed in both Jacuzzi beach villa and Premium sunset spa water villa for good five nights each. So I can say that the rooms are absolutely neat without any problems. They have been well furnished to all the needs and the architecture is also modern. The air-conditioning works like a charm and I believe this is what many other resorts fail to offer.

5. The resort has three restaurants namely ocean front (all time buffet), La Brezza (Italian cuisine) and Suan Bua (Thai). All restaurants provide very good variety and taste of food. The menu in oceans front keeps changing on the daily basis. Being full board also gets you a daily limit of spending 60$ at the Italian or the Thai restaurant (taxes extra though).

6. There are three bars namely viu, pool side and one at the reception. The choice of liquors is good and I would strongly advice being on full board as you get unlimited drinks and and snacks here throughout the day. They have a specific full board menu which I felt is more than good. The viu bar gives an amazing view being ocean top and has excellent decor. The pool bar has its own charm where you can swim in the infinity pool and enjoy in bar stools submerged inside pool water.

7. The resort also has a variety of activities going on in the mornings and evenings the schedule of which one has to check. There is also an activity centre with Playstation and WII, along with a Foosball table (All complementary).

8. Lastly, the snorkelling experience we had was amazing. There is enough coral around the island and with the complementary snorkelling gear that is issued at arrival, it’s a delight to go take a plunge whenever you want. We were lucky to spot Stingray twice and some were even lucky to spot dolphins. You can also get additional snorkelling gear issued from the activity centre which we felt was better than the standard issue.

Hope this review helps other as we were helped by many. This resort is truly wonderful and a lifetime experience. We will return.

Pros:
- amazing service, very friendly staff ( exception being check in- they never informed us of activities such as yoga on the beach in the morning, nor how our half board package worked so that was a disappointment- more on that later)
- one of the most affordable water villa options for a honeymoon in the Maldives
- decent food
- close to Male so 20 minute boat transfer is easier/cheaper than an expensive sea plane
- new property so rooms/bars are in good condition
- amazing snorkeling off your balcony if you stay in a water villa or from the beach
- free non motorized water sports ( paddleboat/kayaking)
- reasonable prices for drinks/mini bar

Cons:
- very confusing meal plan options. Also, neither our travel agent nor the hotel explained to us that for every meal there was an additional government tax and service charge ( totaling to approx. 20% on each bill) We did the half board so all we knew was that we could do breakfast and dinner or lunch and dinner, but really you don't have unlimited options with this. You can only do breakfast or lunch at Oceans restaurant ( the buffet restaurant and our least favorite--flies everywhere on the food) Then for dinner you get $40 a person in a credit to spend on food and a drink included as well. We actually preferred this $40 a person credit for dinner instead of the all inclusive option because then we could order off the a la carte menu and get what we wanted, whereas if you did the all inclusive package- you had to get the set menu or incur additional charges to get the a la carte menu. Or so this is what we understood but it was all very confusing! In the end our bill was about $350 for 6 nights including dipping into the mini bar a couple times, drinks every night at the Viu bar, and all the service charges/government taxes, as well as eating at the Arabian restaurant one night. Another tip of ours would be to avoid the Arabian restaurant because it was an additional $20 charge per person and the food was lackluster. The Thai restaurant is definitely the best, followed by the Italian restaurant.
- The hotel is close to rubbish island, so you do see it and a big gray smoke cloud when coming to the island from Male and arriving at Centara. However, they cleverly have faced most of the water villas, restaurants and bars on the opposite side of the island so in that sense it is not an issue. However, my husband and I stayed in the premium water villas and when we walked towards the water villas ( room numbers in the 200s), it seemed that they might see the rubbish island when walking to their villas
- Also because the island is close to rubbish island, there is a terrible fly problem. This might be an issue at all islands in the Maldives, but since this was my only trip there I can't say- but it seems that proximity to rubbish island might cause it to be more of an issue at Centara.

Other Info:
This isn't specific to Centara- but with water villas you can slightly feel the villa move when someone walks inside the room or when there is a strong current. Also, the set up of water villas so close to each other means you can see your neighbors on their balconies so it is maybe not a private as you might expect.

Room Tip:
If you can afford it- the premium water villas are definitely worth it. They have much better views than the water villas numbered in the 200s, and water villa 380 is definitely the best because it is at the end of the water villa footpath so you don't have neighbors seeing you on your balcony ( although this means a longer walk back to the island- about 5-7 minute walk) Furthermore, even numbered villas are even better because they have the best sunset views.

Overall:
For the price you pay ( maldives standards that is since everything is expensive) this is what I would expect in terms of quality of service/ rooms and overall experience. It would be nice if there were more food options if you are staying more than a week because we were ready to eat something different after 6 nights there. Still definitely worth the trip- we had an amazing honeymoon there.