In the Maldives, a new multi-island destination with a contemporary Thai character provides an idyllic backdrop for local experiences.

A Thai staffer at Spa Cenvaree Retreat; the historic presidential palace in Malé City. — *Left to right:* A Thai staffer at Spa Cenvaree Retreat inside the Centara Grand; the historic presidential palace in Malé City. (Photos: James Louie)

From a poolside lounge at the months-old Centara Grand Lagoon Maldives, I can see flawless blue skies and coconut palms swaying above a white-sand beach. But it’s not the postcard-perfect view that has my attention. Instead, I’m fixated on the deft hands of Mohamed “Achoo” Azumoon, the young recreation attendant giving me a crash course in boduberu drumming. His movements seem effortless. “I learned to play boduberu at school,” he says. “Most Maldivians do.”

At first, I struggle to mimic Achoo’s fingers and palms as they alternate between the rim and center of the goatskin drumheads, tapping them in one fluid motion. We try four different rhythms until it finally clicks. Beaming at my progress, Achoo ups the tempo and we play in unison, the hypnotic beats resounding through the room. In that moment, I feel connected to the pulse of the Maldives—a nation of more than a thousand coral islands in the heart of the Indian Ocean, shaped for centuries by influences from East Africa, Arabia, and India. Boduberu traces its roots to the Swahili coast, yet over time it evolved into a uniquely Maldivian form of music and dance.

That spirit of cultural blending extends to The Atollia by Centara Hotels & Resorts. Set on three reclaimed islands—one still under development—at the western edge of North Malé Atoll, the complex comprises both the Centara Grand and the more playful Centara Mirage, where a water park features the country’s first lazy river. A short bridge connects the two. “Centara really focuses on Thai heritage, and we try to combine that with Maldivian allure,” says Andrew Jansson, The Atollia’s Swedish-Thai general manager. He tells me both properties have a unique role in the global expansion of the Bangkok- based hospitality group. “Every new Centara Grand resort will follow a similar model to this one, and the same goes for Centara Mirage,” Jansson adds. “Though the concept can be very modern, there will always be a Thai-ness to it.”

At The Atollia, that manifests in myriad ways. Bangkok design firm Integrated Field created the understated architecture of Centara Grand, whose 142 villas balance off-white walls and wooden elements with pops of color: sea-green sofas, carpets patterned in turquoise, blue, and rust red. Thai beauty brand Pañpuri supplies the bath products, while Thai therapies are offered at Centara Grand’s sedate Spa Cenvaree Retreat and at Centara Mirage, where kids get their own candy-themed treatment room. Island-grown Thai basil goes into the pad krapow at Centara Mirage’s Suan Bua restaurant, a brand staple with an all-Thai kitchen team.

As I discover one night, Suan Bua does an excellent massaman curry, but the standout dish is larb moo, a mouth-tingling minced-pork salad that rekindles memories of a trip to Thailand’s northeast. A server named Tommy confirms that the luscious ice cream atop my coconut-and-sago pudding is made with nam dok mai mangoes imported from Thailand. “It’s one of our bestsellers!” he adds.

An aerial view of Centara Mirage Lagoon Maldives; Suan Bua restaurant’s yum neua yang (grilled beef salad). — *Left to right:* An aerial view of Centara Mirage Lagoon Maldives; Suan Bua restaurant’s *yum neua yang* (grilled beef salad). (Courtesy of Centara Mirage Lagoon Maldives)

*Left to right:* Inside a sleek two-bedroom beach villa at Centara Grand Lagoon Maldives; looking out from the same resort’s main pool. (Photos: James Louie)

A great many of the resort staff, be they Thai, Maldivian, or Filipino, radiate a natural warmth. I’m also impressed by their openness to going off-piste. Hence a class in the Arabic-influenced script of the local Dhivehi language, an activity usually reserved for younger guests at Centara Mirage kids’ club. A few minutes in, it dawns on me that the letters of the Dhivehi alphabet—like Noonu, Baa, and Laamu—are used as shorthand for the names of local atolls.

Also on the cards is an outing to Malé City via the neighboring airport island, a 40-minute speedboat ride from The Atollia. I’m on a mission to track down valhomas, the delicious smoked Maldivian tuna I first ate a decade ago while backpacking in Sri Lanka. Waiting for me on the airport quay is tour guide Abdul Rahmaan Ahzam Ahmed, who goes by the nickname Zam. We hop into a taxi bound for downtown Malé to begin a whistle-stop sightseeing tour. “187,000 people live on an island two kilometers across,” Zam explains. “This is the most densely populated capital city in the world.”

Indeed, the streets are full of life: humming with motorcycle traffic and flanked by cafés and grocery stores, banks and schools. We stroll past the presidential palace and the tomb of the 12th-century Moroccan scholar credited with bringing Islam to these shores, before entering the Malé Friday Mosque. It’s unlike any I’ve seen in my travels. The 1650s coral-stone landmark was built without mortar, and its tiered aluminum roof conceals an ornate domed ceiling and intricate carvings in sandalwood and ebony. Zam tells me prayer times were once proclaimed from the sturdy minaret by blowing a conch shell. But is that still done on other islands? “Not anymore,” he shrugs. “It’s too much work.”

Soon, we tour a market where stalls heave with fiery scotch bonnet peppers, screw pine, rambutan, and breadfruit. Zam points out the dainty green local mangoes and prized sea almonds, which taste like sunflower seeds. A grandfatherly vendor offers us free samples of traditional snacks, and I leave with a haul of sea almonds, coconut candy, and, of course, some vacuum-packed valhomas.

That night at the Centara Grand, Malé-born chef Ahmed Faisal has prepared a Maldivian feast on the beach outside Bluefin, the resort’s Mediterranean restaurant. Joining me is Ahmed Zaan Hussain, a Centara marketing staffer from Addu City in the Maldives’ far south. We tuck into a salad of collard greens with curry leaves, shaved young coconut, and smoked tuna, all tied together by the rich flavor of fermented fish paste. Also on the menu is a chicken curry typically enjoyed after Friday prayer, roshi flatbread, pumpkin and banana blossom with scotch bonnet pepper, and tomato and tuna fried rice. My favorite dish? The kirugarudhiya, a smoky coconut and turmeric fish soup. Zaan sighs with nostalgia after taking a spoonful: “This tastes like my mom’s cooking—it’s the food I miss.” Drinking up every last drop of the broth, I’m grateful The Atollia can serve both terrific Thai cuisine and, if you ask for it, real home-style Maldivian fare.

Rates start from US$850 per night at Centara Grand Lagoon Maldives and US$315 per night at Centara Mirage Lagoon Maldives; centarahotelsresorts.com

The breezy Bluefin restaurant; a canvas by the resort’s in-house artist. — *Left to right:* The breeze Bluefin restaurant at Centara Grand; a canvas by the resort’s in-house artist. (Photos: James Louie)

*Left to right:* The arrival jetty at Centara Grand Lagoon Maldives; the same resort’s all-day dining venue, The Gallery. (Photos: James Louie)

This article originally appeared in the October/November 2025 print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“Not Just a Pretty Place”). Buy a single issue or subscribe here.

Centara’s The Atollia: Where Thai Style Meets Indian Ocean Charm

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