It will likely follow the very successful formula of its sister island, Centara Grand in South AriAtoll, in being a 4 star all-inclusive but it may not be as ‘premium’ as its sister resort as it doesn’t carry the ‘Grand’ in its name. A significant other difference will be the accent on adults, as opposed to the family-friendly set-up of Centara Grand.

Apart from the successful formula from this leading Thai hotel company, the key selling point may be its proximity to the airport. It is just a 10 minute speedboat ride away. This means that the transfers are not only cheaper and faster but that guests arriving at night, when theseaplanes don’t fly, can still get straight to their resort. As it is mostly flights from the East that is affected by night arrivals and as the management company is Asian, it is likely that a large part of the guests here will be Asian.

The island itself is small, lying at the edge of its own large lagoon, which is perfect for the many overwater villas and for swimming safely around in. Diving will be to the many nearby and well-known sites, including the famous ‘Victory’ wreck.

The cuisine will feature prominently and all the bases are covered, with themed buffets and specialist Arabic, Middle Eastern, Italian, Chinese and Thai outlets. For a taste of the Maldives dream this resort is likely to keep a lot of people very happy.

It would be remiss, however, not to mention the next door island of Thilafushi. This is a man-made light-industrial island, where the rubbish from Male and elsewhere is brought and disposed of. The technology for this process is set to improve dramatically in the next year or so, but it is fair to say that it can just occasionally be disturbing.