Maldives
What’s new:Centara Grand Island Resort and Spa
Thai brand Centara Hotels and Resorts is branching out with this new opening, its first overseas venture.
The four-star-plus Centara Grand Island Resort in South Ari Atoll will open in November, but is available now to take reservations. The colonial-style property has a central lighthouse and meandering boardwalks joining the 112 suites and villas to restaurants and other facilities.
There is beachfront and overwater accommodation, a variety of dining options, pools, sports, and fitness facilities, a spa, and a kids’ club. A wealth of snorkelling and diving sites are nearby, including the house reef, which has a sunken shipwreck.
Seychelles
What’s new:Allamanda TClub Resort
Sitting at the southern end of main island Mahe, the four-star Allamanda opened in July. It sits on the beautiful white sand at Anse Forbans in two and a half acres of gardens.
There are 24 bright but tasteful rooms, plus two larger rooms with balcony spa baths, and another four even larger rooms with spa baths, dressing areas and antique copper baths. All have ocean views.
There is a bar and restaurant offering Creole and international cuisine, plus a spa perched on a giant granite boulder. It has wonderful sea views and offers treatments using traditional products made from frangipani, cinnamon, citronella, coco, vanilla, and ginger.
Mauritius
What’s new:Tamarina Villas Golf Resort
Tamarina Villas Golf Resort is a five-star golf-lovers’ heaven. It opened in spring, though the spa is still in progress and will open early next year.
Sitting on the island’s southwest coast, it offers 119 three- and four-bedroom villas, each with a private infinity pool and views of the mountains, the ocean or the immaculate 43 hectare, Rodney Wright-designed 18-hole championship golf course.
Each villa has exclusive use of a golf buggy, a state of the art kitchen and barbecue, dining terrace, and the services of a personal butler. There are two restaurants: one in the clubhouse, and one in the beachhouse, which specialises in seafood.
It’s perfectly located for exploring the interior of the island, and is near the Casela Nature and Leisure Park, where families can spot 150 species of birds, tigers, lemurs, ostriches, giant tortoises and lions.
Sri Lanka
What’s new:Reef, Era Beach Hotel
Era Beach Hotel, a luxury boutique on Sri Lanka’s south coast, will open on October 24.
Sitting on a stunning bay, where fisherman still stand on stilts to reel in their catch, the hotel is minutes from UNESCO World Heritage site of Galle. There are eight en-suite rooms: four sea-view suites with verandahs, two garden suites with private courtyards, and two lobby suites.
Facilities include a swimming pool, a large garden, and a beachfront terrace. The restaurant serves Asian and Mediterranean cuisine and a range of spa treatments are available.
Exotic hideaway Reef is set in tropical gardens, 19 miles south of the capital Colombo. Reef opened in July, with seven deluxe suites. The accomm-odation brings a touch of colonial grandeur, with four-poster canopy beds used during the British Raj, Keralan ceiling tiles and, on some verandahs, antique Indian swings overlooking the ocean.
There’s a pool, table tennis pavilion, and tennis court set in three acres of landscaped gardens, including two lily ponds stocked with fish, plus 65 metres of beach frontage. The Reef spa opens later this year.
Sample product
Hayes and Jarvis offer six nights’ all-inclusive at the Centara Grand Island Resort and Spa in the Maldives from £2,029 per person, including flights, valid on departures from November 1-15. hayesandjarvis.com, 0871 664 0246
Elite Vacations offers seven nights’ room only at the Tamarina Villas Golf Resort in Mauritius, with six people sharing a three-bedroom villa, from £1,735 per person, including flights, transfers and a lounge pass. Valid until December 10. elitevacations.com, 01707 371000
