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Spotlight: Centara Grand Maldives Island Resort & Spa

Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa Maldives delivers an exclusive five-star resort experience. Centara represents the apex of barefoot luxury and adventure travel. The stunning blue ocean water and exotic islands of the South Ari Atoll in the republic of Maldives set the backdrop for this amazing resort. Centara will unquestionably be a glamping experience you talk about for the rest of your life.

The resort provides a premium all-inclusive vacation experience, along with a perfect white sand beach and crystal clear water of the Indian Ocean. The resort features 112 suites and villas that are beach front or over water. Guest rooms are complete with a furnished living room area, bathroom with bathtub, or personal Jacuzzi Spa and heavenly rain shower, individually controlled air-conditioning, comfortably furnished terrace, flat-screen TV, Wi-Fi, and tea and coffee making facilities.

Whitewashed timber villas with thatched roofs are perched in the lagoon and linked to the island by wooden walkways, evoking the image of a tropical island community. Water Villas are set above the reef in the lagoon with a private stairway leading down to the water. Beach suites are tucked into the fragrant gardens. A white-sand beach rings the island. A suite can comfortably accommodate up to three adults or two adults and two children.

Under the resort’s Ultimate All-Inclusive Plan, this is an paradise island where cash is not required. Guests enjoy champagne breakfasts, superb cuisines for lunch and dinner, an open bar all day up to midnight, mini bar replenished daily, a sundowner cocktail party every evening, generous daily spa credits at Spa Cenvaree, snorkeling water sports and off-island excursions.

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Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa Maldives offers more than simply daytime sun, sea and sand. The resort features a variety of dining options, pools, recreation activities, fitness facilities, bars and lounges with nightly entertainment, Spa Cenvaree, and a kids club.

For the discerning leisure travelers, be sure to check out the Island Club. Guests who have booked Island Club Villas enjoy exclusive use of the Island Clubhouse, swimming pool, with a more expansive choice of beverages and popular spirits. Additionally, the club pool features cold towel service, tropical fruits, and refreshing sorbets served in the afternoon and a sun bed concierge service.

Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa Maldives is located on South Ari Atoll (Alifu Atoll) in the republic of Maldives and relatively close to Male’ International Airport (MIA). Maldives is an island nation, a compulsory purchase of seaplane transfer service from/to Male’ International Airport is necessary and required for all reservations. Seaplane air transfer time is only 25 minutes to the island.

centara-3A visit to Maldives is incomplete without experiencing the wonders of the underwater world. If you thought the aerial view was breathtaking, exchange your sunglasses for a mask and take a glimpse underwater. This is where the real treasure of the Maldives is hidden. Diving and snorkeling enthusiasts will feel right at home with the house reef complete with sunken shipwreck. Other top dive spots in Maldives are within an easily reachable distance from the resort as well. Maldives is one of the best diving destinations in the world and offers ample opportunities for the beginner as well as for more experienced divers. You don’t have to be an experienced diver to enjoy the fascinating underwater world of the Maldives. A snorkel, mask and fin is your passport to enrich your holiday experience and to encounter many species of playful fish, turtles and other curious sea-creatures that may be residing in the house reef.

Centara Grand is a divine destination perfect for couples, honeymooners, families, groups, and adventurous travelers. Visit the website for more information and to book your next vacation.

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Glamping in Southern California at El Capitan Canyon

Canvas tents at El Capitan Canyon

El Capitan Canyon takes great pride in sharing the beauty of the California coast. Staying here is an experience that is in harmony with nature and the environment. There are fewer and fewer places on earth where you can go to get away from man-made and artificial structures. El Capitan Canyon provides the perfect balance of comfort and essentials. Encounters with nature are designed to send you home with a greater sense of peace and serenity.

El Capitan Canyon is a year-round resort with an average temperature of 70° F. The stunning natural environment welcomes visitors and travelers from all over the globe. “Camping at El Capitan Canyon is not like pitching a tent at your local park. It’s more like being invited to the country compound of some old-money family with impeccable taste,” Sunset Magazine, April 2004.

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Luxury campers will feel right at home. For your stay, choose between a lodge, canvas tent, and a yurt. All accommodations are furnished with willow beds, western-styled blankets, and casual furnishings. There are 108 cedar cabins of varying sizes and bedding arrangements. All cabins have front porches, peak ceilings, standard bathroom facilities, individual heating controls, and kitchenettes with microwave, mini-fridge, wet bar sink, and coffeemaker. The Canyon Market and Canyon Pool feature Wi-Fi access if you absolutely need to connect. As you would expect, cabins also have outdoor picnic tables, grills, and fire pits. Gather with your family and friends to grill dinner and toast marshmallows.

Canvas tents at El Capitan Canyon provide a more traditional camping experience. The tents are 12 feet by 14 feet and erected on permanent wooden decks. Private bathroom and shower facilities are conveniently located in a nearby building. A heated swimming pool is also located in close proximity. Staying in tents doesn’t mean you need to cook your own meals, the Canyon Market and Deli can do all that while you relax. If you prefer to do your own cooking, be sure to bring all the necessary kitchen supplies.

The Chumash tribe was the original inhabitant of El Capitan Canyon. They lived undisturbed for an estimated 8,000 years. Chumash legend explains that the land was created when the Great Spirit enlisted 7 giant sea turtles to carry the land and touched the land to make trees grow and rivers flow. In the 19th century, Spanish explorers and settlers claimed the land. However, in 1848 California became part of the United States. The modern-day El Capitan Canyon resort began as a rugged campground in 1970. In 2000, new local owners Chuck Blitz and Roger Himovitz transformed the campground in a refined rural retreat.

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The vision of El Capitan Canyon is to protect and share the beauty of the California coast while providing a relaxing Santa Barbara beach camping experience. Every season has something to delight your senses. Smell the wild sage, listen to the croaking frogs or rhythmic waves, and feel the ocean breeze. El Capitan Canyon is very nature friendly. It uses solar power for heating the pool, promotes native vegetation, employs water conservation techniques, and reduces the impact of human presence by not allowing cars in the canyon. Complimentary bicycles are provided for quick transportation.

Not surprisingly, a beautiful landscape like this does not lack opportunities for adventure or relaxation. Guests can hike the canyon, explore the beach and surrounding areas on trails and bike paths, or relax and just enjoy glamping on the Santa Barbara coast. There are many free activities along with a selection of others that our staff can arrange with tour and adventure partners. Hiking, biking, surfing, rock climbing, sea kayaking, wine country tours, golfing, whale watching, and many others are on the list of things available.

El Capitan Canyon is a fantastic choice for your next vacation. Visit El Capitan Canyon’s website to learn more.

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African Safari Glamping at Sand Rivers Selous in Tanzania

Sand Rivers Selous is a secluded lodge in the Selous Game Reserve offering a view of the majestic curve of the Rufiji River. From its veranda, you can take in the magnificent sunset and the relaxing ambiance of the surrounding wildlife. The beauty of this glamping lodge was first made famous by Richard Bonham in 1984 who used this area of the Selous for his famous portered walking safaris, when the area was all but unknown.

Sand Rivers is set on a rocky peninsula with magnificent views over a vast sweep of the Rufiji River, its exposed sandbanks home to hippo, crocodile, and spectacular bird life. There are eight large and airy double, or twin-bedded cottages, each with its own spacious bathroom with flush toilets and powerful showers. Beds are four-postered with soft mosquito netting that ties back during the day. Each cottage is completely open-fronted, with an expansive veranda set on stilts, giving each a stunning and private view over the river. Electric lights, standing fans, and water heaters are solar powered.

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Enjoy a large open bar and dining area. There is also a swimming pool shaded by an ancient baobab tree on the banks of the river, in which you can cool off in the heat of the day. An unusual combination of steep wooded hills, open miombo woodland, grassy plains, and marshes interlaced with lakes and dry sand rivers, this scenic area boasts an impressive variety of game, bird life, and wild flowers.

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The main dining table in the central mess area is made of an enormous tree that was washed down the river by a storm and is the focus for lunch and dinner. Breakfast is generally a relaxed affair with guests either eating in the lodge or having a bush breakfast under the shade of a tree.

Outside the central mess area is the swimming pool, set into the rocks on the river’s edge, and shaded by an ancient baobab tree thought to be more than 1,500 years old. This is the perfect place for relaxing and gazing out over the view of endless water. Armchairs and sofas abound, and the bar is close by, along with a library well-stocked with books on the area.