Centara Hotels & Resorts has its origins in a venture that was begun late in the 1970s when Central Group purchased a 7.5-hectare site in Bangkok's Chatuchak district with the aim of creating Thailand’s first integrated shopping centre, convention centre and hotel. The project, known today as Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao Bangkok and Central Plaza shopping and lifestyle centre, opened in 1983.
A few years later came the acquisition of Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Hua Hin, a magnificent colonial-style resort opened in late 1922 as The Railway Hotel, a classic hotel of the Far East. A third five-star property was added to the portfolio with the opening of a resort in Samui in 1995.