This Distant Atoll within the Maldives Simply Acquired Its First Resort — Right here’s What It’s Wish to Keep

There’s nothing fairly like a seaplane experience within the Maldives. Gliding over a string of impossibly blue lagoons with rows of overwater villas jutting out like spider legs offers you goosebumps. After dozens and dozens of seaplane rides throughout my yearly visits, few sights are extra jaw-dropping than a Soneva resort from above.

After I first noticed a handful of the resort’s huge overwater villas with roofs speckled just like the eagle rays that frequent its lagoon, a squiggly wood dock, and waterslides dipping into the ocean, I knew I used to be in for one thing distinctive.

A resort 30 years within the making, house owners Sonu and Eva ( Soneva, get it?) Shivdasani had been on the lookout for the right location for the resort of their goals. They discovered it on the uber-remote atoll of Makunudhoo, the place they’ve simply opened its first resort.

As soon as the seaplane touches down at Soneva Secret, it’s pure pampering from daybreak to nightfall. I boarded the speedboat, the place my devoted butler, Efro, requested for my sandals. I shortly put them right into a “no footwear, no information” bag — a “barefoot luxurious” idea created by the Shivdasanis. From there, the boat pulls as much as a blindingly white seashore, and I step into the sand for a castaway expertise Robinson Crusoe would kill for.

The island is quiet and virtually abandoned, lending to that far-flung, unique really feel Soneva Secret does so properly. As soon as I’m taken to my overwater villa, certainly one of simply 5 (the others are nonetheless being constructed), I see why. These almost 5,000-square-foot overwater mansions are higher stocked than most houses. I spent the subsequent 20 minutes roaming each inch, from its rooftop non-public spa room to its gymnasium to its 5 outside seating areas, every with glowing ocean views.

With the entire resort unfold throughout a small and slim island, rest is the purpose right here, and I did loosen up. Throughout my keep, I learn two books, received three massages, snorkeled with eagle rays, and ate my weight in multi-course meals.

Afternoons had been spent strolling on its delicate silica or zooming down the waterslide between visits to Soneva’s beloved chocolate, ice cream, charcuterie, and cheese rooms. Actions like diving a close-by shipwreck, a non-public film screening, or a abandoned island picnic can be found. You dream it, and the staff right here will make it occur.

After visiting almost 40 resorts within the Maldives, it’s laborious to think about a extra bespoke and want-for-nothing expertise than Soneva Secret. Learn my full overview for the Maldives resort that ups the posh ante on an already-opulent resort vacation spot.

The Rooms

Rooms listed here are extra like palaces. Every of the 14 villas and residences (standalone overwater Crusoe villas and its floating villa are nonetheless beneath development) has the precise blueprint. Its two residences are double the scale however feel and look the identical. The villa’s ethereal format options huge open-air seating areas, a major and youngsters’s bed room, an infinity pool, a kitchen space, and a sprawling important rest room with a soaking tub. So principally, you by no means have to go away your villa.

Every is embellished in Soneva’s signature model: gentle wooden the whole lot, shiny linen cushions that add a pop of colour, cowhide gentle shades from Thailand, and petrified wooden counters from Indonesia. One other over-the-top but whimsical function is the retractable roofs above the first mattress. The one distinction between the overwater and seashore villas is the waterslides — a enjoyable addition for teenagers and adults.

Meals and Drink

That is arguably the resort’s USP, or distinctive promoting level. A primary within the Maldives, there are 14 non-public cooks, every specializing in a unique sort of delicacies. Friends can request Indonesian for breakfast, Italian for lunch, or Japanese for dinner. Remember that generally the cooks are booked by different villas, so requesting not less than 24 hours prematurely is essential.

When you do wish to depart your villa, there are three eating places: So Primitive, which focuses on wood-fired meat and seafood; the Residing Room, for all-day eating; and Out of This World. Its signature celestial-themed restaurant, Out of This World, begins with a experience on the nation’s longest zipline. Thrill-seekers can zoom over the water from The Residing Room and land on the opposite facet, the place a 250-bottle wine room with a glass backside awaits, then climb the steps to a chef’s desk and seating space for a 10-course European fusion dinner. Afterward, take within the stars with the resort’s resident astronomer.

Actions and Experiences

It is laborious to go away your villa, however the number of distinctive choices is properly price it. Spend days snorkeling or diving with the resort’s marine biologist or utilizing any of Secret’s motorized or non-motorized toys. Attempt your hand at conventional weaving, go to the atoll’s native island, or plant coral.

Bespoke and personal experiences embody an astronomical dinner cruise, a sundown dolphin cruise, lunch, and lounging on a abandoned island. They’ve the fundamentals, like a gymnasium overlooking the ocean and a tiny island spa with each therapy beneath the solar, from Ayurvedic massages to pure gold facials.

Creativeness and creativity are inspired right here, so if in case you have a particular request for an exercise, your butler will possible reply, “Something for you.” Friends may attempt the “Secret Day” choice, a tailored itinerary designed only for you.

The Spa

There is a small thatched roof island spa appropriate for couple’s therapies. The spa has 9 pages of therapy choices for teenagers and adults, together with physique scrubs and sleep rituals. However one of many “wow-factor” facets of Soneva Secret is the non-public spa rooms on the second ground of every villa. Guide a therapy right here, the place you possibly can really feel the ocean breeze and take heed to the sound of the lapping waves when you get a rubdown from therapeutic massage therapists with “magic” palms.

Household-friendly Choices

Whereas this resort does really feel extra suited to {couples}, it’s additionally made for households. Every villa has a second bed room and toilet designed for kids, with a door filled with stuffed animals and toys.

The Den can be accessible for younger youngsters, though teeny tiny in comparison with the huge children’ golf equipment at their sister properties. Adorned with seashore baggage, hula hoops, and drawing tables, children will love customized consideration, and oldsters will take pleasure in their alone time. Varied each day actions embody scavenger hunts, mini Zumba lessons, cupcake baking, ziplining, and kite making.

Accessibility and Sustainability

The resort isn’t ADA-compliant, however this can be very sustainable. Soneva is likely one of the world’s most eco-conscious lodge manufacturers. From its Waste to Wealth heart to its chemical-free mosquito traps to its island backyard, sustainability is on the forefront of just about the whole lot. Repurposed offcuts and driftwood make up its villas, beef and lobster aren’t served in its eating places, and zero-waste is the resort’s purpose. Plans embody three floating photo voltaic farms that may energy as much as 85 p.c of the resort.

Location

Friends can attain Dhipparufushi Island within the nation’s northwest by way of a 70-minute seaplane experience from Malé. As it’s recognized administratively, Makunudhoo Atoll, or Haa Dhaalu Atoll, is likely one of the nation’s least developed, so a keep right here, with no neighbors, feels ultra-secluded and supremely non-public. There’s nearly no seaplane or speedboat site visitors generally discovered at different resorts within the Maldives — and there’s no gentle air pollution, so the celebrities placed on a present.

Easy methods to Get the Most Worth Out of Your Keep

You’ll pay a reasonably penny right here, however will probably be the holiday you’ll dream about whenever you shut your eyes. Vacationers can e-book with luxurious journey companies like cazenove+loyd for particular perks, like a complimentary castaway picnic expertise with a seven-night keep.