Monday newsletters always feature top 10 travel lists to inspire.
Today: Top 10 reasons why you should book a stay at Soneva Fushi (Maldives)
In 1995, the award-winning luxury resort Soneva Fushi set the standard for all desert island barefoot luxury hideaways in the Maldives. Located in the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Soneva Fushi pairs Robinson Crusoe fantasy with intelligent luxury. Sixty-four private villas with their own stretch of beach are hidden among dense foliage within touching distance of a pristine coral reef, while 8 overwater retreats represent the largest one- and two bedroom overwater villas in the world. Highlights include the open-air Cinema Paradiso, counting Saturn’s rings in the high-tech observatory, the home-made chocolate and ice cream rooms, five hundred wines to choose from, nine fine dining venues, a treasure trove children’s Den, a new Soneva Soul spa, and a multi-purpose facility encompassing a glass gallery, boutique and studio. Here are ten reasons why I love Soneva Fushi so much, and why I think that you should consider a stay here for your next holiday in the Maldives.
Soneva Fushi features in my top 10 list of the best luxury resorts in the Maldives. You can watch my new Soneva Fushi YouTube movie below.
Have you ever stayed at Soneva Fushi, and if so, what was your experience? Leave a comment below.
10. COMBINATION STAY WITH SONEVA JANI & SONEVA SECRET
Soneva Fushi is the sister resort of Soneva Jani, the most famous resort in the Maldives. Inspired by a word that means wisdom in Sanskrit, Soneva Jani is located in lagoon of crystal clear waters with uninterrupted 360° ocean views and built around an uninhabited five-island cluster in the Noonu Atoll. The property features 51 overwater pool villas, spread along two jetties. Known as North Jetty and south Jetty, both jetties are connected to the Maldives’ largest resort island, a tropical paradise fringed by pristine beaches and blanketed with lush tropical greenery. Highlights at Soneva Jani include the villas’ retractable roofs, private water slides, a wide range of sublime restaurants, personalized experiences & excursions, and a spectacular spa facility, Soneva Soul. Read my review of Soneva Jani here.
A stay at Soneva Fushi can also be combined with a stay at Soneva’s newest ultra-exclusive outpost in the Maldives, Soneva Secret (pictured below). The first resort in the Haa Dhaalu Atoll, Soneva Secret is a 30 min seaplane flight from Soneva Fushi and features 14 overwater and island villas, including the Maldives’ only floating villa. Designed to offer the ultimate in Soneva hospitality and exemplary service standards, each villa features a dedicated team of three, which includes a Barefoot Guardian, Barefoot Assistant and dedicated chef, to ensure every stay is wholly personalised. Thirty years in the making, the Soneva Secret resort concept builds upon Soneva’s experience at the forefront of exceptional hospitality, and sets a new, unmatched standard in intuitive, personalized service, exquisite private villas and unspoiled settings, surrounded by nature.
9. BEST RESORT IN THE MALDIVES FOR FAMILIES
Soneva Fushi is an adventure playground for children and teenagers. The island’s natural surrounds provide incredible opportunities for fun, educational and inspirational activities and experiences. Soneva Fushi has the largest kids’ club of the Indian Ocean, called the Den. Here, children can explore a pirate ship, two swimming pools, a Lego and Duplo room, dress-up and makeup area, cinema, library, learning area, music room filled with instruments, and more. Child caretakers are always on hand to watch over their every move, while parents can enjoy some quiet time. Children can also discover the marine world with Soneva’s Marine Biologist and will love the unending chocolates and ice creams, offered on a complimentary basis to all guests.
8. OUT OF THE BLUE
Focusing on an authentic Maldivian island experience, Soneva Fushi features both beach villas and overwater villas. But even when you stay in a beach villa, you can still enjoy an overwater experience at Out of the Blue, a fairytale-like two-story structure built over the resort’s fabulous lagoon on the island’s northern tip. Out of the Blue houses several dining experiences, from intimate settings of just five diners presided over by world-famous chefs to large alfresco shared dining areas. Besides these terrific dining outlets, Out of the Blue also features a large sundeck with very comfortable loungers, overwater netting, and a fun water slide, going directly from the top deck into the lagoon below, guaranteeing some great photo opportunities. Out of the Blue faces the west and offers terrific views of the amazing Maldivian sunsets, with dolphins more likely to be spotted on this side of the island.
7. BEST SNORKELING & DIVING IN THE MALDIVES
Soneva Fushi is located in the heart of the Maldives’ remote Baa Atoll. The latter has been declared a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, because it supports one of the largest groups of coral reefs in the Indian Ocean. As such, it should come as no surprise that Soneva Fushi is a diver’s dream, offering easy access to the world’s most breathtaking scuba diving sites. The resort has its own PADI-certified dive center, and the professional scuba diving instructors guide excursions to more than 30 sites, such as Hanifaru Bay, home to one of the world’s largest populations of manta rays If you are not comfortable with or don’t feel like diving, you’ll be happy to know that snorkeling at Soneva Fushi’s house reef is superb. Turtles and dolphins frequently pass close by the island. The dive center provides diving masks with optical lenses for those guests wearing glasses.
6. HOLISTIC WELLNESS AT SONEVA SOUL
Soneva Fushi’s recently upgraded and expanded wellness center – Soneva Soul – sets a new standard in holistic wellness. Encircled by the island’s lush jungle, the two-story wellness complex is inspired by its tranquil location, inviting guests to rejuvenate, restore and relax. The treatment menu at Soneva Soul unites two apparent opposites: traditional healing therapies and ancient rituals include Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine and herbalism; and innovative treatment methodologies include vitamin therapy and integrative medicine, such as cryotherapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and ozone therapy. Each treatment, ritual or therapy is based upon outcomes that target your individual needs, from rest, recovery and regeneration to detoxification, movement and health optimization.
5. THE MALDIVES’ MOST EXCLUSIVE YACHT
Soneva in Aqua is the first floating villa in the Maldives and every discerning traveler’s dream. The pioneering boat villa concept of the ultra-luxe Soneva hotel group combines all the benefits of the group’s iconic resort’s services and amenities with the freedom and exclusivity associated with a private boat charter. The two-cabin boat is anchored at Soneva Fushi and has a maximum occupancy of 6 guests, guaranteeing complete privacy and exclusivity. The ultraluxe yacht features a spacious main cabin with a glass bottom spa and shower facilities, as well as a second room with a king-sized bed and en-suite facilities. Other features include an external raised sun and dining deck, a lower level bar and dining area plus daybeds, lounge seating and a Jacuzzi. The yacht can be booked for sunset and dolphin cruises, as well as for multi-days itineraries in the Baa Atoll.
4. STELLAR DINING EXPERIENCES
Soneva Fushi features nine world-class restaurants, with over-the-top settings, impeccable service, and divine food. This includes Fresh In The Garden (a dining venue suspended above the jungle canopy), Shades of Green (the Maldives’ first vegan restaurant), and Out of the Blue (an overwater structure housing five fine dining outlets, including a terrific Teppanyaki table and world-class sushi counter). A stand out among the resort’s fine dining venues is Flying Sauces, which combines world-class gastronomy with the thrill and excitement of ziplining: after being securely strapped into safety harnesses, guests soar along a 200 m (656 ft) zipline route to reach an elevated dining platform, where a gastronomic dinner awaits them. Appealing to the international foodie scene and cementing Soneva Fushi’s reputation as an epicurean destination, the resort also regularly hosts some of the world’s most celebrated and Michelin-starred chefs.
3. THE WORLD’S BEST BREAKFAST
Soneva Fushi offers by far the most lavish breakfast buffet that I have ever encountered in any hotel in the world. It features a dedicated ham and cheese room, with sumptuous homemade cheeses, charcuterie and own-smoked salmon, in addition to an extensive menu with delicious Western and Asian dishes. You can also take your pick of more luscious delicacies straight from the wood-fired rock oven, hot and cold smoke oven and the earthen tandoor. There’s also another cold room offering an incredible variety of salads and vegetables, next to an outdoor fruit counter which offers the most amazing range of fresh fruits you’ll ever see at a hotel. And after breakfast, you can always retreat to the chocolate room, where the cocoa goodness is presented in blends of up to 95%, be it in the form of mousses, cookies, drinks, bon-bons or truffles.
2. PRISTINE WHITE SAND BEACHES
Soneva Fushi is a tropical paradise unrivaled in the world. The entire island – one of the largest in the Maldives – is covered by a magnificent verdant, dense jungle and is completely surrounded by blinding-white, palm-fringed beaches and a ridiculously clear, sparkling turquoise lagoon. From a scenic perspective, this is one of the most idyllic islands in the Maldives, and its fabulous, soft-sand beach easily rank amongst the best hotel beaches in the world. Since the resort occupies its own private island, the beach is quite deserted since it is only accessible to resort guests. An added bonus for beach aficionados it Soneva Fushi’s private sandbank, just about 5 minutes away by speedboat from the main island, where you can spend a romantic night under the vast Maldivian skies.
1. FABULOUS ROBINSON CRUSOE-STYLE BEACH VILLAS
Soneva Fushi features 64 massive, Robinson Crusoe-style, multi-bedroom beach villas and 8 one-and two-bedroom overwater villas, that seem to come straight out of a fairy tale. Hidden among dense tropical foliage and in keeping with the castaway theme, the beach villas are built to resemble tree houses. All open to their own private stretch of sugar white sands, and most boast their own private seawater swimming pools, some of them even featuring their own slides. The most stunning beach villas are located on Soneva Fushi’s sunrise side, which enjoys virtually unimpeded views out to sea, with Maalhos, the closest neighboring island on this side, just being a speck on the horizon. Located along a gently curving jetty along the island’s southern tip, the resort’s overwater villas are the largest one- and two-bedroom overwater villas in the world.
I have published on my Youtube channel full tours of Soneva Fushi’s one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom, and four-bedroom villas. You can also watch a tour of an overwater villa in my most recent YouTube video (at the top of this article, starting at 1:34:40).
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