Slip sliding away at Soneva Jani in The Maldives
There’s playfulness and pampering in abundance at this exquisite resort in The Maldives.
The mood is ultra marine, from the heightened turquoises and soft azures of an intense blue-green palette to the innate sense of playfulness that defines a stay at Soneva Jani. This is The Maldives, but not as I have known it. First thing each morning, again in the pinkness of settling twilight, and umpteen times between, I swirl down a waterslide with my arms in the air and shriek like a nine year old. That was the age I arrived in Australia and, apparently, squealed when I saw the sea, which was not the same chill grey vastness that had terrified me in Brighton, England. It was an altogether different colour and warmth and that’s how I feel in The Maldives. I am nine again and I want to float day and night and relish the water’s unaccustomed silkiness on my wintered Sydney skin.
I have come to the right place. Soneva Jani resort features beach and overwater villas in categories dubbed reserves and retreats, and of varying sizes, all with private pools, most with slides, and the accommodation is almost ridiculously spacious. Next year another phase of villas will be added to the inventory.
I love the exaggerated angles of the multistorey wood-shingled overwater options, their pylons thrust into the sandy floor of the lagoon. These abodes feature deeply brimmed roofs, vaulted ceilings, irregular windows and bi-fold doors, and are capped with turrets and conical roofs perched like pixie hats. It’s all a bit next-level Hobbit mansion, with thatch, bamboo, rattan, Sri Lankan cotton and renewable plantation timbers that are limed and whitewashed. Light fittings are of twigs and cane or shaped like looming stingrays. Ladders lead direct from decks, and via semi-open bathrooms, to the waters of the Indian Ocean and pop-up TVs are tucked into brass-hinged steamer trunks.
But why watch cable network shows when the real Discovery Channel is happening down below, viewed through porthole-like glass panels in the floor.
The weather is squally in June and the shake and rattle of water reserve No 2 on the first night makes me feel as if I am aboard a ship, ploughing into a storm. But there’s a moodiness and wonder to the showery winds. Soneva Jani hovers as if lightly tethered amid one of the biggest lagoons in The Maldives. And then all goes still. It’s a tranquillity so deep it has its own sounds. A slight scuffle. A light creak. A polite rattle. Only a tiny knock on the door from room attendant Niyaz can be definitely distinguished. He’s here with extra pods for my breakfast coffee.
My companion Alice and I roam around our four-bedroom water-lapped palace that, Niyaz tells us, most precisely, has an area of 1226sq m. So no wonder we rarely bump into each other, except in our lagoon-facing pool, plenty long enough for ladylike laps, or bouncing on our boom net, or with feet up in the sputnik-sized conversation pit or on that waterslide set high on our deck that becomes our preferred method of arrival “home”.
Shoes have been abandoned, swimsuits and sarongs are all we wear; maybe a cotton shift for dinner. Hair is salt-tangled, makeup ignored, Alice cycles hands-free along the tentacle-like boardwalks that connect the main facilities; I walk behind terrified she will fall off, but she doesn’t, despite a lot of wobbling. This is our new life as Maldivian water sprites. The prospect of leaving is so ghastly we plot how we could just stay, hiding out like castaways, perhaps with the connivance of Khajja, our official Ms Friday in resort parlance, who could surely be called upon to slip us the occasional food parcel.
In that package would be whatever she could wrangle from The Crab Shack, the resort’s sand-between-the-toes beachside restaurant where chef Nila’s reef fish, wrapped in banana leaf and hessian and cooked in white-hot earth, almost steals the show. But, wait, here come head chef Priyantha and waitress Subi with the dishes of the day. The crabs are at least 1kg apiece and are served in variations such as black pepper, chilli sauce or chef Ranadewa’s “secret, slow-cooked, holy recipe handed down from several generations”.
Lion lager from Sri Lanka or gin freshly infused with pandan, cardamom and basil are the drinks of the afternoon in this open-sided hut where most diners loll in swimsuits and straw hats. Quite a few just doze off. This is my favourite spot at Soneva Jani. A sort of Gilligan’s Island, with amazing catering.
The main restaurant, So Fresh, is ranged over several levels in the facilities building, The Gathering, which also features a boutique, wellness spa that uses Australia’s luxurious Sodashi products, gym, wine cellar and children’s club. There are abundant buffets, a la carte options and the added lures of various cold rooms with cheese and charcuterie, desserts, chocolate, macarons, sorbets and ice-cream in a reputed 60 flavours such as mango, passionfruit and pistachio. Guests can pop by any time for a scoop or sweet treat, which is a terrible temptation. Sri Lankan curries, tandoor dishes, sushi and sashimi from the ice-heaped “raw bar”, thin-crust pizzas and salads featuring ingredients from Soneva Jani’s organic garden are particularly good. For lunch, don’t go past prawn tempura, zesty Thai papaya salad and crab cakes with sweet peppers and coriander salsa.
Or check the “comfort menu” for burgers and big sandwiches.
There’s also a chef’s table and the So Imaginative private dining options overseen by Japanese “Michelin master” Kiichi Okabe, with set menus that could include truffled tofu and just-caught seafood with miso dressing. On the top level is an open-air observatory with a giant telescope to view the night skies with the assistance of an in-house astronomer. In some of the water retreats there are retractable roofs above the master bedroom so you could engage in a spot of lie-down stargazing in bed.
And everywhere you look is another amply cushioned daybed or cabana, or perhaps a swing or hammock to rock and loll.
One night we leave the big loop of water retreats and reserves over the lagoon to “go ashore” at Medhufaru Island and walk through shrubbery and across stepping stones to dine on clear suimono broth bobbing with dumplings at Japanese kaiseki-inspired satellite restaurant The Director’s Cut. We dig deep into a matcha lava dessert that explodes like a micro-volcano with yuzu and coconut ice cream. In the background, and lit by a fingernail moon, Helen Mirren’s image is on an elevated screen over the isle’s southern tip. She’s disclosing the secrets of French cooking in The Hundred-Foot Journey.
Guests are curled up on cushioned boom nets strung from a wooden deck at this unlikely water-bound theatre known as Cinema Paradiso. They are all equipped with Bluetooth headphones so there’s no amplified noise to disturb the marine life.
Of course it’s not all to do with hanging about when there is a 12km reef encircling Soneva Jani and a fully equipped dive centre to hand, with marine biologists to guide and educate guests on the mysterious ways of manta rays and sea turtles. There are sandbank picnics, sunrise beach breakfasts, romantic sunset soirees, full moon parties, dolphin-spotting cruises, snorkelling expeditions, and tons of activities for junior guests.
Medhufaru Island is in the Noonu atoll, about 45 minutes by seaplane north from Male, the capital. Soneva operates a private lounge at the Trans Maldivian Airways terminal and then it’s a seamless journey skimming across a seascape speckled with bright sugar-sand atolls.
“Welcome to Soneva Jani international airport,” announced the pilot when we disembarked almost a week ago on to a pontoon to be greeted and whisked by launch to the resort’s jetty. Then we swivelled our heads to take in that 360-degree views of seemingly limitless blue. Clearly, it was time to take a deep breath and succumb. And so we did and now, with our dreaded departure mere minutes away. Khajja gets us into a hug so tight we might burst. Returning to the reality of our lives seems the cruellest blow imaginable.
■ soneva.com
Susan Kurosawa was a guest of Soneva.
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MORE TO THE STORY
The Soneva brand, developed by hotelier Sonu Shivdasani and wife Eva, has a long history in The Maldives. When their first property, Soneva Fushi (pictured), opened in 1995, it was considered a game-changer for the region. Its rigorous green code, 100 per cent carbon-neutral credentials, charitable foundation, community projects and emphasis on “intelligent luxury” have since become adopted by many other responsible accommodation chains.
The couple widely expanded their assets under the Six Senses banner but sold out in 2012 and now run just Soneva Kiri in Koh Kood, Thailand; Soneva “in Aqua”, a two-cabin yacht; and the Maldivian duo, Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani, an hour apart by speedboat.
Care is taken never to drill into reefs for construction, to harness solar energy, to collect and treat all waste water and recycle every scrap of rubbish at onsite facilities. Water is filtered, mineralised, alkalised and bottled on site in reusable glass. The foundation motto of “no shoes, no news” may have been somewhat compromised by the arrival of Wi-Fi and satellite TV, but the vibe is still barefoot and unbuttoned and guests at all properties hand over their shoes upon arrival, to be whisked away in a cotton bag.
Soneva Fushi, on Kunfunadhoo island in the UNESCO Biosphere reserve of Baa Atoll, is being refreshed, with new and revamped spaces and additional villas in progress. But what will remain unchanged is the backlot recycling centre, the size of a football field, and the rare sense of wildness on a forested island where restaurants overhang the lagoon, are lodged in treetops and tucked within vegetable gardens, and where guests cycle and stroll slowly and leave minimal environmental footprints.