Soneva Fushi
Guests’ shoes are whisked away on arrival at this island hideaway, where the ocean mesmerises with its clarity and colour.
How cool is this? The resort launch deposits guests on a sandbank the colour and fineness of spun sugar. Would we like fruity cocktails and canapes with our sunset or a shoulder massage by Soneva Soul spa therapists? It’s a weekly event and the icing on the multi-layered treat that is Soneva Fushi. But this is no frivolous place. What’s been achieved here, and at nearby sister property Soneva Jani, is a subtle version of luxury appropriately attuned to crucial conservation and sustainability measures in The Maldives.
Next morning, Ali and I are standing at the sea’s edge contemplating the clarity and colour of the water. Or at least I am thus absorbed. Ali is my family’s “barefoot butler” at Soneva Fushi and we are his “barefoot family”, our shoes removed upon arrival and whisked away. “No shoes! No news!” has been the mantra of this island hideaway since its launch in 1995, the branding a meld of the names of pioneering couple Sonu Shivdasani, an Indian-British hotelier, and Eva Malmstrom, a Swedish model. The original footwear-free ethos continues although the advent of speedy wi-fi and satellite TV means many a would-be beachcomber remains hyper-connected to the outside world.
Ali has swiftly become a friend, too, and we talk endlessly and joke about this and that. “The water is so incredibly blue,” I gush. He merely nods. I continue, a little too excitedly. “It’s every shade of blue .. and green … and aquamarine … as if someone has upended pots of paint. It’s too, too magical. What do you think, Ali?” I can tell he’s holding back a giggle. “I have never seen water of any other colour,” he tells me. And our laughter rises high and bright on the morning breeze.
I begin to believe pixies prowl about at night plumping up the foliage and sweeping the beaches at Maldivian resorts. A particularly talented and busy team of artists must be in charge of daubing sunrises and sunsets because all the pinks and tangerines in the world are on display in vivid cycloramas. And nowhere feels as magical and authentic and otherworldly as Soneva Fushi. It is my second visit to this gem on Kunfunadhoo Island in the Baa Atoll UNESCO biosphere reserve, 30 minutes by seaplane from Male, the capital. This time I have splurged the annual holiday budget and brought my son, daughter-in-law and their preschooler daughter. We have packed light, our bags bouncy with junior water-wings and inflatable toys. You could arrive with a swimsuit and sarong, straw hat and stash of books and not need another thing. There’s no showing off or dressing up.
My granddaughter is part water sprite and a junior sorceress. She charms every staff member to the point where she assembles a complete fan club. At beachfront Mihiree Mithaa, waiters compete to lead her to the buffet breakfast stations set under thatched pavilions where Sri Lankan hoppers and Indian roti smothered in coconut chutney win over cereal and toast. She eschews The Den, a supervised children’s club with myriad excellent activities, preferring to ride around in a golf cart with Ali at the wheel, spotting birds and deciding where there might be manta rays in the shallows or if a titan triggerfish could be about to mosey along the reef. She memorises names such as Hanifaru Bay and Dolphin and Turtle beaches and confidently points at their locations on a map Ali outlines on the sand.
It’s rare to find a resort where families are catered for in such an inclusive way while honeymooners can count on privacy. The design of the accommodation is self-contained, each option a perfect habitat and eminently flexible. There are 64 villas with one to nine bedrooms and eight massive Water Retreats that look like James Bond lairs, arrayed on stilts in clusters over the lagoon and set at a remove from the island proper. We three adults and our tiny merry-maker are in two-bedroom, double-storey Crusoe Residence 29, angled towards the sunrise. A grove of beach almond trees and flowering bushes opens beyond our private garden pool to the beach. The interiors are not jazzed-up but with an emphasis on ceiling fans and natural timbers, a colour scheme enlivened with lime and sunny yellow fabrics, and plenty of daybeds and covered outdoors space to lounge and rinse off. The bigger downstairs bathroom is semi-alfresco, like a jungle lair, with tub and walled garden. The sprite earnestly stalks its sandy floor for lizards.
Villa attendant Inthi assures us the linen is unbleached and there are three styles of duvets for the huge mosquito-netted beds. He produces a list of in-room amenities as long as an arm. There are 12 types of pillows, including the irresistibly named butterfly. Do we need an easel and chalk, sunglasses cleaner, pumice stones … Ice delivered once or twice daily? Bathroom amenities scented with lemongrass or peppermint or fragrance-free?
We are meagre in our demands. Inthi retreats in defeat, Ali is on permanent call. Days pass unassumingly, as if we’ve boarded a retro rocket back to a classic era of childhood holidays. We gather shells, dip in our rock-edged pool, push each other on our garden’s swing seat, read and and recline. We have push bikes at our disposal, although walking jungly trails with the little sprite’s hand tightly in mine is a more pleasurable pastime. Frequently we get lost. “Turn left at the second banyan tree,” suggests a staff member cycling by. We watch hermit crabs scuttling on the sand, and discuss what flavour ice cream or gelato to try next because there is a dedicated So Cool room for such indulgences at any old time of day. I’m not talking Pipeline Petes or Splices but scoops of house-made mango, pineapple, even noni and hibiscus flavours. The sprite’s deep brown eyes are like saucers, of which there are plenty of real ones, piled with toppings of marshmallows, choc chips and gummy sweets. For grown-ups, a wine cellar and well-stocked cheese parlour hold equal charm.
Exercise? No “breath awareness” meditation sessions for us. But the newish Soneva Soul, with white towers and winding walkways, trickling water walls and pools crossed by stepping stones, beckons as a sanctuary of calm where ancient remedies meet the latest advances in oxygen and ozone therapies. Ria from Bali administers deep massages and my daughter-in-law and I fall asleep. But not for long. We have a booking for the Flying Sauces zipline trail, leading to a 12m-high treetop platform where guests have the option of being served an exclusive meal. The sprite is too young to join us so watches from below with Daddy, both somewhat aghast at this unlikely spectacle.
On a late-afternoon cruise, schools of spinner and bottlenose dolphins form glistening escorts, leaping in the boat’s foaming wake. We eschew both stargazing at the observatory and settling in at the outdoor cinema. For us it’s all about picturesque snorkelling, ocean dips and early nights. We sip silky lychee and ginger concoctions and tour the organic gardens with groundsman Farid as fruit bats circle in the encroaching dusk. The vegetables, herbs and spices are laid out with precise artistry and there’s the option to book a plant-based meal here at Shades of Green pop-up diner, with six seasonal courses based on themes of cleansing, crispy, raw, grains, fire and sweet. But for us it’s up and up and across a swing bridge to the dramatic Fresh in the Garden venue set in a treetop bower. The air is sharp and tangy with fresh herbs and dishes such as whole fish roasted in coconut husks are beautifully simple and tasty.
There’s an Asian market on Tuesday nights at Mihiree Mithaa and we flit between stalls for curries, satays and stir-fries as lanterns cast golden orbs that dance on the sand; we tarry over a tapas lunch at Out of the Sea, a groovy semi-open venue shaped like a stingray with a boardwalk as its tail. The most popular gathering spot for sunset drinks and suppers is Out of the Blue, complete with water slide and cushioned boom nets, international menu and seaside-chic decor. A Japanese sushi master is in residence during peak seasons, Michelin-starred chefs visit at regular interludes, and there’s a “live” pasta station, plus picnics and in-villa dining available at whim.
Over the first few days, I opt for “calming” Ayurvedic booster shots from the breakfast buffet. But by the end of our stay, at the advice of resident doctor Smita, I’ve changed to “digestion”. I may have misjudged the wisdom of conspiring with the sprite for quite so many emergency ice cream raids.
More to the story
Soneva Fushi has launched a partnership with Swiss environmental organisation Coralive to protect and regenerate reef habitats with the aim of becoming the largest Mineral Accretion Technology coral nursery in the world, propagating 50,000 broken or damaged fragments a year. The resort has one of the largest solar power plants in The Maldives, protected turtle-nesting reserves and a brilliant “waste to wealth” eco-centre, with tours available, where guests are shown how every scrap can be made part of a “closed loop” of creative recycling. Newly launched Soneva Namoona, a partnership between Soneva Fushi and three neighbouring island communities and international NGO Common Seas, is providing a national blueprint for phasing out single-use plastics, ending toxic open burning and segregating waste.
In the know
Male is reached by air from Singapore in about 4½ hours. Check rates and packages with seaplane transfers at Soneva Fushi’s website for best deals and specials; a 2 per cent environmental levy is added to every guests’ stay, which the Soneva Foundation invests in global projects that have a social, economic and conservation impact, and offsets carbon emissions from resort activities and guest flights.