Maldives was on my ‘bucket list’ for a while but nothing really prepared me for the eco friendly luxury resort, Soneva Fushi which we chose to as our retreat for 4 days. I assumed it was going to be like any other luxury resort in a fabulous, far off location. My expectations were high.
So we arrive at Malé airport, are whisked off to the Soneva Fushi lounge for a welcoming coffee and then onto a private seaplane (a slightly alarming experience if it’s your first time – what with the noise and the gentle turbulence) for a 40 minute journey. The scenery is simply stunning – Robinson Crusoe like islands – some with resorts, some deserted jungle, turquoise water, coral reefs, sandy beaches… all picture postcard stuff. The seaplane lands alongside a Soneva Fushi speedboat which then speeds towards the Soneva Fushi island. There’s nothing else on this island of 1.5 km except the resort. The privacy itself is the first sign of luxury.
When Eva and Sonu Shivdasani built their first resort, Soneva Fushi, as well as their home on the deserted island of Kunfunadhoo in the Maldives in 1995, they had no idea that their intensely personal vision of locally crafted villas and an environmentally responsible lifestyle would form the basis of a successful collection of world class hotels, resorts, residences and spas. But that’s exactly what happened.
We are greeted by the General Manager and his staff – all barefoot and wearing shorts and half sleeved linen shirts. Our shoes are taken from us, put into bags by our ‘Miss Friday’ Chelsea and we are introduced to the “No News, No Shoes” philosophy of the resort. It works. Feeling the ground and taking off what has become an essential part of clothing, disarms you in a nice sort of way. You’re in touch with mother earth without any bells and whistles. We have lunch at their outdoor all day dining area called Mihiree Mithaa – which means “here it is”. In the words of Oscar Wilde “Nothing succeeds like excess.” And in that spirit, the restaurant has everything to please everyone… a 24×7 chocolate air conditioned room made with Valrohna free trade chocolate, an ice cream and sorbet air conditioned room with close to 60 flavours – again 24×7, a cheese and charcuterie room and an extraordinary collection of wines and spirits from around the world. Local food is also represented with some excellent dishes – a soft white local fish known as “job fish”, tuna in many ways and forms, Sri Lankan prawns bathed in spices and coconut milk extracted from the trees on the island and of course for those Europeans whose taste buds don’t travel far from home, pizza, pasta, salads and grills. All served to you by smiling faces who form part of what appears to be a dedicated, loyal workforce.
I am often asked about my favourite food experiences and I find myself often remembering places and experiences more than names of dishes. Most of these experiences revolve around the sea and this is undoubtedly going to be one of them. As we woke with the sun and had breakfast on the beach with our toes in the sand, Soneva Fushi taught us, ever so subliminally, some very valuable lessons – it taught us to re-define ‘luxury’ or ‘intelligent luxury’, as they call it. It restored my faith in human beings who are clearly ready to spend a great deal of hard earned cash to walk barefoot, to dress down and to live even for a brief moment, quite a simple life really. It made us realise that “responsible luxury” need not be just a slogan. Here you have an effective waste management program which works, where for example, glass bottles and left over thermocol boxes used to bring in the tons of imported food items, are made into building material blocks. Even the Venetian style glass blowing studio which is part of the new Art centre uses re-cycled glass to create works of art which fulfil form and function. And so over four gloriously relaxed days with no pollution, no make-up and no designer hand bags in sight, the calculated carelessness, the effortless chic grows on you – whether it’s the headge hog broom you clean your feet on after the beach, the bamboo ladder loo paper holders, the laid back but effective de-tox spa treatments or the easy to remember restaurant names.
I could write reams on the food – European Michelin style dishes prepared by Spanish chef Jesus at ‘Fresh in the garden’, sundowners with world class mixology at Bar(a) Bara, a Japanese dinner at ‘By the Beach’ and cooking local curries in the middle of a vegetable garden, experience fish buried and cooked in the sand and a range of boutique Single Malts to choose from to wind down the day… there is no dearth of things to experience if you want to — there is also silence and space and the stars!
If you are searching for something over and above the generic experience provided by resorts that all look and feel the same regardless of continent or country, then you’ll find happiness here.