—Written primarily based on an exclusive interview with Sonu Shivdasani, Founder & CEO of Soneva
What’s long been under wraps is finally out in the open or should we say out in the waters, pristine blue waters of Haa Dhaalu Atoll in the Maldives. Soneva, one of the finest luxury and sustainable hospitality brands, has been discreetly curating the next big destination soon to grace everyone’s bucket list and is straight out of our dreams—Soneva Secret.
We interviewed Sonu Shivdasani, the Founder & CEO of Soneva, to share insights of this long-awaited postcard destination. Discover all the little details about this luxury haven here.
PL: What inspired the creation of Soneva Secret, and how does it align with your vision for Soneva?
Sonu Shivdasani: The idea behind Soneva Secret is something that we have had in our minds since the early 2000s. We realised the demographic shift. When we opened our first resort back in 1995, our focus was largely on couples and not families. In fact, there was a year or so when we did not encourage children under 12 at Soneva. Our target market was honeymooners and those who had sent their children through school and university were towards the end of their careers and had more time on their hands.
Towards the end of the 90s as a result of “Reganism” and “Thatcherism”, the advent of the BRICs, and the internet revolution, we found that those who could afford to visit Soneva were in their late 30s and early 40s. They were having children at a later age. There was a demand for larger residences and a greater variety of things to do, and they would tend to come back year after year.
As Soneva evolved, we focused on creating new experiences for our guests that were innovative and dynamic, we also realized that as we developed our resorts further, we were losing some of the Untouched Robinson Crusoe element of our original vision. We also realized that there were locations that were a bit more remote and that our guests would like to travel to because of the beauty of the destination, not the incredible experiences that we had built ourselves.
Soneva Secret was formed at those times. Soneva Secret concept would comprise considerably smaller properties on average having about 14 or 15 units and an upper limit of about 24. They would be in locations of outstanding natural beauty and fantastic nature as is the case with Soneva Secret 2024, and where the resort is almost zero-carbon.
PL: What exclusive experiences can travellers expect at Soneva Secret that they might not find elsewhere?
Sonu Shivdasani: Similar to a safari in Africa, we will be offering a safari by sea where one can discover the Big 5: mantas, dolphins, whales, sharks and turtles. The team will choreograph about 30-40 different dining scenarios which the dedicated team per villa would create for our guests
PL: How does Soneva Secret differentiate itself from other luxury resorts or properties within the Soneva portfolio?
Sonu Shivdasani: Soneva Secret will offer guests something that Soneva has not offered to date and something that does not exist in the Maldives:
The experience of “one atoll, one secret, your private world”. There is no other resort in the Maldives where as far as the eye can see, there is no other development and just nature. The island of Soneva Secret 2024 reminds Eva and I of the Maldives back in the 80s when we first visited. That experience of raw untouched nature has unfortunately long gone in the country.
Soneva Secret will offer a level of personalized service and tailor-made experiences that do not exist in the Maldives nor at Soneva with a team of three people: a Barefoot Guardian, a Barefoot Assistant, and a dedicated Chef de Partie (we have 14 Chefs de Partie assigned to each of the 14 villas. They each are of a different nationality and come from a different type of cuisine. We will swap the Chef’s de Cuisine to offer our guests variety). This level of personalization and destination dining is unique.
PL: What new sustainability practices and techniques are integrated with Soneva Secret?
Waste-to-Wealth: Waste-to-Wealth Eco Centro is located on a local island, Makunudhoo, and will serve both Soneva Secret and the local island, this way we are also improving the livelihood and creating additional jobs for local people. The idea is that we merge the resort Eco Centro and Waste-to-Wealth concept with Soneva Namoona community outreach and provide upgraded waste facilities for Makunudhoo.
Solar: We are finishing the set up of a floating solar farm that will provide the resort with 95% of electricity once installed. Generators will then only be used as back-up on cloudy days.
Mosquito free: We installed mosquito traps before construction and have kept them throughout the construction phase and into operations. We have recorded zero mosquitoes for a number of months and expect that we will open a mosquito free resort.
Coral restoration: We are setting up a coral nursery at Soneva Secret too. It will be smaller than at Soneva Fushi, but we will do coral restoration at Soneva Secret too.
PL: In terms of design and architecture, how does Soneva Secret embrace innovation while maintaining a connection with the local environment?
Sonu Shivdasani: The architecture of Soneva Secret is a perfect embrace of innovation whilst recreating the reality of the destination. At the very natural rustic level, the furniture is actually made from real driftwood that our furniture maker in Indonesia sourced from different islands throughout that vast archipelago. The roof is leftover woodcuts. The other materials are very natural and make one feel at one with nature. However, there is also a lot of technology. For example:
Our lighting system and switches are from an Italian lighting designer who is really at the forefront of lighting design.
The kitchen is equipped with the latest state-of-the-art equipment so that one can actually replace within a very short time, the standard cooking hob with other cooking elements such as lava grills, charcoal woks, etc. that would offer our guests a diversity of food.
The gym has some of the latest equipment and is based on the latest fitness thinking.
Importantly, one can slide back the doors and windows so that the air-conditioned area is efficient and reduces the overall load allowing us to be zero carbon. The air conditioning will come from a central chiller system that will allow us to cool water into ice from 10.00 am till 5.00 pm when the sun is at its strongest. This removes the need for the number of batteries that one would normally require.
PL: Culinary adventures are often a highlight of travel. What unique dining experiences or gastronomic offerings can travellers look forward to at Soneva Secret?
Sonu Shivdasani: In my opinion, the fact that one can zipline across the lagoon to Out of this World. This is a circular tower. On the ground floor is a wine cellar with a glass floor and curved glass windows which can be opened. We offer 150 wines by the glass coming in a magnum format. One ascends the stairs and there is a state-of-the-art kitchen, not too different to the quality of kitchen that we have at Flying Sauces or Once Upon a Table at Soneva Fushi. Chef Enrique who ran the pop-up of Manu Buffara—voted as the Best Female Chef from the World's Best Restaurant list last year—is running the restaurant there. One more level up and there is an observatory with arguably one of the most powerful telescopes in the Indian Ocean.
In addition to this, what is unique is that each villa has its' own dedicated Chef de Partie. We have worked very hard to fill these positions, and each Chef de Partie comes from a different nation. There is a Vietnamese, a Thai, a Cambodian, a Singaporean who also understands Malaysian food, a Japanese, a Chinese, a Northern European, a Spaniard, a Latin American, etc. We have more diversity at Soneva Secret—a small resort with only 14 villas—than we have at Soneva Fushi which has 70 units including multi-bedroom residences and 14 different dining venues.
There are many other exciting aspects to the property and also some really nice aspects of the food and beverage experience that you should know about, at present I would like to keep that a secret, you will have to come and visit to discover!
PL: Can you tell us more about the Atoll where Soneva Secret is located and what makes this such a special part of the Maldives?
Sonu Shivdasani: The atoll of Makunudhoo is completely empty apart from one very large island with a population of 4,000. The island that Soneva Secret 2024 is on is more than 10 km away, so one cannot see Makunudhoo with the naked eye. Apart from Makunudhoo and the Soneva Secret Island, there are three other sandbanks and one other small picnic island. The Government is building an airport in Makunudhoo. This mini-atoll is a perfect example of remote, but accessible.
Experience the beauty of Maldives at this hot new postcard destination—Soneva Secret. Get exclusive offers and benefits when you book with us.*
Planning a trip to Japan and want to venture beyond Tokyo and Kyoto? Azumi Setoda, harboured in the Seto Inland, should be your destination for an authentic Japanese hospitality experience. We have all the insights about this new debut from its founder, Adrian Zecha.