Soneva to open second Maldives resort

Soneva, which was spun off from Six Senses four years ago, has announced that Soneva Jani will make it debut in October.

The resort, featuring 24 water villas and one island villa, is located on the Maldivian island of Medhufaru, which is part of an uninhabited five-island cluster in the Noonu atoll. The resort can be reached by a 40-minute seaplane flight from Male airport.

The company already operates Soneva Fushi in the Maldives and last year launched the yacht-based Soneva in Aqua private charter sailing experience, which operates from Soneva Fushi. It also runs the Soneva Kiri resort in Thailand.

Soneva Jani has been built on a 5.6-kilometre private lagoon with all water villas having private pools as well as opening out on to a stretch of lagoon. Some villas also feature slides running from their top deck to the lagoon below.

Another selling point of the new resort’s villas is a retractable roof in the master bedroom. This allows guests to stargaze from the comfort of their own beds and closes automatically if it rains.

Facilities at Soneva Jani will also include a spa, dive centre, children’s den, organic gardens and an outdoor cinema with sound provided by Bluetooth earphones. Waste from the resort will be recycled though its Eco Centro system.

Sonu Shivdasani, Soneva’s founder and CEO, said: “It is not an island resort, it is a lagoon with six private islands where only one of these will have development.

“When designing and building Soneva Jani, I was very mindful that when we open, the area should seem as natural and beautiful as the first day I laid eyes on it.”

Soneva plans a “soft” opening for the resort on October 1 with an official opening date of November 5. Bookings are being taken for arrival from October 1.