“The new Soneva Soul Island Spa at Soneva Jani elevates the guests’ wellness experience far beyond the pampering treatments and massages found at a typical wellness centre or resort spa,” says Shivdasani. “Both my wife Eva and I have put a lot of thought into the overall design of the new Soneva Soul Island Spa at Soneva Jani. In terms of design features and the overall philosophy around the buildings, the reception and meditation room are deliberately at heights where one can see the sea and the beautiful lagoon and generally have this 360° image of this incredible area of natural beauty that Eva and I feel privileged to be guardians of, not owners during our lifetime.”

Indians in focus

Of course, Indians are expected to make up a significant chunk of guests. “India will be a key focus market for us as whilst people are already very ingrained in ayurveda and traditional Indian medicine and pharmacopoeia, they are well attuned to the need for alternate healing therapies that can make a difference to their life transforming wellness goals,” points out Shivdasani. “The fact that Maldives is in close proximity to India and our Soneva Soul offering is so integrative of thousands of years of ancient healing with modern science will be a huge draw.” Located on the island of Medhufaru in the Noonu Atoll, Soneva Jani is a short journey by speedboat from Maafaru airport, or by seaplane from Malé. Of course, it comes at a considerable price, going by rates listed on booking sites.

A post-Covid-19 world has required adjustments, adapting to new realities. “Consumers will be more conscious of the impact that they will have on both nature and the communities which they visit,” says Shivdasani. “At Soneva, nature has always been at the heart of everything we do. We use it as an inspiration for innovation. And going forward, it’s more important than ever that everyone works in harmony with nature rather than battle it.” What better location to do that in than Maldives!

Slow life, designed

That Sonu Shivdasani is a master of conceptualisation becomes even more evident as he elaborates on the details. “The nature around Soneva Soul is inspiring. We are always in awe of its majesty, its magnitude and of course, its mystery. There are open-air treatment rooms, because of the height, there are always beautiful breezes, and we want our guests to feel nature as much as possible. The roofs deliberately have very long overhangs and a tall hat, so that they shade the person inside and the heat rises well above the height of the massage table. In addition to this, I designed some other air-conditioned treatments which are at the exact opposite. In fact, the building looks like some form of reptile, the tiles are placed in a way that it looks similar to the scale of a lizard, the shapes are soft and undulating as I strongly believe that harsh lines undermine wellness.”

“The door opening up the treatment room has a special hinge, it is similar to the car door of a Rolls Royce, where the door almost is pulled out from the building and then rotates.  The reason for this is that when the door is closed, one cannot see the opening. It creates that element of mystery that I touch upon above. One enters the space, into a haven of complete peace and cool. The walls are thick, the external sound is completely blocked out, and the actual treatment space is designed to represent an embryo on the inside of an egg. It is a sanctuary of complete calm, providing guests with an escape from the outside world.”  

“Plus, the spa is deliberately raised high above the mangroves at Soneva Jani as we wanted to demonstrate our light touch on the environment. At Soneva our Slow Life core purpose is about offering our guests luxuries whilst minimising our impact on the environment and enhancing the health of our guests. So, wellness, luxury and sustainability are not opposites, they actually feed off each other and the environment itself. I strongly believe that being surrounded by nature’s beauty is such an important contributor to one’s overall wellbeing.