Imagine Robinson Crusoe as a very rich man who set out to build his own paradise on earth. He would certainly have devised Soneva Fushi, the most ecologically-friendly resort in the Maldives. As we touched down in Male, our motley group of harried city types immediately reached for their phones to check emails and WhatsApp messages.
Soon, we were whisked into the airport waiting lounge to await our seaplane and handed a detailed profile form asking about everything from our dietary choices to choosing between 16 types of pillows and four kinds of duvets. Other choices included bathroom amenities based on different aromas and five pillow scents. Just reading the words ‘lavender’ and ‘marjoram’ was relaxing. After a 20-minute plane ride followed by a short speed boat on to Kunfunadhoo island, where our shoes were confiscated (the island encourages a no shoes policy), it looked as though our need to be constantly in touch with the world was beginning to dissipate. As we entered our aptly-named Crusoe villa, I realised that this is what rustic chic looks like – wooden beams, verdant foliage all around, and immediate access to the beach.
As I was overdosing on the natural beauty, I heard my ‘Ms Super Fit, High Fashion Retailer’ friend exclaim: “I love this place, just look at this gluten-free, vegan menu!” What a relief that her dietary restrictions, about as complex as the Indian penal code, were satisfied.
Over the course of the next week, we were served gluten-free bread at breakfast, offered almond milk for the non-diary, non-soy amongst us, as well as fresh herbs and vegetables from the resort’s vegetable garden. The little people in our group were thrilled by the ice-cream room, with 30 plus flavours on offer, as well as the chocolate room with interesting twists like rosemary-flavoured chocolate. Oh, and the wine cellar boasts 7,000 bottles of rare champagnes, grand cru clarets and — of course — organic wines. Best of all, our daily exercise dose was met by default as we traversed the island by bicycle or on foot, although golf buggies are available.
Founded by the London-born Sonu Shivdasani and his wife Eva, the Soneva properties elevate sustainable tourism to new heights. The Shivdasanis have made it their mission to propagate the “slow life” which marries luxe holidays with ecologically sensitive practices. From using recycled wood for construction to the waste management system (styrofoam crates in which fruits are brought to the island are converted into building material, for example), the resort is a model that other hoteliers come to study.
I bumped into the celebrated London-based naturopath, Elizabeth Peyton-Jones, a trustee of the Jamie Oliver Foundation. “It’s my first time here and I am quite impressed by the food,” she volunteered. She later gifted me her cookbook ‘Cook Yourself Young’, which I promised to use when I returned home.
I told her to go see the wonderful Sandra Laznik, a wellness practitioner from Slovenia, who had made me do these intense facial toning exercises. I was physically exhausted after the hour-long session but my face looked so plumped up I couldn’t believe I hadn’t gone under the knife! Except one has to do her exercises in utmost privacy because the facial contours one makes are evocative of The Joker on LSD.
By the end of the week, I had stopped looking at Twitter and had no idea what was going on in the world. The ‘no shoes, no news’ vibe had clearly won me over. Add to that not putting on any weight on vacation – this truly was paradise on earth.
This fortnightly column tracks the indulgent pursuits of the one-percenters.
