De Havilland. Such an evocative name – even more so when applied to island-hopping flying boats ferrying passengers to the most romantic places. And the ultimate evocation of the brand was when I saw the pilot of our particular seaplane cover the elegant aluminium rudder pedals of our de Havilland Twin Moth (embossed with the initials 'D H') with his bare foot. I knew we were on our way somewhere special.
The journey had started 12 hours earlier with a direct flight from London to Male in the Maldives. We were going on holiday to Soneva Fushi - a hotel we had never stayed at before in a land we had never visited before. Daryl had done all the research and had plumped for Soneva Fushi with lots of recommendation from a variety of sources. Would it really be worth the inordinately huge amount of money that it cost to stay in a resort on a 100 acre island in the middle of nowhere?
As our seaplane landed at 'Soneva Fushi International Airport' – actually a raft in the sea from which the boat transfer a few hundred metres to the island took place – I got an impression that this hotel would be unlike anywhere we have ever stayed before. We had read beforehand that this was a resort renowned for 'barefoot luxury' – normally shorthand for rustic chic and laid back luxury. And they even have a slogan, no shoes, no news, implying that you're really getting away from it all.
However, in Soneva Fushi's case, they meant what they said. On the short boat ride from SF International to the the pier, we were asked to put our shoes in bags. 'No shoes' really meant no shoes! And I didn't wear any the entire vacation. Wonderful for foot exfoliiation.
The hotel reception was also unlike any I have experienced before. The reception was just that – we were received on the dock personally by the Manager, the Deputy Manager, the Sommelier and various other staff who would be responsible for our stay – including Nimtaz, who would be our butler or 'Mr Friday' as they are referred to on Soneva Fushi for the duration of our stay. We weren't expecting a butler, but because we had booked a sizeable suite, he came with the territory.
We had already booked several spa sessions in the private lounge at Male Airport whilst waiting for our barefoot pilot to fly us here, and Nimtaz helped us with the rest of the organisation of our stay.
The suite itself was absolutely stunning – it was a two bedded suite with masses of space, including a really chilled out lounging area, as well as twin outdoor showers in our garden, and a second garden with a pool to ourselves leading directly on to the white coral sandy beach. I lost count of the number of times I had said 'Wow' and there would be lots more opportunities to come...
The next of which was lunch. I have never seen a bigger or better buffet for lunch. There was a pizza oven, a grill section which included a kebab made from freshest fish. A curry section, a sushi section, a salad room – separate and chilled to keep the salads fresh. The cheese and ham room was similarly climate controlled, as was the deserts room which offered luxury puds as well as 34 flavours of ice cream. And each of these sections was a big and well equipped as a whole kitchen in a normal hotel! Frankly, I didn't know where to start, but I leave you to take your pick of what you might have had given the seemingly limitless choice.
Then back to room to chill out and relax after the long day, we both fell asleep in instants and woke up in time to go to dinner.
We had been told that there was an 'ancestral-style' barbecue on one of the beaches (there are four) that evening and so we decided to take a look. It was like a fairytale. Seriously, in the sand were candles protected from the wind by muslin pyramid tents, with low tables set up here and there to give occupants privacy whilst they squatted on their cushions placed on coconut leaf mats. We hadn't honestly researched this dinner before going along, and when it turned out to be a nine course feast, were were a bit taken aback! But every single course was absolutely delicious. The clear sky was bristling with stars, and we discovered that the sea was too. There is a special sort of plankton here that when agitated releases a bio-luminescence mirroring the sparkling of a billion stars in the clear night sky. The highlight of the meal was the digging up of the main course from a couple of feet under the sand where it had lain wrapped in banana leaves for more than six hours. The lamb was absolutely delicious and the chicken was very tasty too! At the meal I had intended on taking some pictures, but despite taking the camera with me I had forgotten to insert the battery which I was charging for this very occasion. Luckily there was another guest who was taking pictures and I asked him to email me some... Afterwards we went and had a couple of drinks with Alex and his wife Anna, who were escaping their five children two cats and two dogs in Austria for a few days.
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