The fascinating story of Sonu and Eva Shivdasani and their latest amazing project – Soneva Kiri (Maldives)
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The fascinating story of Sonu and Eva Shivdasani and their latest amazing project – Soneva Kiri (Maldives)
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Category: Asia Pacific - Maldives - Industry economy
- Hotel projects
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2009-01-28
Thirteen years after they created Soneva Fushi – the Maldives benchmark for high-end eco-friendly, all-natural opulence – the innovative husband and wife team Sonu and Eva Shivdasani are getting set to launch Soneva Kiri, just the third Soneva on the planet. In the interim, they have built Six Senses Resorts & Spas into a company that demonstrates to the world that luxury lifestyle and environmental responsibility can complement each other beautifully, to deliver Intelligent Luxury.
Soneva Fushi was awarded the Best of the Best for 2000 by the readers of Conde Nast Traveller, as Soneva Gili – the second Soneva - was in development. When Soneva Gili opened in 2002, it almost immediately was awarded Hotel of the Year from Tatler Travel Guide, plus Hideaway of the Year by Hideaways Magazine. This confirmed to Sonu and Eva that they were absolutely on the right track, and they set about creating Soneva number three – Soneva Kiri.
This time, the Soneva phenomena was to be created in Thailand. Sonu and Eva discovered a stunning site on the island of Kood, on the south-east side of the Gulf of Thailand, referred to as Thailand’s last frontier. Sonu had always described the ideal Soneva location as “remote but accessible”, and remote was certainly the case with Soneva Kiri. Accessible was to come later, with the construction of a private airstrip at Soneva Kiri, reducing the travel time from Bangkok from more than three hours to less than one hour, with the convenience of a private, ultra comfortable 8-seat Grand Caravan.
“Soneva Kiri incorporates everything that we have learned from designing Soneva Fushi and Soneva Gili”, says Sonu, “plus we have added some exceptional guest experiences that will surprise and delight guests. Like dining in tree-top pods, or discovering The Den – a vast manta ray construction hovering above the forest”.
It’s a Soneva – an amalgam of their names - so Sonu and Eva are intimately involved with every aspect of the property. It carries their DNA. And when it comes to design, Eva is quite formidable; an inspired zealot with all things concerning the environment, from furnishings to food. Yet she still manages to create some of the most innovative and memorable interior concepts for Soneva, whilst at the same time, leading the Six Senses Creative team, who are simultaneously working on another dozen properties in development. A former top model, working as Eva Malmstrom, she graced the front covers of more than one hundred fashion magazines in the 70’s and 80’s. She is blessed with natural style, albeit playful, with vibrant colours and the quirky re-assigned use of everyday items. For example, how does Eva hide a flat-panel television? Easy, she pops it into a travelling trunk at the foot of the bed, and when the trunk lid is open, the screen slides into a comfortable viewing position.
Sonu and Eva’s own home is a Soneva, so they set about designing villas and facilities the way they would enjoy entertaining in them, themselves. They consider personal space and privacy to be one of the greatest luxuries, so this becomes integral to the Soneva philosophy; an extension of their own lifestyle. At Soneva Kiri, they have gone one better, by setting aside some villas for purchase by loyal Soneva Repeaters. Owners get all the benefits of the resort, while enjoying their very own piece of Soneva Kiri. As with guests, they also have the Soneva Kiri Grand Caravan for transfers.
Soneva Kiri will also be a showcase for SLOW LIFE, the philosophy that the couple have created for the Six Senses group. An acronym for Sustainable-Local-Organic-Wholesome Learning-Inspiring-Fun-Experiences, this has become the nuclei for the group’s core purpose: To create innovative and enlightening experiences that rejuvenate our guests’ love of SLOW LIFE, and an individual mission for hoteliers extroadinaire, Sonu and Eva Shivdasani.
Soneva Kiri is scheduled to open in the middle of 2009.
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