Inside the most expensive resort in the Maldives – with Bond-style restaurants and floating villas you get to by boat
A NEW resort in the Maldives is now the most expensive in the country - with rooms costing as much as $11,000 (£8,936) a night.
Soneva Secret opened earlier this month on Haa Dhaalu Atoll, with just 14 villas onsite the remote island.
The website states the resort was "thirty years in the making" following the success of Soneva Jani and Soneva Fushi.
This includes one that floats unmoored in the middle of the sea - the first of it's kind in the Maldives.
The Castaway Villa even has its own pool, waterslide, spa area an retractable stargazing roof.
Other rooms include the two-floor Crusoe Villas which you can only access by boat as well as the two bedroom Crusoe Reserve.
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Otherwise guests can choose between a number of other beach and overwater villas
However, each villa has access to either a white sandy beach or water lagoon, as well as a barefoot "guardian" and "assistant" along with a chef.
One of the highlight experiences is the Bond-inspored Out of This World, a dining tower that guests access by zipline, or you can eat at The Living Room, or firepit dining at So Primitive.
Guests won't hungry with a dedicated cheese and meet room as well as complimentary chocolates and truffles made by chocolatiers at the hotel.
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If you want your kid to switch off then they can head to The Den, a technology-free zone.
And animal lovers can go on dolphin cruises as well as swim with manta rays an turtles.
Co-Founder Sonu Shivdasani told Forbes: "Soneva Secret 2024 will offer guests something that Soneva has not offered to date and something that does not exist in the Maldives.
"Because we’re so undisturbed here, we are blessed with beautiful creatures like manta rays outside our resort on a year-round basis, which is something you don’t see much of in the Maldives.
"The island of Soneva Secret 2024 reminds [my wife] Eva and I of the Maldives back in the 1980s when we first visited."
To get to the resort, it is a 75 minute seaplane from the main airport in Male.
And flights from the UK to Male take around 10 hours from the UK, with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic offering direct routes from London Heathrow.
While rooms may start at £2,600, this can shoot up to $11,000 (£8,936) during busier periods.
Also part of the Soneva brand, Soneva Fushi opened the largest overwater villa in the world in 2020.
The one-bedroom villa is 6,286 square feet and the two-bedroom villa measures 9,224sqf, ranging from £2-£4k a night.
Or you could stay at the resort for free, with the annual Barefoot Bookseller position - here's how to apply.
The Maldives is one of the most popular holiday destinations for British couples, being an ideal honeymoon spot.
Other resorts include the five-star Adaaran Prestige Vadoo - here's what you can expect.
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Or The Sun's Danielle Masterson tried out an affordable Maldives resort which starts from just £150pp a night.
Celebs love it too - with Pixie Lott, Georgia Toffolo and and Billie Sheperd all being spotted there.
The Sun Travel team's holiday essentials
WITH decades of experience and hundreds of countries under their belt, the Sun Travel team have shared some of the essential items they always pack on a trip.
Here are some of the game-changing items we always pack - and some will barely cost you a thing.
- Lisa Minot, Head of Travel - Global travel plug with USB (£64)
- Caroline McGuire, Travel Editor - Hotel Slippers
- Sophie Swietochowski, Assistant Travel Editor - Pack of 40 earplugs (£40)
- Kara Godfrey, Deputy Travel Editor - 1 litre water bottle (£8.99)
- Ryan Gray, Travel Reporter - Bluetooth eye mask (£16.50)
- Giuli Graziano, Travel Writer - AirTag luggage location tracker (£29.99).
