~ The vibe: An ultra-private, eco-friendly escape in a remote corner of the Maldives Makunudhoo atoll, Maldives | View on Google Maps From $3,300| Book now ~ |
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The Afar take
With its breezy villas, driftwood-clad interiors, and toes-in-the-sand restaurants, Soneva (composed of Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani in the Maldives) has long been the byword for barefoot luxury in the Maldives. But in May 2024, the brand brought its castaway fantasy to new heights with the opening of a third Maldivian hideaway that’s both its grandest and smallest resort to date.
For the fittingly named Soneva Secret, Soneva founders Sonu Shivdasani and Eva Malmström Shivdasani took the brand’s most beloved hallmarks—villas with lots of outdoor space, top-notch restaurants, and an admirable eco-ethos—and supercharged it into a hush-hush hideaway of only 14 villas in the remote Makunudhoo atoll. Privacy is paramount here: Not a single island is visible on the blue horizon. Each villa offers ample space and all the amenities you might need—and then some. They all have a private gym (equipped just the way you want it), spa room, and a team of chefs on call to prepare feasts in your villa’s breezy living room.
Soneva Secret’s overwater villas have plenty of outdoor space.
Courtesy of Soneva Secret
Who’s it for?
Soneva Secret is all about privacy, with its far-flung location, discrete staff, and villas designed so that you—if you so desire—won’t have to leave them at all during your stay. This feature attracts A-listers (though, true to their ethos, none of the team members would divulge names) and other individuals wishing to holiday far from prying eyes. Honeymooners will have a laundry list of romantic activities to choose from—picnics on deserted sandbanks, candlelit dinners on a floating platform out at sea—while the kids club and extra bedroom in each villa make the resort an excellent destination for families too. A stay of this caliber, of course, comes at a price. With rates starting at an eye-watering $3,300 per night, it’s among the most expensive resorts in the Maldives.
The location
Soneva Secret sits on a small island in the little-visited Makunudhoo Atoll, the westernmost point of the Maldives. The 1.5-hour seaplane transfer from Malé takes longer than most resort arrivals (Soneva Fushi, for example, takes 30 minutes, while Soneva Jani is 45 minutes away), but the effort pays off: From the deck of your villa, with no other island visible on the horizon, it feels as if you’ve got this azure lagoon all to yourself. And that’s almost true: just one other island in the atoll, also called Makunudhoo, is inhabited, while all others have remained blissfully building-free.
When timing a stay here, seasonality is especially important: With no other islands around to break up waves and wind, the resort catches the full wrath of the region’s storms during the rainy season from June to August. (I got unlucky during my five-night stay in July and spent a significant amount of time indoors.)
Soneva Secret is all about privacy, with its far-flung location, discrete staff, and villas designed so that you—if you so desire—won’t have to leave them at all during your stay.
The rooms
Some of the 14 villas hide in the island’s jungled heart; others branch off a wiggly overwater walkway. All feature Soneva’s signature breezy style: lots of reclaimed driftwood, pops of sunshine-yellow, and rustic-luxe decor from up-cycled materials such as scrap aluminum and discarded glass bottles.
In my overwater villa, I could slide open the glass doors surrounding my bedroom to be at one with the elements, and one night, I opened the roof above my bed with the push of a button, so I could stargaze before falling asleep. And that’s just one of those quirky Soneva touches: Those familiar with the brand will also recognize the infinity pool that flanks the terrace of each overwater villa, and the curvy waterslide dropping you right into the waves below. Every villa also has a private (and very well-equipped) gym and a separate spa treatment room, with therapists and trainers on call.
If even that’s not private enough, consider one of the Crusoe villas, which were still in development during my visit, but promised privacy in spades. Pitched on stilted platforms some 300 feet offshore, these one- and two-bedroom retreats are only accessible by electric boat. Another, the floating Castaway Villa, can be dragged to different anchor points around the island to catch sunrise and sunset from their best vantage points.
A bedroom at Soneva Secret
Courtesy of Soneva Secret
The food and drink
For a resort with so few villas, the restaurant lineup is impressive. The date night–worthy showpiece is Out of This World, the culinary playground of tattoo-clad chef Henrique Lork. Taking over a tubular tower just off the coast, this breezy fine dining restaurant is accessible via a swirling stilted pathway or—if you’re feeling adventurous—the longest zip-line in the Maldives.
My dinner here was, quite literally, a journey: from the glass-bottomed wine cellar, where I started with bite-size pumpkin waffles with Rossini gold caviar and crispy chicken skin with seaweed mayo, onward to the open kitchen on the tower’s top floor, where Lork served me five courses (including smoked leeks with cashew paste and lamb in coffee sauce) on crockery from recycled glass. Had the weather been better, the night would’ve ended on the rooftop, with cocktails and a private stargazing session led by the resident astronomer.
For a more casual lunch or dinner, there’s the Living Room, the resort’s lobby-like central hub where the menu features comforting Indian curries, vegan burgers, and salads from farm-fresh ingredients, as well as a specialty coffee bar and an all-day deli counter with cheeses, artisanal chocolates, and cold cuts. A la carte breakfasts are also served here, and your order should include at least one serving of the baked yogurt—so divine, I ordered second helpings every morning. Other options include So Primitive, a restaurant concept found at all Soneva resorts, which specializes in grilled meats and seafood, and a handful of private dining setups on sandbanks and jungled corners around the island.
The Living Room central dining area at Soneva Secret
Courtesy of Soneva Secret
Staff and service
The resort cherry-picked its multicultural team of chefs, butlers (called Barefoot Guardians), housekeepers, and waiters from Soneva’s other properties and some of the best hotels in the region. And that shows: Once you’ve shared your preferences via a form sent ahead of your stay, you can look forward to your favorite drinks waiting in your minibar; a personalized selection of novels on your villa’s bookshelf; and your private gym furnished just the way you like it. Every villa has a dedicated Barefoot Guardian and housekeeping assistant at the ready, and whatever you need is just a WhatsApp message away. Do you want your suitcase unpacked? A nightcap delivered to your villa? Toys to play with in your pool? Simply say the word.
Soneva’s arrival meant that many locals from nearby Makunudhoo island could swap their hospitality jobs in faraway atolls for work closer to home, allowing them to return to their family after clocking out in the evening. I met many of the staff during a tour of the island one afternoon, and hearing their stories was a heart-warming reminder that the right type of mindful hospitality can indeed make a positive impact on local residents.
A villa at Soneva Secret
Courtesy of Soneva Secret
Accessibility
Stairs, sandy pathways, and the seaplane transfers make this a challenging resort to visit for guests with mobility issues.
Room service, redefined
Even though the resort has plenty of restaurants to choose from, room service is encouraged: Every villa has a fully equipped kitchen and more than a dozen private chefs on call to prepare breakfast, lunch, or dinner in the comfort of your living room or villa terrace.
During my stay, I ordered meals from chefs born in all corners of the globe, from Russia to Sri Lanka. Each one specialized in the cuisine of their country of origin and was happy to teach me a thing or two about their ingredients and cooking techniques. One day, I had a breakfast of Indian dosas and potato curry, then had an Indonesian feast—real-deal rendang, a perfect gado-gado, and deeply comforting soto ayam chicken soup—for lunch. For dinner, I went for South American cuisine—and I’m still dreaming of the melty provoleta with chimichurri sauce that chef Daniella dished up. Given that the chefs are cooking solely for you, you’re free to request special dishes or adapt each course based on your dietary requirements (all-vegan, say, or dialed back on the spice levels)—just let them know in advance.
