0bsidian

Useful to know, I was considering Soneva Kiri in Thailand but I was a bit concerned with some reviews re. service and dated areas, which you seem to confirm.

theLuxuryTravelExpert

Well, I do hope you also read some of the (many) excellent reviews of SK . During my visit last year, the service was impeccable and I feel that the villas are not dated at all (rustic eco-chic). I was there during the start of the rainy season, and I did not have any problems with mosquitos nor sandflies (I found pest control to be very effective, and yes, I am a major target of mosquitos when they are out there). SK has a brilliant beach (probably the best in Thailand, and one that could easily compete with the best beaches in the Maldives). Food is Michelin-star worthy and in addition, the resort offers so many unique and memorable experiences (e.g. treepod dining, the outdoor cinema, etc ...). It was (and still is) my best hotel experience ever (and my favorite hotel in the world), and yes I have stayed at many Aman and One&Only hotels as well. However, I agree that when you prefer a contemporary, sleek design and are reluctant to the barefoot luxury concept, then you will not like SK. If not, you miss out on an incredible experience!

Big_Foot

yellow as... yellow snow?

Michael82

Its a known fact that this indeed very beautiful beach is seasonally infested with sandflies, even management admits to that fact in their replies on tripadvisor. Some people are more affected by these than others. My Wife had over 100 bites after 2 days on the beach and still has scars to tell of it. (bites from sindflies itch like hell for up to 6 months).
Another Lady who departed with us also had over 100 bites, i had about 50.

Reactions from Management? Nothing, we even had to buy the no itch stuff.

Yes I know people call their design rustic chic, I call it: Build something cheap (mostly wood, hardly any expensive materials, outside bathrooms, 1 AC per room - as the bathrooms dont have an AC)and then sell it off as eco friendly luxury. I admit that they do this really really well.

I dont even wanna know their ROI and Profit Margins.

scented

I hear Olivia Richli has left Soneva Jani already? Can someone confirm? Sadly I didn't get to meet her in the Maldives, as she seems to have left a couple weeks ago and went back to Sri Lanka.

Did Soneva only consult her for the pre-opening and opening? How is the property now doing?

I suspect she brought Sodashi to the Spa there, that should be reason alone to visit. The slides still scare me from a design perspective, but I hope the service is good now.

chinmoylad

Yes she has left Soneva Jani.

The rates at Soneva are insane sometimes - it's making the Velaa/Cheval Blanc look like a bargain.

kgmobley

Hello, I would would like advice on Soneva Jani. My wife and I are interested in Soneva Jani as part of our Maldives trip. We are looking for the best rate and half board option, plus transport to the resort.

Please let me know if you have any advice.

Thank you.

Here is our complete Maldives itinerary

June 17 -- land in Male and stay at a hotel near the airport

June 18 - June 30 -- Addu City, Meedhoo Island in the Addu Atoll

June 30 -- Return to Male and stay in a hotel new airport

July 1 - July 5 -- Soneva Jani

July 5 -- return to Male for flight next day to Hong Kong

July 6 -- flight from Male to Hong Kong at 8:55 PM

scented

Try to minimize the time on Male... frightful place. Transfers between resorts aren't easy, but spending time on Male is worse.

chinmoylad

Follow what scented said.

You'd be better of transitioning straight from Male > Soneva Jani, and Soneva Jani > Male > Hong Kong without having to do overnight layovers in Male (unless you have specific business to attend to there?)

If you really do want to 'do Male', then leave earlier and do one of the half-day tours.

vuittonsofstyle

Oliva Richli was hired not just to open the resort but to run it. As with many Soneva GMs in the past, it appears to me that few last long.

She has a home in Sri Lanka, so is back there.

kgmobley

Thanks for all of the input. I have been able to secure a half dozen offers for the 4 nights with half board and seaplane. It looks like we will able to save about $1,800 off the best rate on Jani's website.

The question of the Maldives travel schedule is a legitimate inquiry.

There is only one question that I want to answer when I travel: "why do people live here?"

That question requires me to eat local, travel reasonably local and talk to people in an environment where they are not being paid to be nice.

Male and Addu City are the two largest cities in the Maldives. Many of the people working in the resorts originate from Addu City. In both cities, there are local restaurants, cafes and people strolling down the street to meet.

My wife and I will be working at night from Addu City -- we are fortunate to be able to carry our work with us. Addu has reasonably fast internet and the aforementioned culture elements that fit my principle reason for traveling.

Beaches.

Our home city is one hour flight from the panhandle of Florida, where I believe some of the worlds best sand and water exist. I find it unnecessary to fly for hours on end to relax on the beach.

I have come to this place having traveled to many of the worlds great beaches, including
Fernando de Noronha Brazil
Trancoso Brazil
Mallorca Spain
Green sand beach on the Big Island Hawaii
Frog beach in Panama
Punta del este Uruguay
Sharm el sheikh Egypt
Bermuda
Barbados
Phuket Thailand

As nice as all of these beaches are, none are more amazing to me than the Gulf side of Flordia.

Its the same way I feel about buildings. The Temple of Karnak, Havana Cuba and Sagrada Família have set the bar so high for me that while I love history, I rather experience the people of a place than the tourism of a place.

So the 5 star Maldives resort is a chance for us to celebrate our anniversary and relax. We would have travel to 8 amazing countries in South Asia. Eaten amazing food (including cooking with a once in a lifetime chef in Vietnam), enjoyed every imaginable spa and wellness treatment, met some amazing people along the way and learned a lot.

My wife want to go to Maldives to drum with the local people, meet people who look like her, visit the islands before they disappear and enjoy the beautiful work of God.

Hopefully you enjoyed this explanation of the schedule.

myeurocrush

Can I ask where you booked to get this rate?
Has alyone already completed a stay here? How was the service, etc?

Epicura

I am heading to Jani in 5 days. I will post an update.

There's a seperate thread with a full review: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxury-hotels-travel/1844674-review-soneva-jani-most-amazing-resort-maldives-video.html

myeurocrush

I look forward to it. And thanks for the thread.

Epicura

Quick update as promised, full review to come (too busy, so sorry!).

* As already mentioned in the extensive review by @theLuxuryTravelExpert the hard product and location is just FANTASTIC. I seriously doubt you will find anything on par within the whole Maldives. The location is unbeatable, this is truly vacationing at the edge of the world, surrounded by water. Jani is constituted of several islands and the main island is quite big. Also keep in mind that there are currently only 25 villa's and even at full capacity the resort does never feel crowded. This kind of space in itself is already a luxury factor. The villa's are impressive, we also enjoyed the water slide (which I would certainly recommend). The retractable roof is a nice feature but I would recommend anyway to be driven to the main island at night and watch the stars. Never seen such a clear sky full of stars (light pollution is 0). Falling stars à gogo. Within 15 minutes I made at least 3 wishes, let's see how that will be ending

*I know others mentioned the open air bathrooms as a potential downside, based on typical Soneva experiences. At least at Jani we did not experience any serious disadvantage. Bathroom is spacey and airy. Can be closed with blinds. There are 2 showers, indoor and outdoor. The dressing room is seperated and has full A/C. You can get dressed, blowdry your hair, ... in an A/C space.

*This was our first Soneva experience but we absolutely loved it. This is the real sand between your toes stuff in a yet luxurious setting. I can't imagine having to dress up for dinner at night on a Maldivian holiday. For the ladies: straigthening your hair is mission impossible given the breeze and humidity. In that case I much prefer to be able to wear something casual when eating out

*Activities and excursions are highly recommended: I am by no means an expert but snorkeling was great - the house reef is very big with good views of sealife (manta's etc). We truly enjoyed the dolphin cruise and I would definitely recommend to do the private one (there's also a shared one). The overwater cinema was a great experience. From this point of view, the main island has impressive wildlife so make sure to explore (for ex crabs crossing the path at night, our buggy driver had to stop every 5 seconds).

*The Gathering is a great place with lots of seating options (indoor, outdoor and something in between on different levels) to enjoy whatever head chef Kevin has on offer. We truly enjoyed having a glass of champagne or another cappucino after breakfast whilst lingering on the sofa's and/or basking nets (which you will also find above your private pool).

* Jani has some exceptional staff members. Others are good but are clearly still new to the Soneva family. The exceptional ones (head chef Kevin, resort manager Shaaz, some housekeepers and restaurant staff who's name I forgot) are nothing more than gems. They are so proud to be a member of the Jani team and that shows. I did also meet the general manager Patrick and he was most kind and friendly but I only met him at the end of our stay (he was on holiday).

* Points for improvement:
The A/C in the villa's is just not strong enough to cool the giant bedroom with high ceilings. Smaller spaces are cooled to perfection but the bedroom temperature needs some attention. I did mention this during our stay and we stayed in 2 different villa's. Issue remained.

For a stay of 7 nights one might find out at a certain point that food options/formal menu's are a bit limited (apart from private dining experiences). Nevertheless chef Kevin will be willing to prepare you whatever you might like, besides any formal menu. The more limited menu (if any as a conversation with Kevin can do the trick) also has an upside IMHO. For example Gili Lankanfushi has very extensive menu's but the price difference versus Jani was noteable.

We did encounter some service issues, most likely only related to teething problems. I think July (and especially our 7 nights) was the first month for Jani to run at full occupancy. I am fairly confident that this will be fixed within the next months. Issues we encountered were related to a reservation issue (only 2 seats reserved on the seaplane whe we arrived at MLE but this was fixed very quickly), room service issues (drinks/food orders forgotten) and to a Mr Friday/butler that just wasn't as proactive as one could have expected. I must add that Jani was great at fixing on the spot and/or service recovery. As we all know things can go wrong, we are humans after all, even at a great property. It's exactly at that point where a great property can truly stand out and Jani did.


Overall I would most certainly recommend Jani.


Sidenotes:

* we had a 2 nights stay at LHW Kanuhura after Jani. Whilst not in the same league, Kanuhura was certainly enjoyable with generous upgrades for LC members and great food. We enjoyed Kanuhura and in that price range I would certainly recommend it as the entire resort was just entirely renovated and the property also consists of several islands. You will find much more space than at the COMO properties for instance (same price range or even less).

* we also stayed at Gili Lankanfushi for 2 nights. The location is an up- and downside at the very same time. Only 20 minutes by speedboat from MLE but you will not get the same "edge of the world" feeling as Jani is able to provide. The villa's are also a bit of a step down compared to Jani (but not bothersome, it wouldn't hold me back from staying at Gili). Nevertheless Gili is truly outstanding in terms of service. Just wow. Thumbs up for a great GM, a great F&B manager, a great Mr Friday, a great airport coordinator and a great restaurant supervisor (BF restaurant on the beach). The Japanese restaurant for example was also amazing.