Soneva takes the Gold in Condé Nast Lists

etravelblackboard.com

Perhaps the greatest compliment is to have your guest’s choose your resort as their favorite, as was the case in The Condé Nast Gold Lists 2009, in both the United States and United Kingdom editions of Condé Nast Traveller. In the US edition, over 32,000 readers voted. The result, wrote Condé Nast Traveler, is a compendium of properties as reliable as bullion itself.

Scoring the Maldives top position with an overall 94.8%, Soneva Fushi by Six Senses, achieved a perfect score for its location: blindingly white sand, turquoise sea and beautiful palm trees,“the service is second to none”. “You won’t wear shoes once during your stay” Dense vegetation separates villas, where the furniture is built from renewable or sustainable sources, and bathrooms open to private gardens.

And the Maldives second highest score went to sister property, Soneva Gili, with 93.6%. Soneva’s philosophy of what it calls intelligent luxury translates into “a smart staff: The people serving you breakfast speak five to seven languages”. Bright villas in this overwater resort have rooftop sundecks and are decorated in shades of red, yellow and white. A new gym and Japanese restaurant recently opened.

Meanwhile, readers of the UK edition of Condé Nast Traveller awarded Soneva Gili a 97.4% score in the Best Rooms category. Environmentally friendly principals are combined with carefully conceived design at the 45-villa resort. Constructed using sustainable materials and natural fabrics, villas have rooftop and overwater sundecks and open air bathrooms. Facilities include a Six Senses Spa, swimming pool, tennis, diving, sailing, group yoga classes and a gourmet restaurant. The publication continued the report, with what they call the X-factor: The accommodation ranges from the sweet-and-chic villa suites to the incredible Private Reserve which has three bedrooms, a private spa, a waterslide, resident butlers and two tiny boats to take you to the main island.