Soneva Fushi? The right decision?

Hey there,

I have booked Soneva Fushi for our 10 day honeymoon at the end of July. I would like some advice or reassurance about this place if possible. I have only heard great stuff about the place to be honest, apart from one review on Tripadvisor, but I suppose as its a once in a lifetime trip-and my honeymoon, I don%26#39;t want to have made a mistake and what can I say I am a worrier.

I think my main concern are the villas, will they be too rustic? I don%26#39;t mind the rustic style/aesthetic as long as you have all the usual five star amenities and luxuries that you do become accustomed to and that you are paying for. Is this a warranted concern? We have booked a Soneva Fushi Villa Suite with Pool on the Sunrise side of the island as I am aware this is the better side. However, they always say ';subject to availability';

Any help or reassurance would be great! Thank you

Soneva Fushi? The right decision?

Hi Dee

Soneva Fushi is a great resort and an excellent choice. The furnishings are more rustic than the now more flashy resorts but tastful and very good quality. There three very good restaurants including the organic one which is an experience in itself. A number of film and stage stars use this island for very good reason. You are going in the low season and they have a free upgrading policy if they have vacancies. Enjoy

Regards

Doug

Soneva Fushi? The right decision?

It is a wonderful place, and you don%26#39;t have to be afraid that it is to rustic. We had our honeymoon to Soneva Fushi, and we really missed the rustic style when we got to Dubais glam and glitter.

Enjoy!

It is certainly the best resort in the maldives that we have stayed in. In my view you have made absolutely the right choice. See my review for lots more info, but yes you do get all those 5 star luxuries and amazing service. The rustic style is all part of the ambience and makes it so perfect. There are quite a few glitzy resorts now, but they don%26#39;t compare to Soneva Fushi. Sadly the prices have gone up so much since we went last year that we are unlikely to go again. Sunrise v Sunset? Well, that caused me hours of angst, so much that we decided to leave it and see what we were given. We got sunrise - no 27 which was a Crusoe Villa. The only downside was that when we went in May it was unbearably still and hot that side. However, when we wanted to cool down late afternoon we sat on our upstairs terrace on the daybed or we went across the island to the sunset pier where there are some wonderful day beds and netting over the water with nice comfy cushions. On balance, because we%26#39;re out diving in the morning and only have the afternoons to ourselves we might want to go sunset side if we went again, but that%26#39;s just personal view and because we%26#39;re big sunlovers. The arguments that some people put against sunset side is the view of Eydhafushi the capital island which is very close. It didn%26#39;t worry us at all and we quite liked watching the few cars going up and down the island.

I%26#39;ll start daydreaming now if I think of Soneva Fushi anymore!

You%26#39;ve made the best choice.

Hi Mauritiousfan

I don%26#39;t know if Rochelle was the general manager when you were there but if so you might like to know she%26#39;s now running Zighy Bay a new Six Senses resort in Oman. We stayed there before Christmas it%26#39;s a wonderful place and it was nice to meet Rochelle again who did such a great job at Soneva

Regards

Doug

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for all your replies. I really do feel better now having heard all your firsthand experience. I had heard that about the sunset side of the island and that is why I requested sunrise. Do you think it would be terribly disappointing if we were given a villa on the sunset side?

Our travel agent has requested either villa 7 or 9 as they are the only sovena villa suites with pool. They are half way between dolphin beach and kannai jetty- where the main restaurant is. Is that really close to the jetty? I don%26#39;t know if any of you have read the most recent review of Soneva Fushi but they complained about being too close to restaurants etc. Interestingly this is the only review that hasn%26#39;t given the place a 5 or a 4! They had just been to One and Only Reethi Rah-but I would not want to go to a manmade island.

Sorry about all the questions! Thank you so much again, I think we will stick with Soneva.

Thanks

Hi Dee

We stayed sunrise side in fact in a Rehendi room which was near to the main breakfast area but absolutely no problem in fact didn%26#39;t have to get up so early to get there in time. You%26#39;ll like the rabbits

Regards

Doug

They gave us a souvenir key fob and having rescued from our young cat (it%26#39;s one of her favourite toys!) I can see that we were in room 29 which if you look at the map is only just up from the main restaurant. The rooms are quite well spaced apart and we never heard anything or smelt food cooking so if you were close it it it would be no problem at all. If am reading the map properly 7 and 9 are the two soneva fushi villa suites on the sunrise side. They are a long way away from the restaurant. The only thing I can remember is that one of those suites was locked out of use when we were there and there was no beach around it because of erosion. Erosion obviously varies depending on the time of year you go, but every time we get a room where there isn%26#39;t enough beach outside we end up moving.

It%26#39;s personal choice, and you seem to be sold on sunrise, but the two on the other side have (in my view) a better location. We looked at 50 when we were there and it was in a fantastic location - closeish to the dive centre and sunset bar.

What puts you off sunset, because if you are going in our summer it will be a much more pleasant temperature on that side as there will be a breeze. Is it what you have read about a comms tower? If so, yes you can see it, but do you really notice it after the first day? Not really.

Response to Doug

Hi Doug. I%26#39;m convinced we have the same taste - Zighy Bay%26#39;s on our list but we haven%26#39;t got to it yet....

No, Rochelle wasn%26#39;t the GM last year. I%26#39;m racking my brains to think who it was as he was on holiday at the time.

Glad you liked Zighy Bay. I%26#39;m looking at places for a short extra holiday for hubby%26#39;s 50th. Credit crunch permitting, Zighy Bay is a possibility although I don%26#39;t think they do any diving from there so that might be an issue. We did have a 5 night break in Dubai last September and managed to have a holiday without diving, but whether he%26#39;ll cope on his Birthday is another story.

hi again,

yes I think the only reason I was worried was because of the tower and what I have heard. To be honest, I haven%26#39;t thought about the weather differences between the two sides as I haven%26#39;t visited there before. But now having heard your experiences I am less concerned about which side I end up on. So thank you. I just hope that if for whatever reason we do want to switch rooms, there will be availability. Obviously we want some beach around our room! How generous are they with the upgrades? Should I ask when I get there about an upgrade if they don%26#39;t mention it first?

Thanks

To be quite honest, when we were there they weren%26#39;t generous with the upgrades. I think it depends on how busy they are. However, we paid for a Crusoe Villa and were thrilled with it.

The whole ambience of the island is absolutely gorgeous and one spends very little time in the villa. Just do what we did and don%26#39;t worry about which side of the island. If you get on the sunrise side and there is no beach in front of your villa, just ask to be moved at the next opportunity. They will certainly do that for you. If you%26#39;re on the sunset side I think you%26#39;ll love the villas - both the SF suites with pool are in prime position. They are very well set back and there is lots of beach.

If you want to ask more questions, either do it on the forum or send me a private message. I%26#39;ll be very happy to help you. I know how stressful it is trying to get it right, but actually you can%26#39;t go wrong with Soneva Fushi so relax and enjoy. There%26#39;s enough worry with that wedding ahead....

Caroline