If you have been researching the most luxury and romantic hotel in the Maldives for your honeymoon or just an exceptional holiday, both of these hotels will have appeared on your radar. Soneva Fushi is on its own island, and Soneva Jani, an hour north-east by speedboat, sits within its own atoll, a little archipelago of five islets (four of them deserted) within the Medhufaru lagoon.
Whether you are attracted by the retracting roof on your room at Soneva Jani or the beach cinema of Soneva Fushi, the dolphin spotting sunset sails and the Jani slides, or the Robinson Crusoe luxury of Soneva Fushi, you will undoubtedly be wondering which is best and which you should choose.
Let’s start with a quick overview of each hotel, and then we can conclude which is the best, Soneva Fushi vs. Soneva Jani.
1. Soneva Fushi Resort, Maldives
Soneva Fushi Resort is also located in the stunning Baa Atoll island archipelago, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. Eco-chic villas are hidden among dense tropical foliage and are the stuff of romantic Robinson Crusoe fantasies. In fact, many are built to resemble tree houses. All open to their own private stretch of sugar-white sands, and most boast their own private seawater swimming pools. Service is provided by Mr./Ms. Friday butlers who know what you want before you do!
Located in the Baa Atoll, Kunfunadhoo Island is one of the largest islands in the Maldives. The resort can be reached by a scenic 30-minute seaplane flight direct from Malé International Airport or a 12-minute speedboat ride for guests scheduled on domestic flights at the nearby Dharavandhoo Airport. Soneva Fushi has a private airport lounge exclusively for guests.
Activities include a Six Senses spa, a private beach with watersports facilities, bikes to borrow, an observatory, open-air cinema, a floodlit tennis court, badminton, snooker table, group yoga, and tai chi classes, jogging trail, board games, ice-cream parlor, library, a stash of CDs and DVDs, free Wi-Fi. In rooms: flatscreen TV, DVD player, preloaded iPod and dock, binoculars, air-conditioning, minibar, tea- and coffee-making facilities. The resort can also organize scuba diving, motorized watersports, and local boat trips.
If powder-white sands, crystal clear waters, and understated luxury is what you are looking for, the original desert island honeymoon hideaway of Soneva Fushi will make your dreams come true.
2. Soneva Jani
Soneva Jani is located on the island of Medhufaru in the northern Atoll of Noonu, 40-minutes by seaplane from Malé International Airport and 1 hour by speedboat from Soneva Fushi. Soneva Jani is an ultra-romantic resort that features 24 overwater villas and 1 island villa.
Inspired by a word that means ‘wisdom’ in Sanskrit, Soneva Jani encompasses a collection of Water Villas and Island Sanctuaries set within a lagoon of crystal clear waters, fringed by pristine beaches and blanketed in lush tropical greenery.
The resort offers barefoot luxury with 4 kilometers of unspoiled beach but with a modern eco-tourism angle; so, for example, the silent cinema allows you to listen to the movie on Bluetooth earphones so as not to disturb the local wildlife. There are 24 spacious over-water villas, each with its own private pool. Some of the villas even feature a huge water slide into the Indian Ocean! There’s also a private island villa for an extra-exclusive stay, just perfect for honeymooners. The bedrooms have retractable roofs made from sustainable materials, so you can sleep under the stars in perfect comfort.
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Which is Best?
Soneva Fushi is so good that, apparently, 60% of guests return. Its Robinson Crusoe rooms are straight out of a fairytale.
Rooms at Soneva a Fushi all have their own patch of outdoors and uninterrupted views and range from one bedroom to nine bedrooms. The latter, the largest one, has slides, a pool, a spa, and a gym! Our top choice is the garden bathrooms with outdoor showers and sunken bathtubs. Sunsets are spectacular at Soneva Fushi, but villas on the sunrise side of the island are blessed with uninterrupted ocean views.
Soneva Jani is much, much smaller, incorporating just 24 overwater villas (villas are one to four-bedroom) connected to a wooden walkway that snakes its way across the lagoon and over to the main island. The rooms here are amazing. Most have their own slide down to the water along with a retractable roof so you can lie in bed watching the stars – I love this!
Both offer true barefoot luxury. Whichever resort you choose, don’t bring your Louboutins (sorry, my pretties), your heels will sink into the sand. They take your shoes away anyway. They are whipped off before you try to attempt the heel-sand stagger. It’s a shame in some ways. If you could keep your heels on, you could make use of their complimentary golf buggy chauffeur service to get around the island! Without heels, you hardly need the service as you can walk or cycle everywhere.
You will feel compelled to save the world or at least your local environment by staying at both resorts. Everything Soneva does is kind to the environment, from the buildings to the bunnies that hop about. This goes for both resorts. At Jani, most of the resort is solar-powered, and drinking water is produced on the island.
Soneva Fushi has nine restaurants, but honeymooners should have a romantic supper on Soneva Fushi’s private sandbank in the middle of the ocean.
The Soneva Fushi breakfast is by the beach and offers everything from eggs to waffles, cheese, meats, juices, pastries, to curries. The Fushi breakfast is also a banquet with everything you could want.
Dinner at Fushi is your choice of international and Asian food taken beachside, in the garden, over the water, or in the treetops! There are fewer options at Jani, but Jani is the only place where you can dine at So Starstruck, the Maldives’ first overwater observatory, complete with a telescope. Alternatively, just go to the “Gathering Bar” for sunset cocktails and tapas.
Soneva’s “So Guilty” chocolate and ice cream room is present at both resorts and offers unlimited and complimentary chocolates, truffles, ice creams, and sorbets.
Mr & Mrs. Friday are also there at both resorts to cater to your every need, from snorkeling to stargazing.
At Sonva Fushi, the Six Senses spa and open-air cinema are both magical. At Jani, you can take a sunset cruise, and you WILL see dolphins, almost definitely. And there are all the usual sporting options here, so you don’t miss out (scuba, snorkeling, windsurfing, etc.). There is also an overwater silent cinema, Cinema Paradiso at Jani.
So Which Is Best?
Soneva Fushi is larger, with more to do and more places to eat. It is also usually cheaper than Soneva Jani and is a better deal for this level of intense luxury. Fushi does not offer rooms with retracting roofs or outdoor areas with slides, which means the Fushi rooms may disappoint by comparison. My personal opinion would be to go to both, maybe 4 nights in each.
They are an easy transfer from each other in a lovely boat, and by combining them both, you will have the best of both worlds. Please do remember to select a room at Soneva Jani with a slide into the ocean. Not all rooms have the slide, and it’s both ridiculous and wonderful. Whichever resort you choose, you will be blessed with one of the most incredible holiday experiences in the world.
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