a private tree-nest attended to by ‘flying waiters’ for romantic dining. But in the end, what enchants you is the way Soneva Kiri magnifies the beauty of solitude amidst its lavish-yetrustic island nooks. You can get lost here either in nature, or in your own imagination. Being surrounded by so much flora, and open to seascapes and views of smaller islands not far from your deck chair or dining table, Soneva Kiri evokes a powerful sense of child-like wonder for everything you encounter on the island. You’d expect that any place requiring a propeller jet and speedboat ride to reach it, with its expansive villas and crepuscular sunsets might appeal only to romantic honeymooners and A-list celebrities, but you’d be wrong. From the way luxury, good old-fashioned fun and a warm and perceptive service are woven together here, there’s every chance that guests of any description will find it hard to leave this island paradise.
Jungle dens of brush and bamboo Built from planks of pine and trimmed with bamboo, each stately villa at Soneva Kiri is skirted by lush tropical thicket and brush, with the sort of romantic den-like interiors that incite the will to write one’s memoirs and be photographed doing it. Three types of sprawling
residences await mainlanders, some sitting propped up on a beach, or dotted on either side of a hill or cliff (with bedrooms greeting the sunrise or sunset based on your choice). To complete that luxury safari feel, four-poster beds with mosquito nets, earth-tone soft furnishings, steamer trunks piled high (that actually conceal flatscreen TVs, a DVD player and an iPod dock), and outdoor baths and showers are spread out across each of the 29 villas here. Add to that open-air living rooms with well-stocked wine chillers, wellplaced speakers indoors and out, a wrap-around plunge pool and separate cabins for a washroom and dressing room, and you will catch yourself making mental notes about what features to include in your own holiday home blueprints. Of course when you get past
all the tick boxes of each luxury villa (their convoluted light panels are likely to be the only source of frustration) you will discover that the most immersive experience to be had at these abodes is with few, if any, lights or speakers on. Draw deep of the sights and sounds at your front door; the symphonies of competing insects; the sudden bursts of merciless tropical showers, or the first sight of dawn as the sun glints off the ocean into your bedroom. Truly, Soneva Kiri’s most abundant gift is unencumbered nature.