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Soneva Fushi Built the Barefoot Luxury Blueprint the Maldives Still Follows
On a jungle-covered island in the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Soneva Fushi helped invent the barefoot-luxury look that much of the Maldives resort industry has since borrowed, built around an observatory, an underground wine cellar and a standing no-shoes policy.
Sep 27, 2026 · BigTravel.in
When Soneva Fushi opened on Kunfunadhoo Island in 1995, the Maldives resort model still leaned heavily on formal service and polished floors. Soneva's founders, Sonu and Eva Shivdasani, went the other way, stripping away shoes, room keys and, eventually, television news, and building instead around raw timber, thatch and the island's own jungle canopy. Three decades on, the barefoot-luxury look their resort popularised has become something close to the default aesthetic across the Maldives.
A resort built for going barefoot
Soneva Fushi's "no news, no shoes" line is more than a slogan, it shapes the physical resort: pathways are sand rather than paved stone, villas open directly onto the beach or jungle floor, and guests are actively encouraged to leave footwear at the door for the length of a stay. The approach was unusual enough in the mid-1990s that it is now widely credited with nudging the wider Maldives industry away from a more formal, imported luxury template and toward the barefoot, back-to-nature style many newer resorts still chase.
An observatory and a slide into the wine cellar
Two features in particular have become shorthand for Soneva Fushi's reputation for eccentric extras. Its observatory houses a retractable-dome telescope said to be among the largest in the Indian Ocean region, used for guided stargazing sessions once night falls over the atoll. Nearby, "Many Feet Under" is an underground wine cellar reached by a spiral slide, one of the more theatrical ways to end up somewhere as ordinary as a wine tasting.
Why the biosphere reserve status matters
Baa Atoll's UNESCO Biosphere Reserve designation, granted in 2011, formalised protections for the coral reefs and marine life, including the manta ray and whale shark aggregations at nearby Hanifaru Bay, that resorts in the atoll have built much of their appeal around. Soneva has long positioned its own operations, from waste management to reef conservation projects, as part of that broader biosphere framework rather than separate from it.
Traveller tips
- Soneva Fushi is reached by seaplane or speedboat transfer from Velana International Airport, typically arranged through the resort.
- Baa Atoll's manta ray and whale shark season at Hanifaru Bay generally runs from May to November, tied to the southwest monsoon.
- The observatory's stargazing sessions depend on clear night skies; enquire about scheduling on arrival.
- As at most Maldives island resorts, day-trip access is limited; a stay is generally required to visit.
Where this is
Baa Atoll, Maldives