We loved Soneva, I can honestly say I did not want to leave. Everything is perfect from being met at Mali airport and the beautiful lounge you are taken to which really sets the mood for soneva, comfy cushions, serenity and excellent service.

We were met at the pontoon after the seaplane flight by Natsumi our girl friday who welcomed us with more refreshments and cold towels and dispensed our shoes into the No News No Shoes bag!

We had booked a crusoe villa but were upgraded to a soneva villa suite which was truly amazing, vast with a stunning water garden with a huge soft day bed perfect for relaxing after a bath, it had 2 showers one by the side entrance so you could get to it straight from the beach, the other under a tree in the water garden, it is so well thought out. We were on the sunrise side with a lovely secluded area of beach to the sea.

The Island is lovely, so unspoilt, cycling through the shadey paths is such a pleasure, we loved the rabbits, lizards, hermit crabs, and bats that we saw around the place.

The food is truly sumptuous, my only regret was not having a big enough appetite to do it justice . Breakfast itself is a feast which we had to have a tour round on our first morning, you could select your fruit and it was then prepared for you and looked amazing, different rooms with cheeses and cold cuts, breads and pastries all to die for.

We loved the Fresh in the Garden restaurant, it is very special with the open kitchen and being set high above the organic garden, sadly for us we could only ever manage 2 courses. After dinner you could walk across to the observatory and moon and star gaze - wow! We snokelled with Anke the marine biologist which was amazing, like an under water safari, she also gave brilliant talk/slide shows on some evenings.

The atmosphere is relaxed you can do as much or as little as you want, you can eat wherever you like from your villa to the beach! We could not fault it, especially as it is so eco bent, with so much grown and recycled on the island. Would go back tomorrow but will have to start saving now!

In a word, phenominal.

While Soneva Fushi isn't the cheap, it was everything we could have hoped for. The food is amazing, fresh fish every day, prawns, amazing deserts. All the vegetables and many fruits are grown on the island so they are all very tasty. My wife generally hates fish, however here she couldn't get enough.

We stayed on the sunrise side, which I would recommend. We got up every morning to watch, and it was easier getting up and walking out of our room to watch rather than walking across the island. We found ourselves always over on the sunset side at the Bar(a)bara Bar anyway.

The rooms were amazing, beds very comfortable, the bathrooms were great, the amenities were great.

The staff were exceptionally helpful, doing everything we could ask, everything we could think of, offering things before we had even asked. We were at the observatory and they mentioned that the telescope could see Saturn, however it was only visible at 6am, and before we had even thought of it the attendant offered to wake up then and open the observatory so we could come.

I have no complaints at all. Perfect.

My only suggestion is to bring mosquito repellent, the stuff they provided didn't work so well for my wife.

I am already planning our next trip there.

We spent 10 days on this island over our honeymoon, and it really is an incredible place. The food was excellent, our service (especially from Abbas, our "Friday") was fantastic, and the island itself is stunning. We loved exploring the island with the bicycles they provided, and it's a fantastic place for children in our opinion. The staff was wonderful with our year-old daughter, and they brought a lovely sitter in to be on call for us for the duration of our stay. The destination dining options are great. The diving was gorgeous, and Thomas and his crew at the dive school are a really nice bunch. I highly recommend booking the Cinema Paradiso, as it's really a special experience. It was truly relaxing being there.
That said, it's necessary to mention that the quality of the rooms is not fantastic. The electronics are at LEAST a decade old, and our Crusoe villa was poorly laid out with no significant den area and an extremely uncomfortable sofa. The value for money is terrible. They are in serious need of updating, and this is not what is we expected when we booked at a 5 star resort that we paid a lot of money to visit. We were expecting Robinson Crusoe with a flat-screen plus DVD to cuddle up in front of at the end of the day, and a decent sound system to go with it.
We had visited Huvafen Fushi for 9 days before going to this resort, and (if it is a good point of reference for anybody) Soneva Fushi has Huvafen Fushi severely beat on nearly every level--other than the villas. Just short of perfection...

Without a doubt, worth every penny and every hour it took to get there from Los Angeles. We went to the Maldives in Oct '07 for our Honeymoon, and my only regret is that it took us this long to post a review. In addition to staying at Soneva Fushi for 7 days, we stayed at Reethi Rah for 4 days. While Reethi Rah was more luxurious, Soneva Fushi was absolutely perfect. It felt much more authentic than Reethi Rah, and the service was much better.

The beaches were absolutely beautiful, and even though they're not large, it's plenty of space to lay in the sun and relax. We could walk right into the water in front of our villa and snorkel, and we could go half a day without seeing anyone else on the beach. When you walk or bike through the island you feel like you're in a jungle--some small bugs included. It rained on and off the first couple days of our trip, but it didn't dampen the fun... and then it was clear the rest of the time.

The food was excellent at Soneva Fushi, and this is coming from two people with very high standards. We had incredible leisurely breakfasts each morning--amazing breads, cheeses, fruits, and juices--and dinners were exceptional (especially BBQ night and dinner at the garden restaurant).

The villa we stayed in was 2-story, with the bedroom above and sitting area and bath below (including very private outdoor bath). Very comfortable. One thing you should definitely request: a villa on the sunrise side of the island. If you stay on the other side, you'll look out to another nearby island with a huge transmission tower.

The highlight of our Honeymoon (and maybe our lives) was the five hours we spent on our own island. They call it the Desert Island Picnic... take us a half hour away by boat and leave us on an island the size of a football field with nothing but a picnic basket and some towels. Again, worth every penny.

We can't say enough about Soneva Fushi. Attentive and friendly staff. Incredible food. Beautiful beaches. Heaven.