There were tears in my eyes when we left Soneva Kiri. That is how much I fell in love with the resort and almost everything about it hit a home run for us. Their no shoes, no news motto was instantly embraced as we happily put our shoes in the bags they presented upon arrival. It is one of those truly special places in which they provide the amenities and service of a five star resort, but without the attitude and pretentious vibe that many luxury properties seem to cultivate. Their focus is on the luxury of space, nature, and creativity.
Soneva has a strong give back model which aligns well with what we look for in the industry. The initiatives that they have in place to help improve the environment and which demonstrate collaborative and innovative methods, is inspiring. They are a dream for us as the resort would be worth recommending without the thoughtful practices in place. The fact that they care about the world and those in it, is icing on the cake.
Soneva believes in something called the SLOW LIFE. This stands for Sustainable, Local, Organic and Wellness. It is about a healthier way of living which is good for us as well as the environment. LIFE stands for learning, inspiring, fun and experiences.
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| Living it up on Soneva's private plane |
Your experience with Soneva Kiri begins the minute you touch down in Bangkok as they have a representative who meets you at the gate and helps you through immigration and with collection of luggage. They bring you to a VIP waiting area while they check you in, and then they escort you to Soneva's private transfer to their own 8 seat plane called "Ever Soneva Over the Top". The flight time is about one hour and upon landing on their private air strip near Koh Kood, you are greeted at the airstrip by your Mr or Ms Friday who effectively act as your butler. Our Ms Friday was Taeko and I wish I could keep her with me forever.
We stayed in beach villa number 5. Although it was a one bedroom unit, the closet was large enough to act as a second bedroom for our children. Our favorite features were the large pool, private outdoor living space and massive outdoor bathroom.
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| The Kids Club, The Den |
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| Face Paiting! |
A big win for families is the kids clubs. Referred to as the Den and Eco Den, they provide hands on activities and care for children from 1 year and up. There is no additional fee for this as it is included in the rate. Our kids asked to go and we were happy to have some time of our own to go to the gym, relax by the pool, work, or do whatever we fancied. It had been some time that all of us were truly doing what we wanted to at the same time.
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The Gourmet Chocolate Room! |
The entire resort is a playground of creativity and fun for kids as well as adults. From the massive outdoor cinema, to treetop dining, to the chocolate room, and 30-60 flavors of ice cream on offer complimentary throughout the day, you can tell they had fun thinking and dreaming up ideas for the resort.
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| One of the best massages I have ever had! |
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| Our zip lining waiter for tree top dining |
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| Cheers to new experiences! |
On our first morning we experienced magical treetop dining. It was like nothing I have experienced before. We were seated in a pod with a dining table before being hoisted up into the treetops. From there, our breakfast order was taken by a waiter who then zip lined back to the kitchen and back to our table with our food. He even heated the cappuccinos while in the trees so that they would be hot and freshly made.
One of the absolute highlights was a visit to one of the four local schools in Koh Kood. The guide we had who works at the resort also volunteers time at the school. His passion for the education of the children was evident and you could see he was well respected. We stopped at a local store to pick up supplies on the way of which James was able to hand out to the classrooms. Another guest from the resort joined us and we had a lovely time together. In one of the classrooms James taught the kids some English and they in turn taught him some Thai. It was a wonderful experience that I would highly recommend for any of our clients traveling as a family especially.
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| Learning languages with the local school kids |
Another excursion that John and I experienced was a visit to the local fisherman's village. It was educational to learn abut the fishing methods they use and what fish they catch. From there we were taken to a waterfall. We had to hike to the waterfall and the experience brought us back to our childhood as we splashed and dove under the falls just the two of us. Of course Soneva being as great as they are, had a platter of fresh fruit in the car after we returned from our hike.
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| Local Fisherman Village |
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| Playing in Waterfalls |
As avid chocolate and ice cream lovers, we were blown away by the chocolate room and unlimited ice cream on offer at the resort. We had the great pleasure of meeting the Executive Chef, David, whom upon being told of our obsession of ice cream, asked us to give him a flavor to create. We suggested grilled mango with goat cheese, and Pistachio with chocolate chips. He delivered and WOW was it delicious! We loved the spirit of creativity, fun and that all things are possible.
We left Soneva feeling inspired and rested. It is exactly what a good vacation should do and we do hope to return one day.
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| Romantic dinner at their Thai Restaurant |
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