Soneva announces partnership with the MICHELIN guide

Soneva, the world-leading luxury resort operator and my favorite hotel brand in the world, has announced a unique partnership with the MICHELIN Guide for 20 dinner events which will be hosted at its resorts in the Maldives and Thailand. The dinners, which run from August 2018 until mid 2019, are part of Soneva’s Festival of Colour, a celebration of Soneva’s diverse array of visiting experts and designed to offer unique guest experiences.

Throughout the festival, some of the world’s most celebrated and decorated chefs, all of whom have come from Michelin starred restaurants, will be hosting highly exclusive dinner events at Soneva properties, each for a maximum of eight resort guests at a time. It is the first time that the MICHELIN Guide has done any kind of event in the Maldives. The partnership is also designed to appeal to the international foodie scene and cement Soneva’s reputation as an epicurean destination.

Under the terms of the collaboration, Soneva and the MICHELIN Guide will be jointly promoting the following chef events, most of which feature chefs from restaurants worldwide with two or three Michelin stars:

Kiko Moya, from two starred Spanish restaurant L’Escaletta, who will be cooking at Soneva Fushi between August 26 – 31, 2018
Gert de Mangeleer, from three starred Belgium restaurant Hertog Jan, who will be cooking at Soneva Fushi from October 7 – 12, 2018
Bruno Oger, from two starred French restaurant La Villa Archange, who will be cooking at Soneva Fushi from October 15 – 21, 2018
Yoann Conte, from two starred French restaurant Bord du Lac, who will be cooking at Soneva Fushi from November 5 – 12, 2018
Pere Planaguma, from two starred Spanish restaurant Les Cols who will be cooking at Soneva Fushi from November 25 – December 02, 2018
Tim Raue, from two starred German Restaurant Tim Raue, who will be cooking at Soneva Fushi from December 5 – 14, 2018
Ronan Kevarrec, from two starred French restaurant La Table de Plaisance, who will be cooking at Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani from December 22 – January 04, 2019
Tom Aikens, from two starred UK restaurant Toms Kitchen, who will be cooking at Soneva Fushi from February 14 – 17, 2019
Guillaume Bracaval, from two starred French restaurant Michel Troisgros, who will be cooking at Soneva Fushi from March 4 – 9, 2019
Maxime Meilleur, from three starred French restaurant La Bouitte, who will be cooking at Soneva Fushi from October 6 – 11, 2019

*The Michelin stars represented above are based upon the respective restaurant’s recognition for 2018 edition in their respective cities/ territories.

The remaining chef events will be announced soon.

More than 30 chefs are confirmed to visit Soneva properties in 2018 and 2019, most of which have originated from restaurants that have received Michelin stars. In addition to the chefs, Soneva will be welcoming explorers, free-divers, astronauts, astronomers, authors, wellness experts, wine producers, sake experts, and other people who will all be offering guest activities. The full list of visiting experts can be viewed here.

“This partnership is an extraordinary opportunity for Soneva guests to celebrate culinary excellence in an outstanding environment. This collaboration is totally in line with Michelin’s desire to offer travellers unique fine dining experiences all over the world”, says Alexandre Taisne, Michelin Group Food & Beverage Director.

“Gastronomy is now one of the most important factors when deciding where to stay, especially in the luxury travel segment when “good food” is no longer enough. We focus on creating rare, lasting experiences for guests and part of this is welcoming these incredible chefs to create their renowned dishes using our organic and locally sourced ingredients. We hope that our guests will experience a life changing meal when they stay with us, and we are delighted to have this opportunity to partner with the MICHELIN Guide,” concluded Sonu Shivdasani, Soneva’s CEO and Co-Creative Director.

Contact me if you want to book a stay at a Soneva resort. I can offer you the following:

Complimentary upgrade to the next villa category (subject to availability)
A voucher of resort credit valued at 10% of the total room revenue of the booking (when booking a Best Available Rate) or 5% of the total package revenue when booking one of the Soneva special packages. For example, if you book 7 nights at Soneva Kiri at a best available rate of $1300 USD per night, you will get a resort credit of 7 x $130 USD = $910 USD, which you can use on food, spa, and activities.
One personalised experience for two adults. For example, at Soneva Jani, these experiences may include:
- Private Cinema Paradiso experience with dinner
- Father & son picnic and mother & daughter spa
- Private Dinner at the Starlight Table and a session at the observatory
- Cooking class for children and family
- Sunrise breakfast
- Gourmet dining experience which includes chocolate and wine tasting