Unveiling 2024 Hottest New Resorts’ Openings
By Marilyne Morin, Founder of IMPACT M, Marketing & PR Consultancy.
About the author: Marilyne is a purpose-driven business leader with more than 15 years’ experience in Marketing, Public Relations, Branding, Digital and Corporate Communications. Having worked for a wide range of businesses in the fields of hospitality and tourism, arts and culture, events, entertainment, beauty and healthcare, she has a vast expertise and is driven by connecting emotionally brand personalities with their audiences. Her creativity, passion, and the unique stories she can unfold have allowed her to conduct successful communication campaigns worldwide.
From private island retreats in the Maldives to tropical paradises in the Seychelles, this year will see exciting new resorts opening in the Indian Ocean. Here are the best hotels launching in 2024.
Soneva Secret, Maldives
Opening in February 2024, Soneva Secret features 14 overwater and island villas, including the Maldives’ only floating villa.
Located in the sparkling waters of Dhipparufushi in the Maldives’ Haa Dhaalu Atoll, the debut of Soneva Secret resort represents a new wave of rare, tailor-made experiences and the ultimate in privacy and seclusion.
Designed to offer the ultimate in Soneva hospitality and exemplary service standards, each villa comes with bedrooms with retractable roofs for stargazing, adjoining children’s rooms and gym and spa treatment rooms.
Every villa at Soneva Secret has its own dedicated Barefoot Guardian, Barefoot Assistant, and private chef.
Guests can also explore a refined selection of culinary experiences across the resort, including limited-edition menus.
Surrounded by shimmering turquoise waters and rich marine life, Soneva Secret is a feast for all the senses with entirely bespoke experiences including an astronomical dinner cruise, swimming with manta rays & turtles, a castaway picnic, and Wellness at Soneva Secret, an integrative wellness concept uniting thousands of years of ancient healing wisdom with the latest in science and innovation.
Villa Haven, Maldives
Located in South Ari Atoll, just 35 minutes from Velana International Airport by seaplane, Villa Haven is the newest luxury offering from Villa Resorts opening in 2024.
An invitation to reconnect and reinvent, Villa Haven is a calming place where nature’s beautiful basics are celebrated through the use of sustainable materials.
The bursting tropical beauty, wide beaches, and lush vegetation bring healing and hospitality together.
With accommodations rooted in nature, featuring unspoiled elements of the islands blending seamlessly with the refined structures, blurring the boundaries between indoor and outdoor.
The Haven Reserve is the pinnacle of island luxury, with three bedrooms and two pools, ideal for families and friends.
Guests can discover a world of flavours, from six international cuisines at the Main Restaurant, to primitive cooking at Husk, traditional Maldivian recipes, and poolside dining — a diverse culinary journey awaits all.
Araamu Spa is where guests can embrace a timeless journey of senses amid a secluded tropical garden. Offering a range of Ayurvedic, local, and international wellness treatments, the island’s healing energy invites to a physical, mental, and spiritual rejuvenation.
.Here, Maldives
Seaside Collection introduces a new ultra luxury property to its portfolio – .Here. Located in the Baa Atoll, with two private islands, the resort will unveil a new era of exclusivity and privacy in December 2024.
.Here will feature nine new villas spread across two private islands, offering luxury with intuitive service and transformative experiences.
On one of the smallest luxury island resorts in the world, guests will have exclusive access to their own private restaurant, lounge, spa and fitness and wellness centre.
Each villa will be accessible from its own private jetty.
One island will be housing seven two-storey private villas, each with three or four bedrooms, spanning both land and sea, and featuring 45-metre suspended pools with cascading waterfalls, an impressive feature and a world first.
The second island will comprise of two villas, totalling 3,115 sqm, and intended to be booked as a whole private experience – creating a whole new personalised and exclusive experience.
Respecting the UNESCO biosphere that the natural islands sit within, the property’s design will be considerate to the landscape and all its surroundings, both above and below the waterline.
Cheval Blanc Seychelles
Along the southwestern coast of Mahé Island, Cheval Blanc Seychelles is located on Anse Intendance beach, offering a sweeping, pristine setting.
Opening in Autumn 2024, the newest Cheval Blanc was designed as an ode to creole traditions, paying homage to its natural surroundings.
The Maison will offer 52 villas spanning 220 to 1,950 square meters, each with a private swimming pool, and beautiful beachfront, hillside, or tropical jungle views.
An Epicurean destination, the Cheval Blanc art de vivre gives pride and place to artists, with special pieces made specifically for this location.
The culinary arts are revealed in a five-part creative composition by the Cheval Blanc team: Mizumi, the Asian restaurant by the lake; Vivamento, the vibrant Italian facing the pool; Sula, the Mediterranean beach club by the ocean; and the brand’s signature concepts: Le 1947, the emblematic French gastronomic restaurant, and Le White, with a cosmopolitan atmosphere.
The Seychelles Maison also offers a collection of Guerlain well-being rituals at the Spa Cheval Blanc, a pool, a fitness room, a surf simulator and two tennis and padel courts.
Waldorf Astoria Platte Island
Since its soft opening on 31 January 2024, Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island offers an exclusive destination with unrivalled hospitality in the midst of pristine nature, easily reachable by a 20 minute direct flight from Mahe.
The story begins as you touch down on Platte Island, onto this 14-kilometer-wide lagoon located in a pristine atoll protected by its own coral reef, unveiling a natural wonderland.
Home to a variety of tropical birds, native Hawksbill turtles, eagle rays, manta rays and whale sharks, much of Platte Island’s scenery remains beautifully untouched, promising a plethora of firsts and an unrivalled sense of magic for guests.
The resort’s six restaurants and bars offer a collection of culinary experiences that celebrate the bounty of natural resources on the island.
From an Afro-Latin fusion restaurant & bar to a trendy pool bar offering Creole inspired tapas, each experience promises to be memorable.
The Waldorf Spa offers a serene destination for holistic wellbeing, featuring six treatment rooms and serene outdoor spaces that blend harmoniously with nature.
