RESPONSIBLE TRAVELER
January • 2022
Eco-Friendly Luxury Resort Unveils First Fine Dining Zipline Experience On the picturesque waters of the Maldives lies a luxurious hideaway like no other. Soneva Fushi, the original desert island hideaway in the Maldives, inspires the imagination with a waterfront retreat that encourages the slow life, infused with unique bucket list experiences. Founded with a passion for culture and a love of the environment, Soneva is a thriving community working to craft beautiful, beyond bespoke experiences where discovery is a way of life. With unique experiences centered around learning and delving deeper into Soneva’s philosophy and sustainable practices and with expert hosts to guide your journey, Soneva invites you to lose yourself in experiences that will stay with you for a lifetime. One such experience is the newly unveiled and exhilarating dining adventure high among the treetops: Flying Sauces, the world’s first fine-dining zipline experience. Destined to become a once-ina-lifetime, ‘bucket list’ experience, Flying Sauces combines world-class gastronomy with the thrill and excitement of a 200-meter zipline—all set against Soneva Fushi’s magnificent vistas over the lush jungle and sparkling ocean beyond. After being securely strapped into safety harnesses, diners soar along a scenic 200-meter zipline
route to reach an elevated dining platform, enjoying an amusebouche, refreshing shooters, and other gastronomic surprises along the way. Upon arriving at the platform, Chef Rasal prepares a delectable seasonal menu in the open kitchen, high above the ground, paired with a selection of over 9,000 fine wines from Soneva Fushi’s extensive cellar. A long-time Sonevian, Chef Rasal Jayawardene has trained with some of the world’s best chefs, including Chef Benoit en Bernard Dewitt at his Michelin-starred restaurant near Ghent, Belgium. Since working with Soneva, Chef Rasal has worked alongside more than 50 Michelin-starred visiting chefs, including Tom Aikens, Tim Raue, Alberto Faccani, Rafael Gomez, and Vicky Ratnani. His menu for Flying Sauces is a six-course, specially crafted menu, utilizing the finest seasonal ingredients like Hokkaido scallops carpaccio with crispy wild rice, celeriac two ways with a raisin salsa, marinated prawns with avocado puree, chorizo oil and rocket, baby leeks with brie cheese cream sauce and rosemary crumble, black cod with artichoke puree and teriyaki truffle sauce and, to finish, a plantbased cheesecake with mango salsa and mixed berry compote. The zipline experience is suitable for adults and children aged
eight and above, with a minimum weight requirement of 25 kilos. Up to a maximum of 12 guests can join each Flying Sauces experience, divided into two groups of six diners, and only one guest is permitted to use the zipline at any time. To ensure safety at all times, harnesses are compulsory along all sections of the zipline route and must be fitted and verified by a trained Soneva Host—these can be removed when diners reach the elevated dining platform. “At Soneva, we are passionate about elevating the guest experience to something that is unique and rare, and our new Flying Sauces does just that— creating an experiential dining moment to create long term memories for our guests. This gives our guests a new perspective of our unique island eco-system, allowing them to reconnect with the sights and sounds of nature while enjoying fine dining hospitality at the same time.” —Sonu Shivdasani, CEO and Founder, Soneva With unique experiences centered around learning and delving deeper into Soneva’s philosophy and sustainable practices and with expert hosts to guide your journey, Soneva invites you to lose yourself in experiences that will stay with you for a lifetime.
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BAREFOOT LUXURY Founded in 1995, as the first barefoot luxury resort, Soneva has always been ahead of the curve, inspiring a standard of sustainability and luxury—proving that the two can co-exist to create a unique experience that lasts long after the trip is over. Sustainability has always been at the heart of Soneva, from sourcing sustainable materials and pioneering ‘waste-to-wealth’ practices to working with local communities and maintaining carbon neutrality. A mandatory two percent environmental levy is added to every Soneva stay, with proceeds going towards the not-for-profit Soneva Foundation to offset both direct and indirect carbon emissions from resort activities and guest flights. The Foundation funds a range of global projects that have a positive environmental, social, and economic impact. Soneva Fushi re-uses or recycles 90 percent of its waste, and was one of the world’s first hospitality groups to ban plastic straws back in 1998, produces and bottles its own water, and has been fully carbon neutral for both direct and indirect emissions since 2012. This year, Soneva Fushi revealed the fully carbon-neutral Maker’s Place, a ground-breaking new addition to its portfolio of sustainable innovations. Each Soneva resort also has its own organic gardens, allowing
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access to fresh, delicious, and locally grown fruit, vegetables, and herbs and reducing their reliance on imported produce. Soneva acts as the guardians of the luxurious hideaways, taking care to preserve local culture and the mystery, magnitude, and enchanting beauty of nature. “The first thing we do is ask our guests if they would like to remove their shoes,” says Soneva Founder Sonu Shivdasani. “Our fondly observed ‘No News, No Shoes’ mantra grounds our guests both to nature and socially. At Soneva, we encourage our guests to go bare when it comes to their feet.” With this in mind, Soneva works to redefine luxury. Day-today city life makes it hard to find a genuine connection with nature and with oneself. At Soneva, real luxury is about finding that connection while feeling the sand between your toes and enjoying dinner under a canopy of a billion stars. Soneva works to provide natural experiences as far removed from the urban environment as possible. Today, Soneva resorts continue to innovate and are world leaders for guest experiences and sustainability. Soneva Fushi is one of three luxury Soneva resorts in the Maldives, focused on fostering an appreciation for wildlife and the natural beauty of the environment. ADVERTORIAL
Experience the True Nature of DownEast Acadia A vast and beautiful wonderland of natural areas stretches from an inland network of grand lakes to a dramatic bold coast in DownEast Acadia. In between, colorful wild blueberry barrens stretch as far as the eye can see. Amongst all of this natural abundance, hundreds of thousands of acres of preserved lands provide public access to hundreds of miles of hiking trails and paddling routes. Over 100 years ago, Acadia National Park was created (and continues to expand) through the largest conservation easement program in the National Park System to protect the Acadia archipelago’s scenic beauty and ecological integrity. With some of the cleanest water and least developed natural areas on the East Coast of the United States, including forests that harbor rare and unusual plant communities, DownEast Acadia is ideal for wildlife watching, birding, fishing, stargazing—or simply soaking in the quiet beauty. All across the region, mossy forests embrace the hiker, and sparkling lakes beckon swimmers and campers. Crystal-clear rivers and streams
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flow into the ocean, where rugged coastal cliffs are dotted with lighthouses and seabirds. “Downeasters” are historically avid outdoorsmen—it’s hard not to be when the beauty of the outdoors calls from every direction. Hunting, fishing, hiking, paddling, beach-combing, and soaking in the sun are simply a part of the way of life here. DownEast Acadia has a long-standing tradition of sporting camps and guiding services. The Acadia area was the destination of choice for the “Rusticators” of the 19th century—wealthy travelers seeking reprieve from city life through a rustic, rejuvenating
“holiday.” Today, wilderness lodges, cabins, and campsites provide an unplugged getaway, and Registered Maine Guides offer personalized outdoor adventures. Harvesting the bounty of both land and sea, DownEast Acadia boasts the largest hauls of American lobster in New England and provides most of the world’s wild blueberry supply. From Lobster rolls eaten harborside to clam-bakes on the beach, wild blueberry pie, farmfresh gourmet cheeses, and craft wines made with local ingredients, there are endless ways to enjoy the taste of nature in DownEast
Acadia. You’ll discover the region’s centuries-old industrial maritime heritage through the lobster boat and lighthouse tours, windjammer cruises, trails through granite quarries, museums, and scenic byways that wind through historic villages displaying exemplary 19thcentury architecture. The recreation areas and intact wildlife habitats that provide all of these experiences are here for us to enjoy thanks to our incredible network of National and State Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, State Public Reserve Lands, Wabanaki Tribal Reservations, our many land trust preserves, and private landowners who generously provide public access. From the St. Croix River to the Penobscot River, from the Bold Coast to the Grand Lakes, DownEast Acadia is rich in unspoiled landscapes and strong natural heritage traditions. We welcome you to immerse yourself in this magical landscape where people still work and play in harmony with nature’s rhythms and live attuned to the shifting tides and the changing seasons.
IT’S IN OUR NATURE… DOWNEAST ACADIA CONTAINS:
• 200,000+ acres of ponds and lakes • 3,300+ miles of streams • 1,000+ miles of rivers • 2,700 square miles of forest lands • 54 of Maine’s 87 globally significant seabird nesting islands • 9 watersheds that still sustain wild Atlantic salmon • 700,000+ acres of conserved land—over 20 percent of the total land area • 7 units of State Public Land • 12 Wildlife Management Areas • 5 State Parks • 1 National Park spanning 3 distinct areas of the region • 2 National Wildlife Refuges Visit DownEastAcadia.com to plan your getaway and learn more about the organizations and people behind them who help keep True Maine “True to Nature.”
