SO/ Maldives: The Promise vs The Delivery
SO/ Maldives makes a fashion statement: The humble jetty reimagined as a runway
17 February, 2025
This hotel sashayed into the Maldives with every intention of making “a fashion statement”, the gist of brand SO/ in three words. Raini Hamdi checks in to see if the property is a model for the brand
BRAND MISSION
SO/’s mission is to command the attention of travelers who seek hotels that are bold, experimental and stylish in character, design and hospitality, located in some of the most vibrant and sociable locations globally.
KEY NOTES
My first encounter with SO/ was in 2011, when Accor carved out two sub-brands, Sofitel So and Sofitel Legend, from its French luxury flag, Sofitel.
SO/ was always meant to be trendy and design-led. In its current incarnation, it’s louder about it, its new logo SO with the forward slash creating curiosity, or perplexity. Like it or not, SO/ is fun to play with, as in: “Anything I can do for you? Just say SO/.” “Are you bored? Pray it isn’t SO/.” And SO/ on.
While the brand has existed for 14 years, there are only nine open SO/ hotels globally with a total of 1,303 rooms as (of June 2024). The brand’s pizzazz infusion, and Accor’s move to put it into its house of lifestyle brands Ennismore, may accelerate growth.
SO/ Maldives marks Ennismore’s debut in the archipelago. The 80-villa resort, officially opened on March 23, 2024, joins other SO/ hotels in locations that are fashion-centric such as Bangkok, Paris and Dubai.
FASHION PROMISE
How does a hotel make a fashion statement? I found out immediately as SO/ Maldives isn’t subtle or nuanced about carrying out the brand’s mission, rather it is daring and direct about it.
Case in point: After a 15-minute speedboat ride from Male’s Velana International Airport to the Emboodhoo Lagoon where the resort is located, I caught sight of the resort’s overwater arrival pavilion, where the humble jetty has been reimagined as a fashion runway. The best time to see the effect is during sunset with a cocktail from the bar at the pavilion and, as night approaches, the runway is outlined and illuminated in striking red lighting. It’s clearly a favorite instagram ‘studio’ at the hotel among guests.
SO/ Maldives also hosts a haute couture fashion week for guests every alternate Tuesdays, delighting us not only because we get to see how talented top Maldivian designers are, but because the models are the hotel employees.
Alternating with the fashion show is The Glam Hour at Lazuli Beach Club hosted by general manager Olivier Moies-Delval and his “glamorous” team. It’s an occasion for guests to mingle with one another, see and be seen, and be entertained by a rousing Boduberu performance, the traditional Maldivian song-and-dance to rhythmic drumming.
And that’s when I saw the resort’s swimming pool next to the beach club and nearly spurted out my drink from sheer astonishment. I’ve never seen anything like it.
I’ve seen a hotel pool in red, as if you’re swimming in blood which I thought was horrible, but this pool – striped-design, each strip a different color – displays the resort’s neoteric wizardry. A lot of details, and I imagine, costs, went into creating a head-turner of a pool area, including special touches such as “sun-and-fun” parasols from Belgium-based Frou Frou Symo, and a spatial bench created by Spanish outdoor furniture specialist Vondom.
There were many design details at the resort, which is a story in itself. Designed by Eco-id and Stickman Tribe, it made me contemplate how design can interpret something as concrete as a hotel and bring it to life with a distinct character. Naturally, the hotel investor must have a clear vision, which Thailand-based S Hotels & Resorts and Wai Eco World Developer, owners of SO/ Maldives, clearly have.
DESIGN PROMISE
I love the room design the most. Each time I’m back in my overwater villa, the indefatigable energy in the resort’s public areas gives way to wondrous moments of quiet respite and recharge in a room that oozes with stylish elegance, whispered luxury and blissful tranquility.
Stretched horizontally with ceiling-to-floor glass sliding doors, the 120-square-meter room has an open layout that seamlessly divides living, sleeping, bathroom, dressing and working areas. Well, one’s crazy to work in the Maldives but my life-partner and I always carry our laptops with us, thus we appreciate the long supermodel make-up table that all too soon became our spacious work space.
The clean lines and cool neutrals of the room, and well curated designer furnitures and furnishings, give it a classy voguish air. And as always SO/ Maldives brings a smile with a whimsical twist or two where you least expect it, such as the huge ceiling art-piece resembling a chic hat hanging over the free-standing round bathtub in the room. It was crafted by famous Thai textile artist, Ploenchan Vinyaratn, who specializes in art pieces woven from waste yarn.
But the most heartfelt art is by the hotel team members who worked with rose petals to leave a beautiful love emoji in the bathtub filled with bath foam when we arrived, and who turned strips of palm leaves into a ribbon on our bed with the words See You Soon when we left.
LIFESTYLE PROMISE
Reading my personalized itinerary after checking-in, my life is about to undergo a lifestyle change. A day looks like this: Wake up to a floating breakfast in my overwater villa pool. Enjoy a massage at Spa by SO/ Maldives that combines Ayurvedic principles with modern practices (I can vouch the therapist, Pasa, who is also a yoga instructor at the hotel, gave me the best massage I ever had). Lunch at Lazuli Beach Club. Learn a creative art presented by a Maldivian artist or an in-house team member. Then make the day even more memorable by going on a sunset dolphin cruise and gain insights from the marine team about these intelligent mammals. To cap it all, dinner at Hadaba, which promises to be “a feast of the Middle East like no other” (indeed, as first-timers to Middle Eastern food, Hadaba has made us fans of the cuisine and we returned to the restaurant on the last evening of our three-night stay).
Apart from Hadaba and Lazuli Beach Club, there’s The Citronelle Club although frankly, it lacks a real food or design concept apart from being the breakfast place. But this could be due to the high occupancy at the time of visit during peak Chinese New Year holiday, which forced the restaurant to serve a buffet each night.
The lack of restaurant choices is a disadvantage, but given Ennismore’s F&B chops, I’m certain this will be corrected in no time at all. Moreover the SO/ Maldives is part of Crossroads Maldives, the integrated development of S Hotels & Resorts that features two other hotels, Hard Rock Hotel Maldives and SAii Lagoon Maldives, and The Marina, a strip with restaurants, bars and boutiques. A visit however entails a 15-minute speedboat transfer.
VERDICT
Overall, SO/ Maldives is eclectic, fun, bohemian, avant-garde and unconventional. It has succeeded in creating a distinct property in the archipelago and is a great model for the SO/ brand.
Fashion promise Encore!
Design promise Curtain call
Lifestyle promise Applause
F&B promise Promising
WEBSITE https://so-hotels.com/en/maldives/
DEVELOPMENT https://www.shotelsresorts.com/development-enquiry/
