WITH his dapper appearance, plummy public school accent and thoroughly engaging but oh-so-proper demeanour, Sonu Shivdasani doesn't immediately come across as someone who spends four months of the year living on a tropical island in the middle of the Indian Ocean and feeling the sand beneath his bare feet.

He could be mistaken for a financial adviser to moneyed royals, the scion of a steel tycoon or perhaps the high-flying owner of a high-tech company.

Instead, the England-born Shivdasani, 40, is much more interested in seeking out the planet's unspoiled paradises and challenging conventional notions of the luxury lifestyle.

Not for him the predictability of a penthouse in the city and a house in the country to complement it. Natural luxury makes much more sense and he not only preaches it - he also lives it.

Shivdasani is the founder and CEO of Six Senses Resorts and Spas, a Bangkok-based hotel management company that specialises in creating high-end resorts with an emphasis on an indigenous, back-to-nature style and a small-scale, eco-friendly and self-sustainable approach to luxury.

Sonu Shivdasani CEO of Six Senses Resorts and Spas

Shivdasani made waves when in 1995, he and his wife Eva pioneered the first truly luxurious resort at Soneva Fushi in the Maldives (where they also built a home for themselves), setting the pace for the island nation's rapid transformation into a five-star destination for devoted sun seekers with money to burn.

The group owns Soneva Fushi and has equity in several other properties that it manages, mainly in Thailand, Vietnam and the Maldives. Over the next few years, new resorts are slated to open in the Middle East and several Mediterranean countries.

There are four brands under the Six Senses umbrella, including Soneva, Evason Hideaways, Evason Resorts and Six Senses Spas.

Soneva is the ultra-exclusive flagship label, currently represented by Soneva Fushi and a second resort in the Maldives, Soneva Gili.

A third property, Soneva Kiri, will open next year on Koh Kood, a relatively undeveloped island in eastern Thailand, while Soneva Nisi is due to open on a Greek island in 2008.

Evason Hideaways, meanwhile, is the boutique version of the company's more mainstream Evason brand, encapsulated by resorts in Hua Hin and Koh Samui in Thailand and Nha Trang in Vietnam.

At present, there are nine properties in the company portfolio, with another 12 in the pipeline (including five which are due to open next year).

Rates range from around US$150 and US$200 for a room at an Evason hotel toUS$300 and up at a Hideaway and US$700 and up at a Soneva property.

In addition, there are two large and extremely pricey private estates (US$5,000 and up) in the Maldives - the Jungle Reserve at Soneva Fushi and the Private Reserve at Soneva Gili - for guests who crave greater privacy.

'Right from the beginning, we were about focusing on the experience - it's just that we articulate it better now,' says Mr Shivdasani during a recent stopover in Singapore.

In the early days, the company took on contracts to manage 'hip' city hotels (such as the Gallery Hotel in Singapore) but it now focuses exclusively on resort properties.

'In the 21st century, most wealthy people live in big, congested cities with no big gardens,' he says.

'They work in small offices and they want space, privacy and choice when they go on holiday - it's that natural environment they treasure, more than an elaborate environment.'

In the 11 years since Soneva Fushi was built, Shivdasani has created a strong brand with a major spa component. Six Senses Spas are operated in the company's own resorts as well as in third-party properties, and the revenue from its spa business has gone up exponentially. According to him, spa revenue totalled about US$20,000 in the first year at Soneva Fushi, compared to US$400,000 for its dive revenue. Last year at the resort, the spa accounted for US$800,000 in revenue while the dive business brought in US$600,000. 'Spas add an important dimension to the resorts,' says Mr Shivdasani. 'People are now more sophisticated - they want holistic and spiritual treatments rather than pure pampering.'

Mr Shivdasani started the business in the late 1980s primarily because he enjoyed holidaying in the Maldives. 'It was born of necessity,' he says. 'The Maldives was a destination we'd go to on holiday and we thought that it could do with a nice hotel - this five-star destination deserved a five-star experience.' He adds that the main criterion for selecting a site for a hotel is that it should be 'remote, yet accessible'.

Six Senses differentiates itself from other boutique brands by focusing on beach destinations, says Mr Shivdasani, whereas Amanresorts, for example, is more oriented towards cultural destinations. 'We've found that people always go for a beach holiday every year while cultural destinations are those they go to once or twice in a lifetime.' He adds: 'We're interested in repeaters' - 30 per cent of the Soneva guests are repeaters, and you can command a luxury price at a beach destination because people spend all day in their villas.'

He emphasises that the Six Senses philosophy - rustic luxury and a close-to-nature style - differs from the slightly more corporate approach of luxury resorts under the One & Only or Four Seasons brand names. 'We convey more of a Robinson Crusoe experience while the others have air-conditioned rooms, marble floors and more of an urban feel,' he says. 'We create a strong sense of place.' For instance, all Six Senses properties feature an organic vegetable garden. 'You can have a 1979 Mouton Rothschild anywhere but you can never have an organic salad using vegetables fresh from the garden,' he says, adding that there are other fringe benefits to be had. 'The view from the toilet next to our vegetable garden in the Maldives is simply spectacular.'

This article first appeared in The Business Times on 27 Oct, 2006

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