In today’s incredibly fast-paced lifestyle, most people barely have the time to sit down to a proper meal without any distractions. Even while on holiday people are still at the beck and call of their social media or news feeds, constantly in communication through their smartphones and laptops. These days you see children poolside, eyes glued to their tablets or phones. It makes you wonder what the point of going away is if you remain too connected to what you were trying to get away from in the first place.
At Soneva, while we do have WIFI in the villas and in the public areas, there are large areas of our resorts that have no WIFI at all. Similarly, in the villas themselves there is a switch that turns off the WIFI for true disconnection. There are no TV channels, let alone news channels on the televisions in the villas, and these are hidden away inside suitcases. Guests can borrow a film to watch in the privacy of their villas or go as a family to our al fresco theatre, Cinema Paradiso.
When at Soneva we ask you to disconnect from everything to focus on yourself, your loved ones, family and friends. Live in the moment, sit around the large dining table in your villa for a family meal. Find yourself cycling down winding paths surrounded by verdant vegetation, the light of the moon and stars as your guide at night (but bring the torch from your villa for some extra light). Pack the book, or books, you have been meaning to start, or the one you haven’t had the chance to finish. Spend time with each other and with nature.
Nowadays we are finding that we have to disconnect to truly connect with one another and to rediscover ourselves.