Soneva Stars

During her 15-year career, Hortensia has collaborated with the UN, Olympics Sports Federations and several private clinics. She has a Master’s in Osteopathy and degrees in Sports Education and Physiotherapy. Originally focused on a traditional osteopathic approach to treating sports injuries, Hortensia’s methodology evolved to reflect evidence that stress, emotions and unchanneled trauma have a direct impact on the body. She works closely with you to get to the root of your concerns, using a unique, multi-pronged approach that combines traditional osteopathy with her deep knowledge of the body’s biodynamic, skeletal, muscular and craniosacral systems.  

The 27-year-old from Moscow first picked up a tennis racket at the age of six and launched his professional career in 2015. Daniil is currently ranked world number three and is leading the new generation of players taking over the ATP tour. During his breakout year in 2019, he won two consecutive Masters 1000 and reached the final of the US Open in New York, losing to Rafael Nadal after an unforgettable four hours and 50 minutes of playing time. In 2020, Daniil won the prestigious ATP Finals beating the then third-best-ranked player in the world. The same year he also won the Masters 1000 in Paris. In September 2021, he defeated Novak Djokovic to win the US Open in a startling display of power and creativity. Recently, he reached the finals in five consecutive major tournaments – Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami – marking the first occurrence in the last 42 years of the sport’s history. In May 2023, he also won the Masters 1000 in Rome, one of the world’s most prestigious clay court events. Fluent in Russian, English and French, he trains with renowned French coach Gilles Cervara in Monaco, where he currently lives.

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston first joined the British Merchant Navy in 1957, passing his Master’s Certificate in 1965. Whilst based in India, he built his 32-foot Ketch “Suhaili” and sailed her back to London via the Cape of Good Hope. In 1968, he participated in the Sunday Times Golden Globe race, a challenge to be the first person to sail alone, non-stop around the world. Of the nine starters, he was the only finisher after 312 days alone at sea.   He subsequently achieved Line Honours in the 1971 Cape Town to Rio Race, won the two-handed round Britain Race in 1970 and 1974, crewed in the British Admiral’s Cup Team in 1973 and 1975, won the RORC Class One points Championship in 1976, Line honours in the second and 4th Legs of the Whitbread Around the World Race in 1977/8, the Class 2 Multihull championship in 1985 and in 1994, with Peter Blake, won the Jules Verne Trophy for the fastest non-stop circumnavigation of the world in just under 75 days. In 1996 he established the Clipper Around the World Yacht Race for amateur sailors, which has given more than 6,000 people the chance to race in the oceans of the World.  The 14th in the series started on the 3rd of September 2023.  He took time out in 2006/7 to participate in the solo Velux around the world race, coming 4th. Four times British Yachtsman of the Year, in 1995 he was the International Sailor of the Year. Apart from training the 6,750 crews for the Clipper Race, he was President of the Sail Training Association from 1993 to 2002 and served on the Council, and as a Trustee of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution for 37 years. He continues to sail, visiting the Caribbean during 2002/3 and recently made a voyage to the Arctic Circle in Greenland.

Glass artist Trine Drivsholm returns to Soneva Art & Glass for her third residency to continue her latest endeavour in glass, the Lapsis series. Trine often uses recognisable forms as a starting point for her glass sculptures, but it is the aesthetic properties of the vessel that interest her most as opposed to its functional use. She creates balanced shapes with definitive proportions and combines colours and surfaces. From matte and silky finishes to delicate tones that emphasise soft, wavy organic lines. Trine’s Lapis series has been assembled to imitate cairns (a man-made stack of stones) with textures that have been weathered by wind, dust and time, and has been developed during her residency at the Soneva Art & Glass studio. This delicate harmony of tone and texture and its seamless connection with nature resonate with Soneva’s SLOW LIFE philosophy, which is rooted in the desire to deepen and conserve our connection with the natural world. Her previous sculptures have also been acquired by a number of prestigious international institutions, including Glasmuseum Ebeltoft, Denmark National Arts & Design Collection, the Holland Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg and the Racine Art Museum in Wisconsin, USA.    

Head Château Ambassador of the region, Elodie Chabot will passionately share the stories of great winemaking and heritage of Château Lafite Rothschild with Soneva Fushi’s wine lovers for an exclusive event at Out of the Blue. Born in France, Elodie grew up in a world of fine food and wines. Raised between her winemaker grandparents from Bordeaux and parents passionate about Champagne and Alsace wines, it is no wonder she chose the path of the wine industry for her career. Since 2018, Elodie has been Asia Pacific Area Manager for Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) based first in Hong Kong and now in Bangkok, handling Asia Pacific markets outside China and Japan, as well as the Indian sub-continent. Lafite was one of the five wine-producing châteaux of Bordeaux originally awarded First Growth status in the 1855 Classification, placing it amongst the best of the best from Bordeaux. Since then it has been a consistent producer of one of the world’s most expensive red wines.

Hailed as one of the best football freestylers in the world, Marcel Gurk is the current German champion, holds ten Guinness World Records and is the author of the world’s first book on football freestyling. He made it to the semifinal of Germany’s Got Talent, Das Supertalent, and travels around the world sharing his unique skills. Having studied sport and media management in Dusseldorf, Marcel also specialises in working with children and has designed his own unique concept to help take his students’ skills to the next level. While in the Maldives, he will be hosting football freestyling workshops for Young Sonevians at Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani.

Jacob Holmström is the head chef and co-owner of two Michelin-starred Gastrologik, located in Stockholm, Sweden. His dedication to showcasing the richness of Swedish cuisine, combined with his passion for sustainability, has solidified his reputation as a leading figure in the culinary world. His work at Gastrologik continues to be celebrated by food enthusiasts and critics alike, making him a prominent chef in the contemporary gastronomic scene. Prior to opening Gastrologik, Chef Jacob honed his skills in various kitchens, including three-Michelin-starred Noma in Copenhagen. Throughout his career, he has received numerous awards and accolades including a White Guide Global Gastronomy Award which celebrates their commitment to sustainable, locally sourced ingredients and innovative cooking, along with Gourmet Restaurant of the Year in Sweden in 2020.

Ricky Saward is a German chef, entrepreneur and cookbook author. He is the head chef and co-owner at Frankfurt’s Seven Swans restaurant, which was named the world’s first Michelin-starred vegan restaurant in 2020. Ricky’s recognition stems from his unique, sustainable philosophy of vegetarian cuisine with regional, seasonal sourcing of ingredients based on the concepts of “farm to table” and “root to leaf”. After joining Seven Swans in 2018, the restaurant was awarded one Michelin star for its vegetarian cuisine, making Ricky one of just five Michelin-starred vegetarian chefs in the world. In mid-2019, Ricky switched his focus to plant-based cuisine utilising only home-grown or regionally sourced ingredients. The same year, his sustainable philosophy was awarded the world’s first Michelin Guide Sustainability Award. In 2020, he was again awarded one Michelin star, in addition to a green star, and became the world’s first Michelin-starred vegan chef. Today, he remains Germany’s only Michelin-starred chef producing purely plant-based cuisine.

Igor Oleynik is ranked among the top 16 football freestylers in the world and is a four-time Russian national champion. He started playing football when he was six years old and switched to freestyling at 16. He went on to successfully participate in numerous international tournaments, including the prestigious Red Bull Street Style events. During his professional career, he has been a brand ambassador for Nike and Adidas and collaborated with Volkswagen and FC Lokomotiv. In 2018-2019 he played for Amkal, one of the most popular media football teams in Russia and also one of the biggest YouTube projects. In addition, he is the founder of iFreestyle, the largest freestyle and street football school in the world which united around 250 children. A talented coach, Igor never stops learning and polishing his skills. Passionate about inspiring others, he never sets limits for himself, constantly inventing new tricks.

Dr Ryuki Hyodo is a planetary scientist at Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as an International Top Young Fellow and spends several months per year working at Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP). He specialises in planetary formation theory and planetary exploration, actively contributing to the development of next-generation planetary missions within JAXA. Previously having participated in planetary missions of the European Space Agency (ESA), NASA, and JAXA, with the contribution of optimising mission design for the most significant scientific insights and discoveries. His research interests are focused on understanding the formation and evolution processes of various planetary systems, small celestial bodies, and rings, using computer simulations and theoretical methods. He is known for his notable work on the formation of Saturn’s rings, and his research on Phobos, one of Mars’ moons, has suggested the possibility of finding traces of past Martian life on its surface. Dr Hyodo’s research has been published in esteemed scientific journals, including Science and Nature Geoscience.

Hailing from Eindhoven in the Netherlands, Paul Haarhuis is a former world No. 1 doubles tennis player and reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 18. After graduating from Florida State University with an Economics degree, he began his professional tennis career in 1988. Paul went on to secure one ATP singles title and reach seven singles finals, including the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells. In doubles, Paul claimed six Grand Slam titles, won the World Doubles Championships twice, and, with Jacco Eltingh, became the first team to conquer all Grand Slams. He also amassed 54 ATP Tour Doubles titles. From 2014 to 2021, Paul captained the Dutch Billie Jean King Cup team, reaching the semifinals in 2016. Since 2017, he has served as the Davis Cup Captain for the Netherlands.

As part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring that our younger guests stay inspired and intrigued, Soneva aims to help visiting children and teenagers feel fully supported outside of term-time. We have partnered with Oppidan Education, a British-based mentoring firm created to help children continue their learning outside of the classroom and reach their full potential. As well as complimentary drop-in workshops with fun, educational activities, Oppidan will also offer private, one-on-one appointments, which can be scheduled each afternoon at an additional fee.