These hospitality experts are creating luxurious retreats that embrace nature and promote tranquility
With travel restrictions easing around the world, people are raring to go on their next great escape. These hospitality experts on Asia’s Most Influential list are reimagining getaways—creating a Maldivian archipelago with a trio of premium resorts, a hot spring retreat in a subtropical valley, and wellbeing concepts tucked away in nature. More than indulging the need simply for a change in scenery, these properties enable one to do a soft reboot from life with these luxurious, tranquil places.
Evan Kwee, Capella Hotel Group and Pontiac Land Group
As vice-chairman of Capella Hotel Group and the Head of Design and Hospitality at Pontiac Land Group, Evan Kwee is behind the Singapore property company’s ultra-luxury development Fari Islands. The ambitious integrated project in the Maldives comprises four islands, which host three properties by the Ritz-Carlton, Capella and Patina, along with the Fari Marina Village. Nestled between the resorts, the social hub is where guests can enjoy the beach club and upscale restaurants and boutiques.
In a podcast with Sangu Stories, Kwee elaborated on the beginnings of the project: “There’s a space in the market for what I like to call Maldives 2.0. Serendipitously, we were shown this reef in North Male Atoll… where we can actually craft and write our own script.”
The Maldivian escape has already welcomed sojourners with the wellness retreat Patina Maldives opening in May 2021 and Ritz-Carlton Maldives, whose many attractions include butler service, launching in June 2021. Up next: Capella Maldives, with its 57 villas and mansions with panoramic views of the Indian Ocean, is set to open in 2025.