This November will mark the opening of SO/ Maldives, a sartorially-rooted retreat set on a pristine private island and surrounded by the Emboodhoo Lagoon. Located a 15-minute speedboat ride from Malé’s Velana International Airport, the hotel blends rare accessibility with exquisite privacy, with each of the 80 individually designed villas nestled directly on its own slice of white-sand beach or on stilts above the lagoon.

Accor’s luxury lifestyle brand, SO/ Hotels & Resorts, is bound for the Maldives after signing a management deal for a newbuild property with Thailand’s S Hotels & Resorts.