Capella Hotel Group has announced its entry to the Maldives with the planned opening of Capella Maldives resort.

The 65-key Capella Maldives is part of the integrated luxury development of Rah Falhu Huraa lagoon, located in North Male Atoll and accessible by a 45-minute speedboat ride from the Maldives main airport.

No details have yet been made public, but the group’s official website says that “the potential synergies between the various components of Capella Maldives are poised to create a truly spectacular resort that is authentic and imbued with vibrancy and choice.”

In a July interview with Destinations of the World News, Capella CEO Nicholas Clayton said the resort was being designed by world-leading Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and Hong Kong based interior design firm Andrew Fu.

According to Clayton, half of the rooms will be built overwater. Of the 64 units, approximately 14 will be for sale, he added.

“The Capella is developed at that location to be the leader, targeting customers at the Cheval Blanc price point,” Clayton said, referring to the ultra-luxury Cheval Blanc Randheli resort, which is managed by luxury fashion group Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy.

Early design proposals seen by Maldives Insider show 27 Sunset Villas, which includes a combination of land and overwater units, 25 beachfront Sunrise Villas, three beachfront Northern Bay Villas, and nine overwater Southern Ocean Villas.

Singapore based developer Pontiac Land Group in May kicked off the Rah Falhu integrated luxury development.

Slated to be the first of its kind in the Maldives, the USD 500 million integrated development consists of three resorts — each with its own characteristics and managed by renowned international brands — linked to a vibrant lifestyle hub island with a marina within the same lagoon to create a unique selling point for the entire development as the preferred tourist destination.

Rah Falhu will also host a tourism academy, which is to be run in collaboration with the Maldives tourism ministry and other relevant local authorities.

Pontiac had earlier said the integrated development would be fully operational by the end of 2019.

Capella, which was founded in 2002 by legendary hotelier Horst Schulze, moved its headquarters from the US to Singapore in October after the company was acquired by Singapore’s famous Kwee Family, who owns Pontiac.

With offices in China, Europe and the US, Capella offers global hospitality management services through two distinct brands: Capella Hotels and Resorts, and Solís Hotels and Resorts.

Capella Hotels and Resorts is an ultra-luxury hotel, resort, and residential concept designed for the most discerning travellers and offering personalised attention, with locations in Düsseldorf, Saint Lucia, Shanghai and Singapore as well as hotels planned for Ubud, Bangkok, Maldives and Sydney.