3 Diagonal accents in wooden screens draw the eye to the view outside Explora Sacred Valley. Rough textures echo the terrain. 5 Soaring supports reinforce both the physical structure and the visual impact of the space. Wood becomes a motif throughout the hotel, from wall cladding to accent pieces. 4 Sinuous seating brings an organic feel to the pool area. Traditional construction methods give walls a timeless quality. 4 5 38 boutiquedesign.com july + august 2017 COURTESY OF E XPLOR A 3 steep mountains around the hotel let Cruz use the interior landscape to further develop the connection with the rugged terrain. Ramps replace stairs around the restaurant area. Wooden screens and accents around the windows are mounted on angles or with angled edges to return to the idea of focusing the guest experience by literally directing their viewing lines. They also act as signposts pointing out need-to-know areas like the sofa in a suite or the chalkboard with the menu in the restaurant area. A spare color palette helps blur the line between inside and outside, as do tactile, relatively raw finishes in the wood and textiles. The sense of seclusion might be harder to create in the tighter footprint of villa resorts, but it's no less key in properties like the 25-villa Soneva Jani in the Maldives. All but one villa is an overwater type connected by floating walkways, so Soneva co-founder and creative director Eva Malmström Shivdasani (who did the interior design for the resort, while her husband Sonu Shivdasani worked with Habita Architects on the architecture) had to make aspirational isolation top of mind from the beginning. "All the villas are positioned away from the walkways and have only a few windows in that direction for maximum privacy," she says.http://www.boutiquedesign.com