What
To call Nihi Sumba a “surf resort” is akin to describing the Taj Mahal as “a white marble tomb.” Rather, it’s the ultimate expression of its kind. Yes, there is the legendary left break, but its service, setting and place in the community are all purposefully and thoughtfully created to evoke a deep emotional bond to the place.
Who
Founded in 1988 by Claude Graves, a charismatic and peripatetic surfer who was following the perfect wave, Nihi (originally and still known by its early fans as Nihiwatu) was acquired in 2012 by US entrepreneur Chris Burch and his partner, James McBride, previously the managing director of the famed Carlyle Hotel in New York. It was Burch and McBride who cranked up the dial on its toes-in-the-sand aesthetic, transforming Nihi from surf destination to destination in itself.
The Surroundings
The hotel sits on a 1.5-mile private crescent of sand on the western shore of Sumba, an island about 500 miles east of Bali that time—or rather developers—forgot. One of the only hotels on the island, which is roughly twice the size of Bali, Nihi is very much the bellwether for new construction that’s about to hit. Today Sumba still feels like Bali 40 years ago, if you replace Buddhist shrines with marapu rumah adat (houses where ancestral spirits dwell) and some Christian (Dutch Calvinist) churches. It will come as no surprise that Four Seasons, Aman and others are all eying development opportunities here, which would be a great shame. If you want to see the island that Burch and McBride, and before them Graves, fell in love with, you’ll need to come soon.
The Design
Reached by a road that snakes over hills and through palm forests, the Nihi compound is made up of 33 scattered villas and anchored by an open-air lobby pavilion, where you are greeted at check-in. With palm trees and bamboo ensconcing these discreetly placed structures, many of them built in the local thatched and peaked-roof vernacular, Nihi looks very much of its place, an idealized version of a Sumbanese village.
The Scene
Pre-pandemic, most visitors to Nihi were US nationals often jetting in on their own planes or stopping over from more crowded Bali—or on an island-hopping yacht trip aboard one of the luxurious phinisi schooners that ply the Indonesian archipelago. In spite of—or maybe because of—its remoteness, this is also a place that draws a loyal following, with some guests coming back year after year.
The Staff & Service
Nihi has made a concerted effort to train and hire a local workforce for a career in the hospitality sector. The staff is comprised almost entirely of Sumbanese graduates of a Nihi-sponsored hospitality school, whose relaxed but attentive care and love of their island helps shape a visitor’s connection to the place. Our guide on our Nihioka Spa Safari hike (a curious name for a 90-minute hike through rice fields and forests to reach the spa, which sits on a remote outcropping apart from the hotel compound) was incredibly knowledgeable about the wide variety of flora and fauna, and seemed to know—and introduced us to—every villager we met along the way.
The Rooms
Every villa at Nihi has a distinct personality. The Mamole Tree House, with its elevated catwalks meandering among treetops connecting one room to another, feels like the playground of a billionaire who refused to grow up. The actual billionaire’s own house (The Owner’s Estate, aka Raja Mandaka) is more of a traditional interpretation of a Sumbanese village, with manicured lawns, symmetrical wings containing separate living quarters and bedrooms and an enormous infinity-edged pool overlooking the Indian Ocean. All villas share the same panoramic views, their own pools, indoor-outdoor bathrooms (an exhibitionist’s delight, but an entomophobe’s nightmare) and canopy beds with crisp cool sheets.
The Food & Drink
If menus and food presentation are a reflection of an effort to please guests rather than the whims of chefs, then Nihi’s clientele must be demanding, picky aesthetes with rather unadventurous palates. Yes, the food is generally quite delicious (its breakfasts in particular) and beautifully presented, but it feels like Nihi missed an opportunity to educate its guests in the incredible variety of Indonesian cuisine and local Sumbanese specialties. While those who love a wood-fired pizza or a large buffet barbecue will be pleased with the excellent execution of those meals, if you want a transportive dining experience endemic to the culture of the island, you may need to venture to one of the roadside warungs (part café, part convenience store) in the villages between Nihi and the airport on the other side.
