Ricky's Beach House — Hotel in Sumatra

Live like a backpacker, pay like a Resort guest. ------SUMMARY: It looks and feels like a budget, backpacker place, but the prices are mid-range. The "Extras" are outrageously expensive. If you are willing to pay way very high prices for a budget experience, you will have a great time! The location is beautiful, and, as promised, it IS remote...but that is kind of a problem in unexpected ways. If you do not have your own car or motorbike, once you are there, you have no options. Once you arrive, there is no internet or cell signal. You are entirely dependent upon the business, run by five or six 20-something guys. so if you get there and don't like it, or find your budget can't bear the extras which are VERY overpriced, you are stuck...once you are there, they got you...and you will have to pay whatever they ask...or ask them to drop you off somewhere with a signal so you can compare prices. The price for a 20 min boat ride was outrageously high, something we knew as we live in Sumatra, but I am guessing that most guests there don't know the prices of things in Indo. Ricky was busy playing video games with his friends and didn't speak with us and the kid he sent (who also drove the boat) refused to lower the price of the boat ride. Unlike the rest of indonesia, they do not bargain, or even tolerate the attempt! I tried to bargain on the price of a boat ride. They asked 300% of the normal price. They refused to lower it. I said that the price was crazy. because of that, they gave us the cold shoulder for the rest of our stay. I suspect that they are used to tourists who have enough money not to care about the price or have no knowledge of prices in Indo. They felt I was too uptight about the money. If you want a boat ride to an island, you must pay Ricky 600,000 for 2 people (they won't lower that price) but if you go back along that bad road for about 45 min, you can get a ride for 100,000 per person if there are only two of you in the boat or as little as 50,000per person (if you are a good bargainer and the boat is full) but you have no way to know this, or arrange this yourself, as there is no internet or cell service. so, You pay whatever Ricky and his friends ask, or just sit there all day. Their regular room rate for a couple is 600,000 plus food, The price includes 3 meals. there is no menu, you eat whatever they cook. Don't expect fine food, but it wasn't bad. The guy who cooked our rice fish and cabbage was the same guy who drove the boat. Also, the website promised free coffee, tea, and iced tea...all you want. In reality, this is a hot water thermos and a room temperature water dispenser with a bowl of tea bags and a bowl of instant coffee. They didn't have ice, so, no ice tea...or cold drinks in the heat of the day. Also, we didn't get breakfast. all the guys had stayed up late the night before playing drums and singing. (hard to sleep through, but we weren't invited to the party because we told them the price they wanted for a ride to the island was crazy.) If you want to go snorkling at the nearby islands (and you should!) your daily cost DOUBLES! If you want beer, boat rides, treking, tours, etc. make sure you find out the price before you go...and expect to pay a premium price. If you try to bargain, tread carefully... If they give YOU the normal, fair price, they will have to give other guests a fair price. If you want a budget experience and don't really care how much it costs, they will love you, and you will have a great time. Ricky markets his hotel as "Authentic Sumatra" and if you go along with their program, paying through the nose, they will be real nice and sing songs with you and make you feel like one of the cool kids. Though, you can get the same experience at any hotel in Bukit Lawing for a LOT less money and make some genuine friends you don't have to pay. Nice place, terrible value. For the same money, look at and compare the budget places on...

This review is for the tour to the Mentawai on Siberut island organized by Ricky of Authentic Sumatra. I stayed in the beach house only one night and while it may be nice for a longer stay, for one night the location is just too far from Padang (~2 hours by car) and the transfer a bit costly. I stayed one night before the tour, but you can also be picked up from accommodation in Padang the morning of the tour. As for the tour itself - don't hesitate to book! I contacted Ricky directly through whatsapp and was able to organize everything in a matter of hours. Very responsive. The tour was well organized, price (~5mil +/-few hundred rupiah for 5day tour, depending on the number of people) included all food, water, tea/coffee, ferries to/from Padang, guide and the 'activities'. I hate to say 'activities' as this definitely did not feel like a packaged tour, but more like a visit to an extended family. But we went fishing (women), hunting (guys), saw preparation of poison for hunting, preparation of food from sago, did a target practice with a bow and arrow (hard!) and were lucky to witness a small ceremony. We were a small group of 4. Ask for Del as a guide! He is a personable, funny and caring person, who speaks good English and is a wealth of knowledge. He knows well the Mentawai clan we visited, so it felt very natural. And with him you will likely stay in the uma (communal house) of Kuki, the oldest shaman of the clan. A number of Mentawai men we spent the week with also speak some English, so it was really special to just sit around in the evening, drink inordinate amounts of tea or coffee and ask your questions directly :). Everyone was very kind, special shout to Andy (Aman Saba) who cooked a feast for us every day and generally took care of all the practical needs. The whole 5 days were a very 'in the moment' experience, without the intrusion of the outside world (no internet) - I had hard time leaving. One last note - you should not have any mobility or balance issues and should be ok sleeping on hard surface and getting dirty. Getting to the houses in the jungle involves walking through slippery mud, balancing on logs and crossing stream/river. We went in dry season, but were still caught by a storm and walked mid-calf in mud. But it was part of the experience. I recommend...

Since I arrived I felt home. ||Ricky and the crew welcomed me with their heart as a friend not as a guest. From the food to the place, I fell in love with this part of Indonesia since the beginning. They made me feel like one of them and since I am a solo backpacker I appreciated it very much. The crew is amazing and friendly, they play music every night after dinner and this just make the whole experience even more enriching.||Also they offer island's tours at very good prices, which is something I really recommend since the surrounding area is outstanding. Other activities I did are very varied, from the rice fields tour to visit the local village where most of the crew grew up.||I felt amazed by these guys that work here, they all have big hearts and work for a better cause, since the main objective of the guest house is to provide jobs and education to the youth of this village.||I planned to stay for 2 nights and at the end it was difficult to leave, so I decided to take the Mentawai trip organized by them. It was a 3 days 2 nights tour to Siberut Island, home of the Mentawai tribe. They organized everything, since the ferry and the stay with the tribe. Also, my guide was very professional and spoke the language of these local people.||I could not recommend a better place to chill, to enjoy local Sumatran life or to just spend some days between wonderful human beings with sea view and sleeping in super comfortable bungalows.||Thank you for everything, Ricky's...