NIHI Sumba — Hotel in Sumba

I rarely wright good reviews for hotel. If I have a bad experience, I certainly write about it, but if not, I just can't be bothered. But this place was so amazing. So beautiful. So.......everything, that I just had to share my experience.||In short, the finest resort I have ever stayed at. And considering that in just the past couple of months I have stayed in resorts costing more (the Four Seasons floating resort in Palau was $5,000 US a day), that is a bold statement.||Let's start with the first interaction, which was in the Bali airport. As we approached the long check in line for Wings Air, we were immediately approached and asked if we were the * family (not sure how they knew). As soon as we said yes, they asked for our passports and said they would handle everything and offered to escort us to the gate in a couple of minutes. I was puzzled and said "who are you", and said "NIH Sumba". As they say, first impressions are important, and they had certainly made a good one. A few minutes later we had our boarding passes and they were even holding our hand carries as we made our way to the gate.||As soon as we arrived at Sumba, we were escorted to their private lounge (the only one at the airport) while we waited for transport. Their car even had coconut holders, with some fresh coconuts to sip on as we made our way to resort.||Wow, such a beautiful place! The pictures do not do it justice. We were given a tour of their grounds and amazing views, an infinity pool just steps from the beach, their jacuzzi and ice bath, paddle and pickle courts, multiple restaurants and bars, etc etc. The place really does feel like Paradise. It has a super relaxed vibe. A place where you can go barefoot and shirtless to luch, and maybe put on a shirt for dinner. If you are looking for marble and a place to dress up for dinner, better look elsewhere. It has a rustic-chic vibe of the highest standards. Leave your Rolex and fine clothes at home.||Let's start with the food. Basically, among the best, if not THE best, I have ever had in a resort. Every dish was excellent, and some were just plain amazing. Very fresh, varied, and most certainly headed by a very talented chef. Dishes from around the world, all made very authentically. The best part, 3 meals a day are included. You are given a varied menu to choose from with salad, starters, mains, and deserts. Both International, and local choices. Order whatever and as much as you can eat. Drinks are free (juices, mocktails, soda's), while alcoholic beverages are chargeable. On that note, the well stocked mini-bar is also free, and includes house bottles of rum and vodka, so if you really want to get plastered at no cost, you can. On top of that, happy hour at the pool includes whatever wonderful cocktails you desire at no charge. Even the laundry is free. While this of course a pricy resort, they have no interest in extracting money out of once you are here (Four Seasons, you could you learn a lot from this. I was not happy to pay for a Coca Cola while I was paying $5,000 a night for their "full board". However, some activities are chargeable, so it is best to peruse their cost (listed on their website) before booking so there are no surprises once you arrive||So let's talk about the star of the show (if there is one), and that is the service. As soon as you arrive, you are assigned a butler. Now, if you are accustomed to high end resorts, this is nothing new. But what is new is a butler that is TRULY your right hand man (or girl) for your entire stay. You are put in a watts app group and he handles everything. If you are late for dinner, he knows and asks you would like food delivered to your room. He communicates what is going on. Which restaurant is being used for the daily meals. Buggies that magically arrive within a minute or two. He (mine was Didi) appeared to have a true passion that everything was perfect during my stay. He even took care of our daughter while we were doing some activites, taking her to meals, the kids club (also wonderful) and making sure she had something to do ever minute we were away. Whether you are surfing solo, a newlywed, or a family, this place caters to everyone.||As you can tell, I was quite impressed with this place. I have a habit of finding something wrong with just about every place I visit (I am writing this review from my first stay at the Marina Bay sands, and I am not happy AT ALL), which is why when I find a place that is just about faultless, I am thrilled.||Of course no place is truly faultless, but NIHI comes closer to any resort that I have stayed at. A couple of things:||1) The plunge pool at our villa was in need of a new coat of paint.||2) The stables and horseback riding was great. Swimming with the horses, riding on the beach, and taking the trek to the AMAZING spa safari were highlights of our stay.||The stable manager was wonderful and cares about the horses like no other. She even adopts horses that she finds around the Island that are being neglected. Horses that likely can never be ridden, but are in need of a new home. Due to this Horse-centric approach, all of the horses are bit-less. Experienced riders know what this means. But for the inexperienced, it means they will have a hard time riding here. Controlling a horse without a bit can be a challange, and potentially dangerous for a beginner. Galloping along the beach is not something that cannot be done lightly. A horse without a bit may be happier, but not the rider. I think this decision, while certainly made for the benefit of the hourse, means that learning to ride here is likely not the best option. And even for the experianced rider, if you don't know the horse, you must rider with extra caution. This is not a fact, just my opinion on the matter.||So that about sums it up. If you are looking for an amazing stay at a resort like no other, this is the place. I will certainly be back...

Nihi Sumba is a 3 star surf resort masquerading as a 5 star resort. If you go expecting a nice surf resort, you won’t be disappointed. However, if you go expecting a 5 star experience like that at North Island, Soneva Jani, One & Only Rwanda, or Miavana, you will be seriously disappointed. Considering we paid $6,000 a night all in, activities and alcohol are a la carte, you expect all the bells and whistles. We did bring some basic things to their attention like not getting morning maid service, or not having a welcoming crew that handed you a drink, or remembering what you liked to eat/drink/food allergies, the staff knowing who you are. They attempted to resolve the issues but still don’t understand the nature of high end customer service. Our water glasses were consistently empty, we had to flag someone down for drinks, and the food…..well, I return to my original point- three stars at best. We ate EVERY single meal at the same restaurant. They had “two” but weather prohibited us from eating at the beach restaurant. When we were finally able to eat there, we were given the same menu with a different title on it. There were zero special experiences. We didn’t eat in a special location or have surprise personal activities. You expect special experiences when you go to a luxury resort. It’s why you agree to pay the high bill, for the memories and experiences you can’t get anywhere else. Unlucky for us, we were rained out the entire time. You couldn’t surf, boogie board, play in the pool or do any of the outdoor activities. So we were secluded to our villa or to the very limited list of indoor activities. You would think that when they know it rains every year that they would have back up experiences. The experiences we were given like the Japanese cooking class that didn’t take place in the Japanese restaurant that wasn’t open, involved an Indonesian man with limited English proficiency handing us a recipe to follow along while he watched. The attention to detail and thoughtfulness isn’t there. There weren’t any gifts in our room in the evening, short of Christmas when we got sweets. The lower level employees who work there are kind and I feel like it wasn’t their fault. Management failed to have the proper SOPs in place and set them up for failure with a lack of training,policies & procedures. Finally the villa- our original villa was old, smelled like mildew, and needed to be remodeled. After we complained, we were moved to the owner’s villa which is lovely. However, how many people want to spend $20,000 a night?!?! I couldn’t imagine paying $20k for that experience. Even with the complimentary upgrade, our family decided to leave early and forfeit the remainder of trip that was paid in full months in advance. If that isn’t a wake up call, I don’t know what is. We would rather pay to stay somewhere else during the holiday season at a premium than stay there. I will say that the entire experience wasn’t doom and gloom. There was some sunshine during our trip. The yoga instructor, Kiri, taught wonderful classes and did some excellent privates. She gave my kids Santa hats and was a friendly face we looked forward to seeing each day. She remembered things about our life and I enjoyed our conversations. She’s new there and I hope they keep her because she’s a great asset. CJ the surf coach who was just there temporarily was also a cool dude that talked to my husband about surfing techniques and did his best to try to find him some waves 45 mins away. We had very high expectations for one of the best rated resorts in the world. I am convinced they have a very good marketing department or paid for the recognitions because anyone who has been to a luxury resort before will know within the first 24 hours that Nihi isn’t one of them. They should market themselves correctly as a 3 star surf resort & then I think you will find very happy people, assuming they drop their room rates to...

Theft is not merely the loss of an object or monetary. It is the shattering of an implicit covenant: when you are welcomed into a villa, the space should remain yours, inviolate. That covenant fractured twice here in my knowing: first, when cash were stolen from my accommodation, and hearing about a friend’s business partner had their phone stolen on their honeymoon. These were not crimes of opportunity by outsiders, they happened inside the supposed sanctum of the property. Such violations strike deeper than financial loss; they corrode trust, erode safety, and pierce the illusion of sanctuary the hospitality industry trades on.

The daily reality compounds that breach. After receiving an itinerary, I was jolted awake by aggressive knocks far earlier than agreed, staff urging me out before I could even brush my teeth. True hospitality carries rhythm and dignity; here it was replaced by frantic, graceless rush. Throughout the stay, staff were present in body yet absent in spirit, faces lit not by warmth but by the glow of phones. For all the overwhelming number of employees outnumbering guests, their presence created little cohesion, seamlessness, synergy. They were “always on,” yet less effective.

The systems they operate are relics. Outdated scheduling limps along in an era demanding sophistication. Basic amenities fail: the coffee machine was broken, the “hot” shower ran warm for three minutes before cutting out, derailing even simple rituals. In a tropical climate with malaria risk, this is more than inconvenience; it’s well-being. Yet rather than resolve cracks, the operation papers over them with marketing gloss.

Beneath this is the human cost: a culture normalizing exploitative work hours, stripping individuals of themselves under the banner of “devotion to service.” The result is not excellence but martyrdom masquerading as hospitality. In such an environment, exhaustion breeds error, neglect, and desperation. When staff resort to stealing from guests, it is not just moral failure but a symptom of a system that denies stability, dignity, or the training to perform with pride.

What emerges is a sharp contrast between a property that markets itself as a sanctuary and the reality of a three-star operation dressed in five-star vocabulary. The food may be plated for a brochure, the horses framed for Instagram, but beneath the aesthetic surface lies incoherence that branding cannot mask.

This is not regenerative, as claimed, but extractive; neo-colonialism dressed in eco-chic. A surf spot, once part of community life, is cordoned off for those who can afford the buy-in. Access is commodified; local labor drafted into a hierarchy they cannot control, tasked with serving a culture they cannot share, while lacking tools to advance. The ineptitude to train local staff into competent professionals is not oversight but inadequacy.

This breeds a dual erosion: guests expecting sanctuary find disorder, while staff enduring productivity serfdom face inhumane erasure of personhood, reduced to cogs polished for the wealthy. Exhaustion disguised as hospitality, exploitation draped in luxury linen. The surf breaks become property of the rich, the community recast as perpetual help.

The long-term damage extends far beyond theft, broken showers, or botched itineraries. These operations seed cynicism, teaching communities that prestige is built on burnout mill, service means subservience, and cultural exchange a one-way street. Guests are trained to accept the veneer and ignore cracks; staff to keep smiling through depletion of life-force.

When the façade slips, when a coffee machine stays broken, when personal belongings disappears, when the morning begins with pounding fists on your door… you glimpse the truth. Not curated stories of sustainability and immersion, but the reality of extraction: an industry feeding on place and people alike, leaving only sandcastles of promise the tide of reality inevitably...