If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (IDR6,235,675.68), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Sitting pretty between the jungle and the deep blue sea, Alamayah is an intimate six-suite stay on the Indonesian island of Sumba. The tucked-away villa takes Sumbanese tradition and its tropical surroundings as its twin guiding stars, with handcrafted teak furniture framed by sandy neutrals and bathed in lashings of natural light. The same goes for the restaurant, where health-savvy chefs work seasonal homegrown goodies into a hearty menu of vitamin-rich victuals. Revive your va-va-voom further at the Ayurvedic spa – you’ll need it, because the team of local staff have cooked up a hill-scaling, hidden beach-hunting roster of guided adventures to dive (or surf, or scooter) into.
Noon. Earliest check-in, 2pm. Both are flexible, subject to availability.
Prices
Double rooms from £342.61 (IDR6,921,600), including tax at 11 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional service charge of 10% per booking on check-out.
More details
Rates usually include an à la carte of breakfast – think smoothie bowls, fresh-fruit platters and papaya-topped pancake stacks, plus plenty of classic Indonesian dishes.
Also
Have something to celebrate? Staff can organise a personal photography session and live music to soundtrack a special alfresco supper.
At the hotel
Spa; fitness room; billiards table; gardens; free-to-hire surfboards, paddleboards and mountain bikes; and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: air-conditioning, minibar, tea- and coffee-making kit, and Alamayah bath products.
Our favourite rooms
For a soak with a sea view, opt for the Amu suite – the outsized tub takes pride of place on the private ocean-facing terrace.
Poolside
Peek through the palms to find the outdoor pool, complete with coconut-like cabanas to cosy up in.
Spa
Take the tan-toned good looks of a Turkish hammam, stir in a sprinkling of Ayurvedic expertise and ta-da – you’ve got yourself Alamayah’s spa. Here, hand-picked botanicals, grown in the hotel’s gardens (where else?), are whipped up into ache-easing tinctures by the master therapists. Hit the hydrotherapy baths or herb-scented steam room, then treat yourself to a tailor-made treatment.
Packing tips
Don’t go OTT on the toiletries. It’s much better to make use of Alamayah’s own brand of bath products, which spotlight the hotel’s homegrown botanicals.
Also
Unfortunately, the hotel is not wheelchair-accessible.
Children
All ages are welcome. Extra beds can be added to rooms for IDR1,000,000 a night. A nanny can be arranged on request for IDR300,000 for eight hours and IDR50,000 for each additional hour.
Best for
All ages are welcome and well catered for, but the hotel’s restful rhythm and roster of excursions will especially suit older children.
Recommended rooms
The Watu and Mahi suites share a connecting door, as do the Amu and Wala suites. An extra bed can be added to any suite for IDR1,000,000, including breakfast.
Activities
Lots of the guided adventures on offer have been devised with little legs in mind. Ask at the hotel for advice on the best family-friendly hikes, boat trips and beach spots.
Swimming pool
There’s no lifeguard at the pool, so paddles should be parent-supervised.
Meals
The restaurant’s children’s menu offers Indonesian classics alongside classic Western kids’ fare, so your mini-me can choose from mini mi goreng and downsized spaghetti bolognese.
Babysitting
A nanny can be booked in advance – it’s IDR300,000 for eight hours and IDR50,000 for each additional hour.
Sustainability efforts
At Alamayah’s restaurant and bar, seasonal, locally grown goodness takes centre stage, with practically every ingredient sourced from nearby producers or the hotel’s own permaculture garden. The same goes for the spa, where treatments make therapeutic use of homegrown botanicals. The architecture is equally eco-conscious, with reclaimed-timber flooring using native ulin wood and terraces carefully built around decades-old coconut trees.
Pull up a pew at the communal table to digest the day’s adventures with your fellow guests. Prefer palms to people? Tuck yourself away on the terrace and you’ll have only the coconut trees for company.
Dress Code
Make the hotel’s sepia-toned style your moodboard: finespun natural fibres in chic neutral hues will fit the sartorial bill.
Hotel restaurant
Jack in the juice cleanse – the chefs at Alamayah’s restaurant pack in ‘my body is a temple’-type nourishment without pulling their flavour punches. Loaded with local fruit and veg, the dishes here have been designed with wellbeing in mind. Don’t worry, though, there are no sad salads in sight here – the menu, which mixes spice-centric Indonesian classics and Sumbanese takes on traditional Western tucker, is about as far from limp lettuce leaves as you can get. Order seven hours ahead to secure yourself the hotel's specialty, a whole chicken guling, rotisserie-roasted in a heady spice blend. The ‘conscious cuisine’ ethos looks out for the local community, too – whatever ingredients can’t be collected from the hotel’s gardens are sourced straight from local farmers.
Hotel bar
The semi-circular bar is your one-stop shop for all types of tropical tipples, from seasonal smoothies to cocktails laced with locally-grown lime. This is nurturing nightlife, so tipsy spirits are tempered with bar snacks as wholesome as they are tempting – nibble on nutrient-packed nori rolls and poke bowls while you wait for your watermelon martini.
Patiala Bawa
Lamboya
West Sumba Regency
East Nusa Tenggara 081
Kerewe
87251
Indonesia
Alamayah is steps from Kerewe Beach in Lamboya, Sumba’s white-sand-wealthy southwestern region.
Planes
It’s a scenic two-hour drive from the island’s Tambolaka Airport, where daily flights touch down from Bali. The hotel can arrange private or group transfers on request for IDR1,000,000 each way.
Automobiles
In case you fancy striking out solo, cars can be hired from the hotel – ask the staff for their favourite local-secret spots. Otherwise, there’s a highlight-hitting list of guided drives to choose from.
Other
Thrill-seeking sightseers are spoiled for choice – scooters, mountain bikes and boats are also available to hire.
Worth getting out of bed for
Tip your hat to the tropical morning with a turn about the permaculture gardens. The palm-canopied pool makes for a cooling-off spot with movie-star good looks – get your lengths in, then retreat to a cabana for a post-paddle kip. After a hard day’s island frolicking, follow the scent of essential oils to the Ayurvedic spa, where the steam room, hydrotherapy baths and ache-melting massages await. Bagsy the billiards table for some ‘best-of-three’ bonding with your fellow guests; sofa-based spectators can set up camp in the lounge. Settle the score in time for dinner on the terrace – or see if the chefs can’t rustle up a fiery alfresco supper on the barbecue. After a day spent surrounded by Sumba’s natural bounty, nights are best rounded out with a tropical fruit-based tipple (or two) at the bar.
The island’s Lamboya region is rich with hidden beaches, jungle-clad hills and carefully preserved culture. When you’re ready to strike out, the hotel’s staff can curate a personalised agenda of local-led adventures. A palm-shaded stroll from the hotel, Kerewe Beach is your golden-sand gateway into local life. It’s a focal point for villagers going about their daily business, and the waters here are also home to endangered dugongs and sea turtles. Head west to Marosi, a tucked-away beach and one of the island’s most seductive swimming spots. For a comprehensive supply of local-secret beach tip-offs, the hotel staff have you covered. The southwest is Sumba’s surfing hotspot; borrow a board from the hotel or book a beginner-friendly lesson. Paddle-boarding, snorkelling and scuba-diving gear and guided excursions are also on offer, so you’re not short of coast-skirting capers.
Get your feet back on dry(-ish) land with a guided waterfall trek. The Matayangu route takes in a triptych of falls on a pulse-raising hike through the national park. For a gentler jaunt, pack a picnic and head out for a family-friendly paddle under the Waikelo Sawah falls. Other excursions take in the region’s rice paddies, jungles and verdant valleys – on foot or from the comfort of a four-wheel drive. Local life in Sumba is steeped in vibrant, century-spanning traditions. Visit the nearby fishing village for insight into ancient festivities and intricate ikat weaving. When dusk descends, see out the day in style with a private sunset-watching experience way up above the white Watubela cliffs.
Local restaurants
To sample the very best of Sumba’s seasonal bounty, look no further than Alamayah’s restaurant and bar. Here, local farmers’ produce and the hotel’s own harvest are spun into Indonesian classics by a team of internationally trained chefs, so there’s little need to stray further afield.
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this culture-steeped hotel in Sumba and unpacked their sarongs and locally sourced chocolates, a full account of their beachside break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Alayamah in Indonesia…
Ah, a sleepy fishing village, shrouded by jungle on the south-eastern edge of the Indonesian archipelago. Sound a little…solitary for your taste? Then let us introduce you to life à la Alamayah, an island retreat that’s anything but isolated. In fact, thanks to owners Jess and Dan’s commitment to lifting up the local Lamboya community, a spirit of connection is central to the hotel’s MO. With just six suites, the palm-shaded villa hits the small-scale sweet spot. The open-plan ground floor could coax even the most curmudgeonly among us to connect with fellow guests, be that over a game of billiards, a steaming bowl of beef rendang at the communal dining table or placing bets on the first person to cave and sing ‘Suite home Alamayah, where the skies are so blue’ – it is, alas, inevitable.
Beyond the whitewashed walls, a guided visit to the neighbouring village reveals the symbiotic relationships that elevate Alamayah from run-of-the-mill resort to community champion – take an immersive dive into a millenia-spanning culture, meeting the artisans and farmers who’ve furnished the hotel’s suites and store cupboards along the way. Speaking of the suites, each one features a pared-back palette that lets tropical sunlight and traditional ikat textiles take centre stage. Even in the spa, therapies sourced from the Indian sub-continent to South America are supplemented with Sumba’s native herbs. Sure, the butler service and bespoke itineraries make for a welcome dose of pampering. But this is bells and whistles with a distinctly community-minded bent, where local tradition and cultural caretaking inform every handcrafted frill and culinary flourish. The upshot? Alamayah is a love letter to all things Lamboya, and that’s a billet-doux we’ll happily cosign.
