Nihi Rote Opens as First Luxury Resort on Indonesia's Remote Rote Island
The first top-end resort has opened on Rote, a remote island off West Timor in eastern Indonesia. Nihi Rote and Hospitality Academy, sister property to Nihi Sumba, sits on Bo'a Beach and fronts one of the world's most coveted waves. When it launches fully in October, the resort will have 21 villas, three pools, a spa, a pump track, and a golf simulator, with multimillion-dollar residences planned alongside.
The property is still taking shape. Thatched low-rise villas with private pools use local materials like lontar palm and ikat textiles. The beach club Nammo, with its poolside restaurant and watersports instructors, sits directly in front of the Bo'a break.
Rote has drawn Australian surfers for over 40 years, thanks to long, clean waves created by a rare mix of wind, swell, and underwater topography. The island's tropical weather, white sand, coconut palms, and steady dry-season trade winds keep mosquitoes down. Its remoteness has preserved its character, but reaching it has never been easy.
At the Rote Hospitality Academy, Timorese trainees prepared an evening of traditional song, dance, and storytelling, serving coconut rice with lemongrass, rendang beef stew, and grilled fish with sambal. Students shared stories about local cuisine, the bamboo string instrument sasando, and their struggles learning to swim. For many, it is their first job in hospitality. Before the hotel opened, they had already hosted a 50th birthday party for owner Michael Schwab, son of investment firm founder Charles Schwab.
Change comes to a place that until recently relied on seaweed farming and fishing. The island has long been open to outsiders. Locals regularly ask visitors if they live here, and when told they are just passing through, invite them to stay and bring their family. Some have taken up the offer. A South African surfer who arrived two years ago has since had a baby, bought land, and is building a cottage.
Hoteliers are following. Mick Fogarty, who ran Mick's Place on Bali's Bingin Beach for over 30 years, has opened Mick's Place Rote with his Danish wife Sascha Hansen-three beachfront bungalows with private courtyards. He says everyone moves here for the lifestyle, not to turn a profit. Others describe Rote as a retirement village for surfers seeking peace and quiet. Carla Lázaro Ferro, who runs Bo'a Vida resort, says life here feels more meaningful and free.
The island's easy rhythm belies a bloody colonial history. Timor was fought over by the Dutch and Portuguese, split into East and West, briefly held by the British, and occupied by the Japanese during World War II. Cultural heritage survives in tenun ikat textiles and the ti'i langga, a lontar palm hat worn by men with a spike on the brim.
The best way to explore Rote's offshore islands and reefs is by boat. At one rocky outcrop, a vast cave holds screeching fruit bats. Snorkelers can spot triggerfish and parrotfish, and oceanic manta rays and whale sharks are said to congregate where the sea floor falls away toward Australia.
Back on land, the coastal road is sealed but potholed, with sandy lanes leading to beaches. Villages merge into one another, marked only by bollards painted with welcome greetings or life-sized crucifixes. Churches are enormous and numerous. At Easter, crowds enact the Stations of the Cross in Roman soldier garb. Traffic is minimal-one 40-minute drive yielded two motorbikes and one water bowser. Roadside vendors sell gasoline in glass bottles. Cows, goats, and chickens wander freely.
Natural World Safaris can arrange an 11-day trip combining a B&B stay at COMO Uma Ubud on Bali with a seven-night full-board stay at Nihi Rote and Hospitality Academy, from £5,800 per person based on two sharing, including transfers and domestic flights but excluding international airfare.