Discover the Hidden Island Near Bali with a New Luxury Hotel

Global guest chefs, an acclaimed French mixology consultant, and subtle nods to island and French cultures are among the elevated touches at Indonesia’s new, off-the-grid Cap Karoso.

There is nothing easy about building a luxury resort on 15 acres of previously untouched beach. And that’s especially true in Indonesia. Yet that is what first-time hoteliers Evguenia and Fabrice Ivara have done on Sumba, an island most of the world has never heard of. The eagerly anticipated Cap Karoso, which offers 47 rooms and 20 villas, is now in its soft-opening phase, with a grand opening planned for August of this year. The journey has been long, but the results grand.

Cap Karoso Features

• Rooms and suites are decorated with Sumbanese design, including Indigenous statues and textured ceramics.
• The property offers guided excursions via car, e-bike, or e-Mini Moke.
• The Beach Club restaurant features its own seaside pool and serves an array of cocktails and mocktails.
• On-site restaurant Julang hosts international guest chefs who create prix-fixe dinner menus every three to six weeks.

In typical French style—read: characteristically relaxed—Evguenia (who goes by Eve) and Fabrice dreamed up Cap Karoso back in 2017. The couple fell in love with this plot of land on Karoso Beach, especially with its unobstructed panoramas of the sun dropping into the Indian Ocean, a display that changes dramatically with the moon and the tide, cloud cover, and wind.

Eve, a luxury marketing expert, and Fabrice, a Parisian food blogger, determined to make this a very personal project. Instead of leaning on a major resort company to manage things, they designed their own precise and principled vision for how to tastefully operate on Sumba Island, which may as well be the end of the Earth. They don’t offer swimming with horses like other resorts, and they don’t do floating breakfasts. “It’s my project, so if my mom sees Cap Karoso reposting a naked lady eating a floating breakfast, she will say it’s my shame,” Eve told me, laughing.

Sumba is twice the size of Bali—which is reachable via a 1.5-hour flight—but it has one-fifth its population. Consequently, there is little development, and beaches here look completely different than those on Indonesia’s most famous island. It is also possible to drive for 20 minutes on a lush, gentle rollercoaster of a paved road without seeing a single other vehicle, motorbike, or person. Cap Karoso’s location is singular and off-the-beaten-path in the island’s western Kodi district, even less traveled than the region south of Tambolaka’s domestic airport.

During my own visit, I never saw another Westerner, not when our party was swimming blissfully in the surreal blue saltwater of Weekuri Lagoon, nor when we toured the village of Waikaroko, where the gray-haired chief invited us into his home and offered us coconuts to drink. In the resort’s generous studios, suites, and villas, guests will find carved wood details that nod to local ikat patterns, as well as Indigenous statues, used books in English and French, textured ceramics that play off Sumbanese traditional roof shapes, and outdoor bathrooms with soaking tubs. Moreover, beyond these walls are pages worth of excursions and experiences to try.

“French never replicate, it’s not in the culture,” Eve explained, adding that they want guests to have fun, meet people, and learn something while here. This is not a place designed to keep patrons inside day and night, which is wise, as the shell-strewn sandy beach and wide, vibrant sunsets are pretty compelling. Those making the long trek to Sumba should get out and explore the unexplored. To that end, the Ivaras and their team have come up with dozens of opportunities to do so, either guided or on your own, via car, e-bike, or e-Mini Moke. Additionally, there are excellent waves for surfing right out front or a short distance away, along with places to stand-up paddleboard and snorkel.

The design of Cap Karoso is not a literal interpretation of Sumba—there are no ikat textiles hanging on walls, and the only traditional thatched roofs on property top the six-room Malala Spa and fitness center structures—but a subtler one that also feels quite French. Original art was commissioned through a gallery in Jakarta, and, if you look closely, you’ll notice abstract visual references to the island. Every detail matters to the Ivaras. Staff uniforms are casually elegant, with nautical combinations of white tunic tops and wide-leg deep blue pants. Eve was willing to wait (fairly) patiently for the beautifully tactile Pierre Frey fabrics that cover dining chairs, bar stools, sofas, and daybeds—made with curvy bamboo and cane.

At the open-air Beach Club, which has its own seaside pool, guests gather to socialize over beautifully crafted cocktails (and outstanding mocktails) such as an old-fashioned with croissant-infused bourbon, a sandalwood Negroni with coconut oil gin, and the clarified Kota Sumba with soy milk and green coconut sambal syrup. These inventive drinks were created by French mixology star Nico de Soto, who has trained Sumbanese bartenders in his techniques. Moreover, flowers and herbs from the seven-acre organic farm are incorporated into these beverages and dishes created by executive chef Antoine LeVacon, whose breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus are also served at the Beach Club.

Foodies will love watching the magic happen in the open kitchen or simply sitting back and savoring Mediterranean plates infused with Indonesian flavors. Dishes might include crudo with ponzu and sambal, Sumba Gnocchi with a cashew pesto sauce (cashews are a major crop on the island), and salt-crusted fish with beurre blanc. Additionally, Indo favorites like fried rice and fried noodles are available morning until night. Outside, the blue and white custom Acunto pizza oven stands out, and the pies coming out of it are, too, especially the classic Napoli with prosciutto and basil from the farm.

Perched at the top of the property is Apicine, an evening dining venue serving Indo-Basque pinxtos and tapas, including pan con tomate and anchovy, and a delicious guacamole. Moreover, past the football field-sized infinity pool is restaurant Julang, which is Fabrice’s vision, where guest chefs from across the globe will preside over the space in residencies ranging from three to six weeks. During their stays, the chefs present a creative prix-fixe dinner menu, preparing it at one end of the 30-foot communal table where guests dine. The highlight of my meal here, by chef Katsuaki Okiyama of the now-closed Abri in Paris, was the king prawn that, along with flan, asparagus, and cardamom foam, was so delightful I wished I could ask for more.

More will probably be a common wish for guests of Cap Karoso, who surely won’t want the experience to end. Departing past the lobby’s monolithic travertine front desks and reception installation by an ikat master served as a reminder that I had entered another world and was now leaving it, feeling more fulfilled and enriched than before. The food and drink nourished my body, and the design appealed to my senses, while the interactions with sweet staff members and locals spoke to my soul. If that’s not a perfect hospitality experience, I don’t know what is.