Postcard from Louise Schliemann, New York, NY
I recently traveled to Singapore and Indonesia with my husband and three kids. The highlight was the four days we spent on Nikoi (www.nikoi.com), a private island retreat that is owned by a friend of mine, Julia Dixon and her husband, Andrew. Julia is an artist with an incredible eye and she and Andrew have been based in Singapore for ten years. They bought Nikoi a few years ago with three other couples and have turned it into an amazing resort that has only recently opened.
To get to Nikoi, you have to take a one-hour ferry from Singapore to Bintan, an Indonesian resort island. At the ferry dock, you’re met by a Nikoi staffer who whisks you through customs (we skipped right by the long line) and drives you to the other side of Bintan. It’s about an hour drive, but Julia came up with this very entertaining version of “I Spy” for the kids, where they had to try and see monkeys, put-put cars etc. Another short boat ride takes you over to Nikoi.
You can walk around Nikoi in about half an hour and there are never more than fifty guests, which gives it a very secluded feel. Guests are housed in thatched-roof, two-story bungalows scattered along the beach. On the ground floor, there’s a living space with hammocks, day beds and seating areas, all done with beautiful fabrics. Upstairs, there’s the bed- and bathroom. There’s nothing rustic about it other than the fact that you’re right on the beach and surrounded by lush vegetation, but all the materials, like beautiful polished wood, and the design are very sophisticated. Our kids stayed in a bungalow that was connected to ours with an elevated walkway, a great detail. The rooms do not have A/C, but I thought a genius touch were fans placed under the mosquito netting, so that sleeping was quite comfortable.
Days were spent at the beach, at the large swimming pool or partaking in a variety of water activities, like kayaking, sailing, diving. You could also get massages at your bungalow. One of the best parts of the Nikoi experience was the food, prepared by a Thai chef. There’s a set menu every night and you can choose to eat with other guests in two dining areas, both outfitted with enormous long tables, or you can ask the staff to serve dinner in your bungalow. The food was very fresh, especially the fruit, which is so important when you’re in a remote setting.
The staff was incredibly accommodating and inventive with the kids, as well. One night, they had movie night at the beach, where they projected a Disney film onto a screen and the kids lounged on bean-bag chairs and watched, while the parents had a lovely dinner. They have baby-sitting services as well.
I could have spent more time on Nikoi (though my husband said that for him four days was perfect). One day, walking on the beach, we found these beautiful, glossy, colorful shells. You always think that the world’s beaches have been combed and fished of these things, so coming across them on Nikoi just confirmed my feeling that we had discovered a totally unspoiled, untouched paradise.
