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Nihi Sumba's Signature Spa Treatment Starts on Horseback, Not a Table
On the remote Indonesian island of Sumba, Nihi Sumba grew from a surf camp built around a single wave into one of Southeast Asia's most talked-about hideaways, best known for a spa treatment that begins with a gallop along the beach.
By BigTravel.in Editorial Team · · 2 min read
Nihi Sumba sits on the south-west coast of Sumba, one of Indonesia's least developed islands, roughly ninety minutes by small plane from Bali and a world away from it in pace. The resort opened in 2001 as Nihiwatu, built by two surfers, Claude Graves and James McBride, around a single wave they had found on the reef below: a long, glassy left-hander now known as Occy's Left, after the Australian surfing champion Mark Occhilupo.
A wave with a queue system
The surf break below the resort has long been reserved for guests and managed with a strict cap on how many surfers are allowed in the water at once, a rule the original owners put in place to keep the wave from being overrun as word of it spread. It remains one of the resort's defining pieces of lore: a world-class left that guests can, in practice, ride without a crowd on it.
The spa safari
Nihi Sumba's best-known offering has little to do with a treatment room. Its "Spa Safari" sends guests out on horseback along the coastline, riding through the shallows and grassland before dismounting on an empty stretch of sand for a massage set up in the open air, table and all, beside the water. It has become the single most photographed experience on the property, precisely because it takes the spa outside rather than the other way round.
Rebuilt, not just renamed
Ownership changed in the early 2010s, when the American entrepreneur Chris Burch acquired a majority stake alongside James McBride; the property was renamed Nihi Sumba a few years later, with new villas, a second dining venue and an equestrian centre added along the way. Under the new ownership it was named the World's Best Hotel by Travel + Leisure readers in both 2016 and 2017, the kind of recognition that turned a surf camp with a handful of huts into a fixture on international best-hotel lists.
An island the resort has tried not to seal off
Sumba itself remains largely untouched by mass tourism, its interior a mix of savannah grassland and traditional villages of high-roofed clan houses. Nihi Sumba runs a foundation, funded partly through a nightly guest contribution, that supports clinics, wells and schools in surrounding villages, an arrangement it has kept in place since its earliest years under different ownership.
Traveller tips
- Sumba has no direct international flights; the standard route is via Bali to Tambolaka airport, followed by a resort transfer.
- Surf access below the resort is managed on a guest queue system; ask at check-in about current arrangements rather than assuming availability.
- The Spa Safari is weather- and tide-dependent and is usually best booked well ahead of arrival.
- Confirm current rates, villa categories and any seasonal closures directly with the resort before booking.
Where this is
Sumba, Indonesia
