Space is part of the appeal, and like the other hotels spread across the island, Cap Karoso has made the most of it. The two-year-old property has 44 guest rooms and 20 villas on more than three acres of hilly land that rolls toward Karoso beach.
None of the major hotel chains have set up shop on Sumba so Cap Karoso is as big as it gets.
The owners are a French couple — Evguenia and Fabrice Ivara, a former luxury goods brand manager and a digital ad agency entrepreneur. Their aesthetic is minimalist, with modernist furniture and airy buildings, featuring plants on the rooftops and lemongrass bushes lining the walkways. We passed the hotel’s organic farm on our way to the lobby.
Upon arrival, David Garcia, the general manager, welcomed us and explained the hotel’s ethos: “There’s a lot to do, or this can be the perfect place to do nothing.”
After an around-the-world lunch at the beach club (poke bowl, pizza, bao buns and a club sandwich, for about US$50), my family — myself, my wife and our two teenage children — chose to be active. We went for a surf with the hotel’s longboards, which were free to use. It was a bit of a paddle into smallish waves, but the water was crystal clear.
The next day we embarked on a snorkelling trip that was included with our room rate. Our guides were chill — they brought spear guns and caught a red snapper for dinner — and there were only a few other boats on the water. Underwater, I’ve seen a wider array of fish in other places, but in a time of climate change and coral bleaching, the colours and health of the reefs brought a sense of deep relief.
Then, after our lagoon adventure, we booked a half-day surf trip, which sent us with a guide around the southwestern tip of Sumba. We bounced down dirt roads through traditional villages with thatched roofs standing several stories high. Officially, Sumba is mostly Christian, but in the ancient animist religion of the island, ancestors or “marapu” guide the living from above so the traditional homes (and some government buildings) reach for a connection.
