Detailed Review
Amanwana is a luxury resort and wilderness hideaway. Set in a secluded cove on the island’s west coast, it is surrounded by tropical forest and looks out over Amanwana Bay and beyond to the Flores Sea. Medang Island, in the northwest, the rugged mountains of Sumbawa in the south and Lombok’s volcanic Mountt Rinjani are all visible from Moyo. The island is the “cork” in a natural bottleneck leading to Saleh Bay, a sheltered inland sea that is ideal for cruising and island hopping.
The facilities
The dining room and bar are located in an open-air pavilion facing the sea. Indonesian hardwood flooring and solid coconut pillars support the tropical structure. A selection of Asian and Western food is served at breakfast, lunch and dinner. In season, a regular alfresco barbecue is available as are Campfire dinners.
Amanwana’s library specialises in Indonesian art and culture and has a wide range of books on marine life. Located at the far end of the camp, a few metres from the shoreline, the Music Pavilion is a forest sanctuary. Here, guests can listen to music, order a picnic lunch and a bottle of wine, enjoy afternoon tea or a sunset cocktail.
A variety of superb dive spotsDive Centre, which also offers a range of equipment. The Jungle Cove massage area is just off the beach and under shady tamarind trees. Simple coral-stone walls divide the outdoor centre into three treatment areas, each including a recessed, soaking tub and a shower. Enjoy a massage, a fresh-fruit facial or a Borneo body scrub while watching the clouds gather about distant Mount Rinjani.
The tents
The camp’s 20 luxury tents are set under a canopy of tropical forest. Each 58-square-metre tent is partially enclosed by a solid wall. There is a soft waterproof external roof and a separate canvas interior. A coral-stone deckair-conditioned tents feature banks of windows, Indonesian island artwork, a sitting area with facing divans, king-size bed, a writing desk and a large bathroom. There is hardwood flooring throughout.
Sand paths link the tents to one another and lead to the beach, the dining room and reception. There are two room categories – Ocean-Front Tent and Jungle Tent. The only difference between the two is whether you prefer to be closer to the ocean or the jungle.
Press Quotes
"Reef and rainforest all in one on this remote Indonesian island. The hotel lives true to its title, "peaceful forest": the only tourist address on Moyo, a thickly forested island off the coast of Sumbuawa, Western Indonesia, where deer, macaque monkeys and wild boar vastly outnumber residents." Independent 07
