Bawah Reserve

Six islands, three lagoons and thirteen beaches make up Bawah Reserve, a private island resort in the Anambas archipelago of Indonesia's Riau Islands, out in the South China Sea north-east of Singapore. The seaplane comes down in the main lagoon, and the first thing guests see is a curve of overwater bungalows on stilts against a hillside of forest.

History

The resort was created by Tim Hartnoll, a British-born businessman based in Singapore, who took on the islands and spent several years building on them. Bawah received its first guests in 2018. From the start the project was tied to conservation. The waters around the islands are managed as a marine protected area, and the Bawah Anambas Foundation, set up alongside the resort, works on reef and turtle protection and on education and health projects in the surrounding island communities.

Architecture and design

The Singapore architect Sim Boon Yang designed the resort to sit inside its landscape rather than on top of it. Bamboo, timber and local stone are the main materials, buildings stay low under the tree line, and paths and boardwalks replace roads. Much of the timber was reclaimed, and the resort avoids single-use plastic. The result reads as a set of pavilions scattered along the shore, with only the overwater bungalows standing out from the trees.

Rooms and suites

There are 36 suites. Most are overwater bungalows on stilts in the lagoon, with steps down to the water, or beach suites set back from the sand under the palms. A smaller group of garden suites sits on the slope behind. Interiors keep to the same palette as the architecture: bamboo, canvas and copper, with outdoor bathtubs and decks facing the water.

The rate is all-inclusive. Meals, most drinks, spa treatments and a long list of activities are covered, so guests rarely sign anything during a stay.

Dining

Meals are taken at several places around the main island. Tempayan is the principal restaurant. Treetops is set high on the hillside above the lagoon, the Boat House stands near the jetty, and the Jules Verne bar serves drinks in the evening. Much of the produce comes from the resort's own permaculture garden, and fish are bought from local boats. Menus change daily and draw on Indonesian and wider Asian cooking as much as on western dishes.

Wellness

AURA, the spa, occupies a set of open pavilions on the hillside above the lagoon, with treatment rooms, a yoga pavilion and a gym. Treatments are included in the rate, which changes how guests use it: a massage becomes a daily habit rather than an occasion. Yoga and breathing classes run through the day, and there is a swimming pool near the main restaurant for those who prefer fresh water to the lagoon.

Location

The Anambas are among the most remote island groups in western Indonesia, and Bawah is reached in two stages. Guests take a ferry from Singapore to Batam, then a seaplane flight of about 80 minutes across open sea, flown by the resort's own operation. Flights run in daylight and depend on the weather, so arrival and departure days follow the sky rather than a timetable.

Once there, the islands are explored by kayak, paddleboard and boat. Reefs around the lagoons are suited to snorkelling straight from the beaches, and dive trips go further out. Turtles nest on several of the beaches in season, and the foundation's rangers monitor the nests. The northeast monsoon, late in the year, brings rougher seas, while the months either side are calmer and clearer.

The resort is small enough that the islands rarely feel occupied. Beaches can be booked for a picnic, the hills have walking trails to lookouts, and the staff to guest ratio is high, which is felt more in the quiet efficiency of a stay than in any show of service.