Pratasaba Resort

The food is the highlight for me. There’s a good range of local dishes, fresh fish and seafood, plus lots of tasty dips and sauces. Breakfast has plenty to choose from, but orders can take a while, so put yours in before you’re hungry. The prices are great too, for example, grilled fish with rice was about 6€. Drinks were much less reliable: on our first visit they only had water and coffee, and on the second they also had some cola, fanta and local beer. They hadn’t ordered much, though, and the fridge was empty again within a few days. I also missed having cocktails or wine, but that’s a drawback of being somewhere so remote. The house reef is amazing, and they actively look after it, which gives me hope for its future. The diving prices, though, are a real shame. They have their own dive center, but even a house reef dive starts north from couple of hundreds euros, and trips elsewhere around the island cost a fortune. The dive master agreed the prices were unreasonable, but our complaints didn’t change anything. He seemed to spend the day waiting in his cabin for something to happen. We stayed here twice because it became the best value for money on the island. The rooms are basic, but there’s a shower and AC, which is what you need. There’s also a little beach right in front, though it would be nicer without all the boats parked along it. Boat trips were another disappointment. We understand that getting gas on the island is difficult, but asking a couple of hundreds euros for a tiny dingy that barely fits two adults and two children seems unreasonable. There’s so much potential around the island, yet the marketing and reception team seem to have little sense of tourism or what guests need. For getting there, we recommend the local ferry from Berau (Tanjung Redep). The tickets are only sold at the port, and the bumpy ride takes 2,5-3 hours. Enjoy!

The beach and buildings were pretty clean, and the resort is nicely located near the village in maratua. But the restaurant needs work. The food and service both fell short of what we found at cheaper warung.

The showers could use an update. Their curtains are too short, so it’s impossible to shower without soaking the bathroom floor. We stayed for two nights and wished we could have stayed longer. It’s a beautiful place, the food is delicious, and the staff were wonderful.

Bring your own snacks, since there’s no supermarket or mini market here. There’s no WiFi connection either. You can get to the island by plane, as it has a small airport. The views made all the effort to get here worthwhile. The water is clear, the air is fresh, and if you’re lucky you might spot a turtle swimming along the edge of the beach. I had such a good time visiting, and the place felt so beautiful and romantic that I asked my husband to stay one more night. A couple of things weren’t great. The toilet flush in my room was leaking 😔, and I saw guests throwing cigarette butts into the sea. I told the staff to warn them because it’s prohibited and could damage the coral. And don’t forget the red snapper soup from this resto. I swear it’s so delicious.