With everything from smart boutique properties and heritage hotels and, of course, the Grand Dame: Raffles, Singapore’s hotel scene gets plenty of buzz. But for something different, there are numerous places within two hours of the Lion City, from Malaysia’s Desaru Coast to Indonesia’s Bintan Island. There’s also a crop of private islands well worth visiting. We checked into Cempedak Private Island to discover the perfect restorative retreat after a busy weekend at the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix.

While this stay was complimentary, all thoughts and opinions are our own.

Review of Cempedak Private Island

Cempedak Private island swimming pool

Most visitors take a 1.5-hour ferry from Singapore to Bintan, drive an hour across the island to Cempedak’s private ferry pier, then take a 30-minute speed boat to arrive. We nipped over from sister property Nikoi Island, so it’s a much shorter journey by boat.

The first glimpse of Cempedak – which opened in 2017 reveals beautifully designed bamboo architecture that blends seamlessly into the island’s pristine greenery. On disembarkation, it’s immediately clear that this is a Robinson Crusoe experience – albeit one that involves colourful resortwear, and a team of friendly staff ready to meet every request.

This is an adults-only island, so a calm tranquillity was apparent as soon as we stepped off the boat. It remained throughout our stay, ensuring total relaxation. We arrived in time for a late lunch, so we were quickly swept up to Cempedak’s main restaurant and completed check-in formalities comfortably ensconced at a table with a view – and a wine in hand.

Sustainability central

Cempedak Private island dodo bar at night

In 2013, Bali-based Kiwi architect Miles Humphries was brought in to turn this uninhabited, 17-hectare island into Cempedak. His hospitality experience, combined with expertise in bamboo construction, including Indonesian’s Pak Indra, created the bamboo structures that form Cempedak’s guest areas, from the spa and villas to the restaurant and bar.

Sustainability was a key consideration in building the resort. Facilities were built with local materials and labour, and much of these skills have been passed onto the local communities. More importantly, the island uses natural ventilation over air-con, has solar panels and battery banks, and is almost entirely zero waste.

Additionally, the team worked with the island’s natural topography so that only one-third of the island was developed for hotel facilities. The rest remains untouched, allowing guests the chance to enjoy pristine mangroves, towering rock formations, and encounters with rare animal species like pangolins, silver leaf monkeys, and Nicobar pigeons.

But sustainability here goes beyond construction considerations. Staff at Cempedak are mostly local to the neighbouring islands, and as far as possible, the island’s supplies are sourced locally. There’s a small permaculture garden which guests can explore with staff, as well as a seven-hectare farm on Bintan; together, they produce free-range chickens (and eggs), quails, ducks, chillies, salad greens, corns, tomatoes, herbs and spices, as well as fruit like papaya.

Villa life

Cempedak Private island interior of villa

There are just 20 villas across Cempedak, each one a bamboo masterpiece topped with “alang alang” grass roofs and offering total privacy and immersion in nature. The only difference between each villa is its setting – some are orientated for sunrise, others for sunset, while some offer mesmeric ocean panoramas and the rest, tranquil beach views.

Entering our 150sq-m Seaview villa, I let out an audible gasp. I may have been here before, years ago, but looking across the expansive lounge, through folding glass doors, and over the private infinity pool to see turquoise waves lazy lap at the horizon made me pause to drink it all in.

The duplex villa is simple yet sophisticated, and thoughtfully laid out. We spent hours downstairs, lounging on the centrepiece day bed and drinking Champagne between dips by the pool. Upstairs, the bedroom features a king-size bed dressed in crisp organic white cotton sheets and draped in mosquito nets – all under a vaulted ceiling that adds to the airiness. The ensuite, which also looks out to the ocean, maintains the focus on sustainable elements with natural stone and recycled teak.

The idea here is to create a back-to-nature experience, so the front side of the villa is entirely exposed to the elements. During the day, the folding glass doors are pushed back to let in the tropical breeze; by night, they’re shut to offer a little soundproofing and keep insects at bay. There are ceiling fans, in case it gets a little warm.

To encourage a digital detox, there’s almost no technology in the villa – certainly not a TV. There’s just one iPad so guests can communicate with the Cempedak team to coordinate room service orders or buggy pick-ups. There is wifi, though, which is how I ended up sobbing inconsolably on our last night when I found out – through Instagram – that F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo has been dropped from the VCARB team.

Dining

Since Cempedak is a private island, guests don’t have the hassle of trying to find restaurants and reservations for meals. Instead, there’s a mandatory board charge of S$100 that covers three plentiful meals a day in the main restaurant.

The space is simple and elegant, made of bamboo and built in the same style as the island’s other buildings and villas. Tables of two are generously spaced, but the best seats in the house are the hidden dining pods that are wholly al-fresco and offer uninterrupted views of the sea.

You certainly won’t go hungry here. Each meal features multiple courses, and dishes are made of the freshest locally grown ingredients. There’s no buffet in sight – the food waste makes them strictly verboten here. For breakfast, there are barista-made coffees, fresh fruit and bread, and a choice of Western and Indonesian mains.

The cuisine here is largely Indonesian, though there are occasional inflections from Western traditions. For one dinner, there was a beef salad, a risotto of crayfish and vegetables, and a decadent strawberry cheesecake; for lunch the next day, there was a shared feast of Indonesian dishes all of which featured well-balanced flavours and just a touch of spice.

Each evening, we caught the sunset from the Dodo Bar. A towering bamboo structure with a spacious terrace perched over the sea, the bar is the perfect place to watch the sky turn shades of fiery orange and deep purple while sipping a well-made negroni.

Extras

Cempedak Island Foundation

It’s all too easy to spend the days at Cempedak in your villa, but in the name of good journalism, we ventured out several times. We sipped coconuts from the Boathouse bar while taking dips in the main pool, which looks over cabanas on the beach, and took a few lazy strolls through the island’s pristine nature trails, at one point discovering a lagoon-like area with – inexplicably – a red London telephone box.

Even more impressive is The Rock Spa, Cempedak’s haven of wellness. From its perch above a mangrove bay, the spa’s treatment rooms offer blissful views of sand, surf, sun and trees. The Ocean Breeze Massage was so restful that I was still half asleep as I stumbled off the table – reality intrudes rather rudely when I realised there were two paddleboarders in the distance, and I frantically gauged just how much they could see! It’s not enough to deter me from another visit the next day for an equally indulgent Cleopatra’s Rose Facial.

In addition, Cempedak’s owners have helped establish and fund three foundations to address local environmental and social concerns. The Island Foundation focuses on exploring the region’s ecosystem, while a second aims to safeguard the local Marine Protected area; a third is dedicated to eliminating plastic from the local communities and sea.

Final thoughts

Cempedak has nailed the concept of sustainable, barefoot luxury with this adults-only retreat. With plenty of space, lots of nature, and heavy lashings of decadent drinking and dining, there are few places in the area where you’ll emerge so thoroughly relaxed.

Learn more about Cempedak Private Island

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