The Last Resort by Sarah Stodola

Author:Sarah Stodola
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-04-16T00:00:00+00:00

AT BREAKFAST, I RUN INTO THE INJURED SURFER. HE AND I ARE THE ONLY two solo guests at breakfast. We are, in fact, the only two solo guests present at the resort during the several days of my visit. This isn’t the kind of place to which one travels alone for any of the reasons that a person typically does so. We are a curiosity, for the honeymooners and families, and for each other. I ask him how he’s holding up after the injury.

It’s all right, but I can’t surf anymore while I’m here. Which, if you know surfers, would be like dropping a foodie in Paris and telling her she’s allergic to everything but PB&J.

Is that what you came here for specifically? I ask him.

Well. I know before he tells me that his answer will be weird. I’m actually a therapist, he says. I’m here working with a couple of clients for a couple of weeks. Not for the first time, I see that my imagination for spending money pales in comparison to that of the superrich. Imagine intentionally bringing your troubles along with you when you’re getting away from it all. That’s creativity.

Still, the very rich occupying the villas at Nihi Sumba differ markedly from those I encountered on, say, the French Riviera. They take their cues from start-up cofounders, not oligarchs. Lots of simple white sundresses and hair left to its own wavy devices after a near-certain keratin treatment before the trip; guys dressed just like any guy I know back home. Almost everyone looks younger than they are, except the surfers, whose time in the sun makes them appear a decade older. Still, this is a young crowd for such a pricey resort. And a relaxed one. The well-preserved faces don’t have the plumped-up lips I saw everywhere on the French Riviera. That would be too overt an effort for this crowd.

Beneath the breeziness, though, Nihi Sumba is fancier than ever. In 2012, Claude and Petra sold the resort to Chris Burch, ex-husband of fashion designer Tory Burch, and hotelier James McBride. The new owners upgraded the villas, enhanced the existing amenities, and implemented new offerings, while Claude moved into a private residence that he built next door. (Claude and Petra had by that time divorced.)

The new heights of luxury manifest in things like my sunset horseback ride. I’m hoping that I’ll get to take my horse, Blaze, into the ocean like I’ve seen in the promotional photos. But the surf is too strong, so I settle for the utterly untouched beach. I’ve got two guides attending to me, each on their own horse. One of them takes my camera while the other shows the way. I spend the next hour as the subject of a photo shoot.

The next day, I join a hike through the countryside to a new spa location, where treatments are lavished on me, including a cold-stone massage and the best hair masque I’ve ever experienced, all in a clifftop open-air room overlooking the ocean, followed by a dazzling lunch on the next clifftop over.

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