Katembe Private Island

The long-awaited trip to Raja Ampat began with illness and dark rain clouds, which somewhat clouded our first impression of paradise. But as soon as we arrived at the resort, we were catapulted into another world - a true dream destination with shimmering turquoise water and lovely natural stilt bungalows. Exhausted from a 30-hour journey, our joy was dampened when we entered the bungalow, which didn’t quite look as we had imagined. At this point, a big thank you to Dylan for his uncomplicated and courteous response to our request. The resort impresses with its intimate atmosphere, very good service, few bungalows and therefore limited number of guests, which we like personally, three varied and delicious meals and, last but not least, its central location to the best dive sites. You can reach almost all of them in a maximum of 45 minutes boatride. The food was extremely varied and offered dishes from all regions of Indonesia, including vegetarian options. I enjoyed trying the different local dishes, whereas others were happy with all the other dishes on offer due to the spiciness. Thanks to the chefs for their culinary skills and the “sweet” desserts! And yes - Katembe - no diet! hahaha The team surprised me with a wonderful table decoration and a birthday cake, plus a serenade from the team + guests and a little surprise in the bungalow - all of which made my birthday in Raja Ampat extra special. Thanks to everyone from the bottom of my heart! Thanks also to Ridan, who so lovingly provided me with ginger tea during my illness. With lemon and honey :) We saw everything our hearts desired on the dives. As an angelfish fan, I couldn’t get enough of the many different species, the size of the fish compared to other dive sites in SOA is enormous, not to mention the incredible abundance of fish, shoals and masses of damselfish, fusiliers, snappers, bannerfish, barracudas, mackerel,... napoleons, giant sweetlips, turtles, octopods, manta rays, sharks,... Raja Ampat got it all and gave us all. Thanks to the dive guides who showed us the most beautiful dive spots in the short time we had left, thanks for the MANTAS!!!! Thanks also to the guys for the beautiful, entertaining and safe boat trips, even if I really would have liked a side wall when it rained! And last but not least, thanks to the many invisible hands that made it so easy to feel at home. Standard bungalow: The beds are comfortable, not too hard and equipped with good mosquito nets. Our bungalow was equipped with 4 beds (2x2 single beds next to each other). The bathroom is functionally furnished with a small shelf and a beautiful large shell as a washbasin. The shower is cold water half sweet/half salty. The floor of the bungalows is covered with wide wooden panels, some of the gaps allow a view of the sea below. The bungalow can be closed off from the sea with bamboo doors. A filled water dispenser is available and filled every day. Two sun beds on the spacious terrace. Deluxe bungalo

We recently spent 10 days at Katembe Island and whilst overall we have enjoyed our stay, I believe a few things could be improved by Management to make the resort a great place to stay. I might first mention the mistake we might have made was to spend too much time in one spot. In hindsight, we probably should have spent our time in Raja Ampat into 2 resorts to diversify our stay. I'll start with the good stuff: - Staff were very friendly and always trying to accommodate our requests. Special mention to Benny who was always in a good mood, Suriya for being there to welcome us every morning at breakfast time, Jenny who made sure our bungalow was cleaned everyday and Kevin and John were a fantastic team when going on a snorkeling excursion. - The bungalow, whilst basic and open to the elements, was clean, spacious and comfortable. Falling asleep to the sound of waves was pure bliss. Being able to go for a swim from the bungalow was a treat. Some aspects that could be improved: - We booked the full board package as we did not know how many dives we wanted. During my correspondence with the resort, I was advised that the cost of a single dive was US$55.00. On arrival, we were told that this price only included the first 14 sites nearer to the resort. All other dive sites have a fuel supplement. This means that if you want to dive Cape Kri or the mantas sites, there is a hefty fuel supplement. We enquired about a dive at the Manta site and with 4 divers, it was going to cost each diver US$180 for a double dive + the NP fee. There is no mention of this on their website and I was not told either when I enquired about diving costs. Some warning over the additional costs would have been appreciated. A few of the other guests were not happy either about the omission. Transparency with your guests is a must. - I applaud the chef for providing so much food and choices at meal times given the remoteness and the conditions he has to cook in. You won't go hungry at Katembe! But I did sometimes wonder if the chef did taste his own dishes as on occasions, some of the dishes were either way too salty, way too spicy or bizarrely, just too bland. - The Doberai House Reef is an absolute pleasure to snorkel. It's full of colour, pretty corals and life. A snorkel there is a must. You can jump off the rickety jetty but there is no way out from the jetty and you have to exit via the beach. A potentially dangerous exercise especially at low tide. Not too mention that you may break the coral whilst trying to get back in. We queried the absence of a ladder but were told that the last one got destroyed during the rainy season and since it will get destroyed again, they did not think it should be fixed again... - The boardwalk could do with some maintenance. Some boards looked as if they were about to break, some had protruding long nails, a real danger there and some lights did not work at all (3 in a row). A bit of TLC would be welcomed ev

Amazing experience at this end-of -the world resort ! We got to feel like Robison Crusoe for 5 days! We had great luck and were alone for 3 days! All the staff is so welcoming and caring . The food was great and the whole hotel is so charming ! There are many activities ( diving, snorkelling, canoeing around the island ) Thank you especially to Ridwan, Suria, Benny, the Chef and all the diving team !