Naya Matahora Island Resort

One of the beautiful resorts to see the sunrise 🌄.

Last week my wife and I stayed 1 night here on February 9 2024. Coincidentally, my wife and I previously lived in Wakatobi for 3 years (2017-2019). This disclaimer is necessary because it will differentiate the experience of staying here.2019 (before the pandemic) was the first time my wife and I came to Naya Resort when the resort was just being built, but not to stay overnight, just to take photos and eat at the restaurant. The desire to stay overnight first appeared in 2019 when Naya was still doing well. Then in 2020 the pandemic hit, we didn't know how Naya and Wakatobi were doing at that time because they had moved to Kendari. After looking at the reviews on various sites and TikTok, I was surprised to find that the reviews were rather unpleasant. But, because we were still curious, we still decided to try staying overnight.In general, it is true what is described in the review:1. Far from everywhere, obviously because the location is not in the city center, so you have to rent a car/motorbike if you want to travel freely2. There are no places to eat nearby, yes that's right, we had previously brought food and mineral water which we bought in town3. The place is not well maintained, yes that's right, wild plants are growing everywhere, the building is starting to become brittle, the pool water is mossy and has changed color. When we went there that night there was a power cut, for around 3 hours from 18.00-21.00. The result was darkness, a real test of courage, where we were the only guests there haha. But, the employees are friendly, the service is satset. We were the ones who planned to make popmi, because the heater didn't turn on, they boiled water in the kitchen, and in the end we ended up chatting under the sea of ​​stars in the sky and accompanied by the sound of sea waves from a distance. It's fun even though it's annoying because it's a lot of fun. But even though it's dark there are no mosquitoes at all here. It's a cool concept because there are lots of lemongrass plants planted.When the lights went out, there was actually a hotel generator, but it didn't turn on because the generator hadn't been maintained for a long time. It makes sense, logically, if there are no guests like that, where will the income come from to maintain a resort that big and luxurious?4. Well, but it's not a problem, apart from the poor surrounding conditions, the rooms are really good, 5 stars, luxurious, clean, comfortable, the AC is also really cold. The only minus is the backyard in the bathroom. The bathroom uses a semi-open concept, with a garden at the back, but the garden is not maintained so it looks more like a bush hehe. But everything works fine.5. For breakfast, there is only fried rice, coffee, tea, mineral water. It's natural, especially since the staff is only 2 local people. Yes, being a receptionist, security officer, and chef... it's really sad. They always apologize, but we always say this is not your fault, this is a structural problem involving the local government and tourism stakeholders in Wakatobi.6. For the overall price, we bought it at Travelola for 1.2 million. Overpriced with limited facilities (in fact, it seems less than reasonable) but logically they charge that price to ensure their resort survives. Yes, let's just say this is charity to build tourism. Hopefully the management and local government will read this review.7. This Naya is saved by the beautiful view of Wakatobi by default. The evening and morning views here are really cool. Very Instagrammable.So that's a little/a lot of our review. In essence, the deficiencies in Naya are caused by many factors:1. Not yet fully recovered from the pandemic2. Lack of marketing3. There are no planes, so how will tourists want to come here if there are no planes? Please, government, please make efforts so that cheap planes can return to Wakatobi like before and Wakatobi tourism will grow as busy as before. FYI, we took a ship from Kendari (228k/pax, 10 hour journey).Well, we felt comfortable staying because we have lived in Wakatobi, if you have never lived/don't understand the conditions and how to travel excitingly and cheaply in Wakatobi, you will definitely give a bad review. Even though Wakatobi is Indonesia's hidden gem, the government doesn't pay enough attention to it. sob, sad.

The right place to test your courageMaybe OK in its time but not anymore.