It’s like Bali 30 years ago, maybe 100,” said my seatmate on the Garuda ATR as we circled Sumba, a green, hilly island twice the size and 250 miles southeast of its more famous neighbour. For years surfers were the only ones journeying here to test themselves on its famous left-breaking, 20-foot waves at the island’s one resort, Nihiwatu (nihiwatu.com), on the southwest coast. But ever since fashion billionaire Chris Burch bought the property in 2012 and began a major upgrade—a $30 million investment whose first results were unveiled this spring—it’s been attracting upscale travelers from all over the world, even those with no dreams of becoming a big kahuna.
As Burch explains it, he had heard about the island during his frequent visits to Bali over the years but was drawn in three years ago when he learned that Claude and Petra Graves, the surfers who founded the resort in the 1980s, were looking for outside investors. He sent a friend, hotelier James McBride, to take a look—the report that came back from the South Africa-born McBride was positive but perplexed.
Along with the new restaurant came a new chef, Bernard Prim, a veteran of the Aman resorts, who does clean, flavourful dishes appropriate to the location, such as Balinese braised pork ribs and a grilled mahimahi over green papaya salad with chili lime dressing.
(This story appears in the 12 December, 2014 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)