Paradiso Village

Appropriately Named

A place of extreme beauty, delight, or happiness...that's one of the translations of the word Paradiso and this resort is named appropriately!

My husband and I were told about this wonderful spot by friends who visited earlier this year. After hearing their rave review, we immediately booked our next holiday.

After a short flight from Singapore, then a 2 hour a drive followed by a 10 minute boat ride we reached Paradiso!

We had the details of what to expect, but we were overwhelmed with Dominique and Marco's hospitality. They greeted us at the dock like old friends and that set the tone for our stay.

We booked two nights in the cottage over the water and two nights on land.(The sea cottage was already booked for the other two nights.) We were glad to experience both. I would be happy to stay in either setting again.

On our first evening, before dinner, a tropical rainstorm came in suddenly. We were enjoying resting after our travel, but were interrupted when some raindrops were coming through the roof directly above the bed. Just as we realized this was happening there was a knock at the door. Dominique made her way across the property in the major rainstorm to check on us. She arranged for the bed to be moved, changed, and for another cottage to be prepared for us if we needed it. She even brought us an extra umbrella! (The spot where the leak occurred was fixed first thing the next morning and we spent the first night in the land cottage.)

Despite the rain, our first impressions were very good.
Then we had dinner! WOW! Little did we know that every meal was going to be an experience that outdid the last. Throughout our stay we sampled banana pancakes ...that can't be matched, eggs, fresh fish, prawn, calamari, pasta, fresh veggies, beef, chicken, blueberry pie, homemade doughnuts, homemade ice cream, fresh fruit, and the chili sauce IS totally addictive. I think Marco said he even has it on his toast!

We ended up having decent weather for the rest of our stay and truly enjoyed getting to talk with the other guests during the family style meals... no matter what the language!

Our laid back hosts arranged a snorkeling trip one day and a picnic on a different beach another day. All they said was the boat is leaving around 10:30 if you want to join us. Meet at the dive shop at 10:20 to get what you need. We went on both excursions and had a great time both days. The snorkeling around the resort is very good and we even got to see two turtles!

We are looking forward to our next visit and have been telling everyone about this paradise!

Thank you for a wonderful stay... maybe we'll take you up on the
dive offer next time!


Amazing, peaceful resort with superb lunch and dining

We stayed here for 3 nights with 4 small children (5, 4, 2 and 4 months). It was absolutely wonderful. There are only 14 houses. We stayed in a big house which is connected to the divingshop. Absolutely perfect. We all fitted in the house (including our helper). We brought our own crib, but they do have a good crib there if you need it. It is a crib with bars, so a small infant/child can get stuck between the bars with his arms. It is a big crib and our 2 year old slept in it beautifully. We slept upstairs and we had our own baby crib upstairs as well (in a small seating area). The other children and our helper slept downstairs. Our baby is still being breastfed. For those who are bottle feeding I must note that the resort does not have bottled water. You drink water from the island, which tasted really good and is perfect for all to drink. I don't think I would have used it for our baby if I had used formula. Personally I would use the water for 1 year olds onward.

The resort is really peacefull and the location is absolutely beautiful. Snorkeling is the best. They have all the equipment (for free) and our 5 and 4 year old snorkeled. The whole 'finding Nemo' cast is out there! They are all just off the jetty so easy for all to see. The beach is perfect and the children can play easily in the water and sand. There is enough room for the children to play (bring some toys and games) and run around. You can always ask for fruit in between meals and with tea/coffee in the afternoon they have cookies. At the back of the bar/lounge on the jetty there is also enough space to sunbath/relax.

Breakfast is basic but good. Lunch and dinner are amazing. Something different for each meal. You do not choose your dinner, you are just served. For lunch and dinner you can ask for the children to eat earlier (which we did, especially as dinner is not till 8pm). They do not have a special children's lunch/dinner, but there is so much to choose from that there is always something they like. Our children are used to eating lots of vegetables, rice, fish etc. If you have children who only eat french fries and chicken you might have an issue. I am sure if you ask before booking it can be arranged.

They also have a tv and dvd player. Bring your own DVD's as they only had Shrek when we were there (which was fine with us).

It is a very relaxing place, with a very good service. Perfect for families with small children in my opinion.

The ride from the airport to the boat is a bit under 2 hours (it says 1,5 hours on the site, but that is impossible in my opinion). A bit of a ride, but doable and not an issue for us. We brought 2 carseats with us. For our 2 year old and the baby. This way they were not only safe, but they could sleep very well. The cars are really good (with seatbelts) and they have good drivers (and driving is an expertise itself in this part of the world). The airport is very small and efficient (we had to pay airport tax leaving).

We have been to the island Rawa in Malaysia several times, which is perfect for us as well. From Singapore this is only a 3 hour drive so extremely easy to get to. So for a quick easy getaway this is a very good option for us (2 night stay). We have also been to Nikoi island in Indonesia (nikoi.com). Very upscale and amazing resort. As I am a big snorkeling fan Cubadak would have my preference. Also Cubadak is very peaceful and quiet, which I loved. Not many place like this around.


Missing Paradiso already

We spent three nights at Paradiso Village and wished we could have stayed longer. I don't want to repeat the other reviews as they are very accurate (in terms of travel times, food and the cottages) but I will add a few details that were unique to our experience.

This trip was planned as a little get-away for us and friends of ours who were staying with us in Singapore. This was their first time in Asia and we wanted them to experience a remote island (and we certainly did!).

Dominque reserved two neighboring cottages for us on one end of the village. When I offered to give her my credit card number via email to hold the cottages she reply was "No need. We trust people here. We know if you change your mind you'll contact us." We really liked that response and thought that we made the right choice before even arriving!

Taking the advice of one of the other reviews - we decided to bring along a few bottles of wine just incase we decided to stay up late. Turned out we headed to bed early as well, but they happily poured our wine at dinner. During one lunch Federica suggested that I have the "one last glass from last night's wine". They saved our bottle without our even requesting it! The beer, cocktails, and other beverages are offered at a fair price so there really is no need to bring it along unless you are a night owl.

When we did finally arrive we found Dominque smiling and greeting us from the dock. Since we arrived after lunch but long before dinner she arranged for some biscuits and fruit to hold us over. As the other reviews mentioned the food is outstanding! We too looked forward to that bell ringing. Some highlights from our meals were grouper, fish balls, minced meat, donuts with honey, pizza, "local snacks" and the chili sauce. Everything is fresh, fresh, fresh and homemade - even the icecream!

The chili sauce is served in small bowls at every meal and we were addicted to it! We put it on everything. Since I love to cook I asked for the recipe and Marco delivered it. I've already cooked up a batch at home and we're enjoying it, but wishing we were eating it on that beautiful deck.

Finally, my husband and I got one dive in with Marco. Unfortunately the current was too strong at the original site (which looked amazing from above), but we got a decent dive in closer to the shoreline. The snorkling right in front of the dock is excellent - a lot of diverse life there as well.

One advice for packing - be sure to bring your toiletries and bug spray.


Unique Island Paradise like the film 'The Beach

I found this Island by chance on trip advisor and spent 6 nights there from the 24th of April. It lived up to all we'd hoped for and more.
Whilst it was our honeymoon the hotel attracts all walks of life from back packers to honeymooners/adventurers, but most of all those looking for genuine seclusion.
Unlike the comeercialised Maldives, this really is isolated, only us and another couple from England were there for the first few days (a rarity as usually ex-pats).
A driver picks you up from padang airport and then theres an hour and a half journey through the crazy roads of Indonesia.
At the end of it he drops you in the middle of no where on this pier. A boat then takes you the further 20 minutes to the island.
There is little or no other tourism around.
Your met on the pier by all the owners and managers, Nanni and Frederiqua (Italian), and Dominique and Marco (Diving obsessed!)(French).
Throughout our stay we were mainly looked after by Marco and Dominique.
As stated in other reviews everyone eats together. Believe me, myself and my partner are no big socialites, but it was great, meeting people from all over the world over the six nights, italy, Holland, America, all very different individuals, and Marco and Dominique we're excellent hosts.
The Food is Amazing, different everynight, but often freshly caught, Marco said you could stay there three weeks and never have the same meal.
For Diving Marco is a friendly, caring, patient instructor who will only take you out if your 100% sure, not pushy.
In fact nothings pushy , so so so laid back, he was great on our first diving experience..
If your a big drinker, be prepared, they certainly don't push drinks on you and generally go to bed early, so stock up if your planning a big night before they go.
The food is included in the price, drinks are discreetly added to your final bill, but very reasonable at about £1 for a coke and £1.50 for a large bottle of beer.
Overall this is a one off place and as a frequent traveller one of the few places I was ever sad to leave...Thanks to all the team there for making it a fantastic first leg of our honeymoon.


Fantastic experience at paradiso Village

We just came back from 3 days at Paradiso Village and had a wonderful time.

The island is as close to deserted as we've ever come across ( unlike the Maldives, say, where the resorts could be anywhere)

The cottages are very simple, no TV, power shower etc but this really doesn't matter. The beds are so comfortable we slept brilliantly.

It is very different to holidays I've had before. I thought the communal tables at meals would be odd...but not at all. everyone is really friendly - guests were a great mix when we were there. Nanni and Federica are fantastic hosts and nothing is too much trouble.

There is a reason why so much of their business is repeat! We'll definitely go back and I recommend it to anyone of any age who wants to chill out.

Source: www.tripadvisor.com
Credit Photo: www.iperviaggi.it
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