Cempedak Private Island
Grown-up retreat,
Barefoot bamboo living
Couples,
Solo
Cempedak began with the same conviction as its sister island, Nikoi: that a conventional resort built from concrete with imported staff was never going to be good enough. This time, its owners created an adults-only escape.
Bamboo became their material of choice, natural rather than poured. They hired and trained local staff rather than flying them in, and rethought waste, energy and water from the ground up.
The result feels less like a resort and more like a private world: expansive villas, sweeping sea views, and nights spent falling asleep to geckos and crashing waves.
Getting there takes just under 3 hours from Singapore’s Tanah Merah ferry terminal.
Cempedak suits couples and solo travellers happy to let a day breeze by: an early-morning swim, a treatment at the Rock Spa perhaps, then take a book to the pool until evening finds you at the Dodo Bar, built from black bamboo and ijuk fibre and positioned squarely for the sunset. If the mood strikes, there’s snorkelling, sailing and island hopping, or archery, rock climbing and tennis.
The main restaurant sits on a rocky point with tree-shaded dining pods and a long balcony over the water, where meals change daily depending what comes in that morning: seafood off the local fishers’ boats, vegetables from the market, eggs and poultry from Cempedak’s own farm. The Boathouse serves drinks all day by the pool, and dinner can be taken by candlelight on the beach or the jetty.
(Travelling with children? Nikoi, a few kilometres north, is built around them instead.)
The Rooms
With 20 villas spread across the island, Cempedak keeps things simple by design.
Each is identical inside, with plenty of space, with only the setting changing between them. Downstairs opens onto a lounge, a bar, a large deck and a private plunge pool, with an outdoor shower and sun loungers alongside. Upstairs, bedrooms sit under vaulted ceilings with bamboo ceiling fans, king-sized beds dressed in organic cotton and draped with mosquito nets, while ensuite bathrooms pair hot water showers with natural stone and recycled teak.
Seaview Villas sit slightly elevated, framing the water rather than sitting beside it. Beach Villas sit closer to the shore, sand within a few steps of the plunge pool.
What You’ll Find:
Why You’ll Love It:
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Cempedak Private Island on the map
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