Customer Reviews
Claudio
2022-07-04
Island is great, staff is amazing!
We just spent a weekend with 24 friends at the island. All of it has been amazing, the island, rooms and facilities are excellent - call out to the pool area. Food was also fantastic, that is usually not the case in these hotels, including for our vegetarian friends. Staff was incredible, Anton was amazing! The flexibility was also great and not that common (eg. We changed #pax the same day and they were accommodating and reduced price).Thanks to all the Pulau Joyo team! And really recommend going!
Laura832015
2022-07-04
Better impossible
I don’t have words to explain how amazing was our weekend in Pulau Joyo.It is not only that the island is extraordinary from one side to the other, but I also have to remark the awesome crew working in it. Wonderful people always with a smile, full of kindness, always with a “yes” to anything we asked for and excellent in everything they did for us, specially the food, which was sublime.We would like to thank all of you for everything and I hope we can come back soon!Absolutely recommendable!!
Sandeep M
2020-02-01
Amazing experience!
I stayed during mid-Jan with my wife and toddler. The place is more amazing than the photos suggest. Secluded island, amazing beach and wonderful ambience are what we experienced. The hotel staff, service, hospitality and attentiveness set this resort apart from some of the other hotels that we have visited elsewhere in Asia so far. The staff is amazingly helpful and is always willing to attend to all of your requests, even if these requests are quite peculiar related to food, variety, etc. At any point, there are hardly many souls on the island as this is the only resort on the island, so you do feel relaxed and calm. The early morning and evening walks on the island beach are simply unmissable. Would definitely recommend this resort to anyone. Quite reachable from Singapore.
Suan Eng N
2020-01-15
Royal treatment at this private island
We were a group of five and this island practically belonged to us during our stay, except for another couple. A team of smiling staff served us like royalty and we were so pampered. Food was good and the accommodation was very comfortable even though it was not air conditioned. Sleeping in a mosquito net is so comforting and romantic. Although the beach is not great but the beach facilities were good. We had a great time spending 3 nights 4 days there.
fredrick o
2019-12-27
Simply Amazing
Wonderful architecture and beautiful island with stunning views , far from the maddening crowd, very friendly and sweet staff. the Massage was fantastic and very relaxing with the beach view as well .Food and service is great! ! we are looking forward to our next visit .
Megan wong
2019-12-26
Celebrating my father birthday
My family love staying here where Pulau Joyo has a family room which can stay connected together with their family ( Beach Palace 3 & 4 ). The service that they provide here is very awesome and the staff are very friendly.. We could even ask the staff to decorate the room for special events like anniversary and birthday before we arrived.
Rosemary H
2019-12-23
Little piece of paradise but badly run
Gorgeous island with all the ingredients to be a real five star venue (or at least compete with Nikoi or Cempadek whose price point is similar). Yet there are so many niggly simply things that they get wrong. All could be easily solved and I am writing this review in the hope manAgement (and its billionaire owner) will pay attention. Mosquitoes - everywhere in south east Asia of course but no need to Deliberately attract them. Lovely terracotta pots all over the island filled with water to wash your feet- however these become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. We got 30-40 bites each despite covering ourselves in deet 24/7. They really just need some rinsing taps instead. Run down Water sports - 4 of us went out paddle boarding. Couldn’t work out why two of us went around in circles - the fins were broken off! When we pointed this out to the staff they said they hadn’t noticed (!). Also the mechanism to adjust the length of the paddles was broken on all the paddles. Staff couldn’t really explain which way the tide was going. To be fair though they do have a rescue boat which goes out on the water whenever guests are out on the water. You need this as ————CARE- there are no proper life jackets at the water sports hut. Tiny toddler ones which are broken and won’t fit older children. Adults ones are no more than polystyrene slabs covered in ripped cheap orange tarp that you would expect to find on a local fishing boat. Fit so badly you can hardly paddle in them. In the water they float up to the top of your head. I know it’s Indonesia but water safety is an obvious one to be scrupulous about. you really expect More for your money. Food - hit and miss. I think the cooks are talented but speak no English so what is possible to create is lost in translation. Every day when we asked the front of house staff what was on the menu for lunch and then dinner they didn’t know. Couldn’t then describe things beyond “fish, chicken etc”. Desserts were poor quality. they served some beautiful dishes (particularly any type of curry or fresh fish) but also some random ones. When we asked for something different for the children they struggled to come up with options (and my kids pretty much eat anything). chicken was very poor quality but the fish and beef were lovely ...Conservation - the saddest thing is that there is zero focus on the environment or conservation on the island. Cigarette butts lie strewn around. There is visible rubbish around the sides and backs of villas. Rubbish washing up on the beach is not cleared. In fact the beach could have been cleared of sharp stones and shells or at least a path made so you could walk around it more easily but it wasn’t. Rubbish is burned on the island. Underground pipes are visible through the soil everywhere. They are overrun with monitor lizards who inhabit the swimming pool throughout the day. Staff - lovely, sweet, obliging, great at entertaining the kids , really trying to do their best but slightly hapless (Ie poorly trained) except for the two front of house staff. They have barely any English. It’s hard to make yourself understood. They are so obliging - will do anything you ask. But I guess my point is at S$800+per night you shouldnt have to ask. Breakfast buffet (which is lovely by the way) is laid out in the open for hours. It was covered in swarms of flies. When I asked them to cover it they came out with sheets of paper which blew away in the wind. When I asked them if they have any food nets, they started unwrapped new ones and hey presto all the food was on lovely baskets covered in nets. But it didn’t occur to them to put it undercover in the first place. Loads of flies at breakfast tables and finally on day 3 they agreed to put candles on table which immediately solved the problem. Housekeeping staff were hit and miss. They didn’t remove dirty coffee cups from the room, and failed to replace glasses despite being asked. Despite all of the above, it’s still an idyllic hideaway and the niggles didn’t spoil our trip (even the lack of vip service at the ferry terminal that Nikoi and Cempadek provide). the villa was lovely. The pool area divine. The staff put on a dinner on the beach for the last night with a private fireworks display which was stunning. They played ping pong and games with my children all day long and would do anything you ask. two wonderful massage ladies. These lovely kind Indonesians actually deserve better than the owners are currently giving them relative to what guests expectations might be - and with owning a super yacht that cost USD18m you would think Anto Marden could deliver ...
Richard Luigi
2019-12-10
Paradise exposed
We just returned from joyo island and wish we were still there so much! The resort is truly amazing - the food is excellent - the staff couldn't be more helpful and pleasant - and the villas are very beautiful and unique.open air and amazing sea views. Worth every penny. We will back!
Claudia Wong
2019-09-18
A paradise with excellent staff
My family (me, husband, 18 month-old toddler, my sisters and parents) recently went on a 4D3N stay at Pukau Joyo from 8 to 11 Sep. It was a fabulous stay with the staff ever ready to take us out on sea activities, making our beds every day discreetly and planning meals in surprising venues and with a good variety of dishes. We did not repeat the lunch/dinner dishes and the dining venue throughout our stay. Beyond these, the staff was ready to extend help when we needed -making porridge for our toddler and lending us a knife and chopping board to dice fruits. They looked into all our needs and we felt very pampered. The massage services (extra fees) were delightful and made us feel truly relaxed! When told that my mum and sister were going to celebrate their birthdays, they went the extra mile to plan the decorations and bake a cake. We also paid extra for fireworks and it felt amazing to see the night skies light up. After we left the island, we realised we left an iPad and the staff (Dedy and Anton) went out of their way to help us locate it and arrange for it to be brought back to us. We are truly amazed by their professionalism and highly recommend a holiday at Pulau Joyo. I would rate them 10/10 anytime!
travelsandspokes
2019-08-20
Could be really great but service and food terrible
Beautiful island – rooms and swimming pool are just idyllic. However, service was really lacking. The resort desperately needs a good manager/front of house who knows what they're doing and can train the rest of the staff. Every time we asked for something the staff just giggled back as they don't speak English. First impressions were not great. The booking process was a painful experience. You wait 48 hours for a response over email only to receive an email that doesn't answer the questions you've asked. And then they'll send you a spreadsheet to fill out. For a hotel charging this much there really isn't any excuse for such a poor booking system. At check-in we were told the room wouldn't be ready until 2pm so they would serve us lunch first. Then we were left waiting around for another 45 mins after lunch until we asked someone if the room was ready. When we were finally taken to the room the previous guests were still vacating it. Food is very simple Indonesian cooking. Okay fish, meat and rice for mains – not particularly well cooked though – we've eaten much better dishes in Indonesia. Desserts were terrible – either cheap, sugary cakes out of a packet or bizarre concoctions! We were served what can only be described as a glass of Pepto-Bismol with chopped up fruit and avocado floating in it. On another day we were served canned fruit with yoghurt and a sprinkling of cheese on top.This hotel is charging the same as Cempedak island which is just opposite. However whereas Cempedak is pure luxury with fantastic service, beautifully cooked, home-made food and an impressive wine list, Pulau Joyo does not offer a menu – you eat what you're given – and the limited wine on offer has not been stored properly so it's totally ruined and undrinkable. On this beautiful island you will be lucky enough to see the wildlife wondering about the grounds – it's a real treat! But the staff really need to be trained to look after the wildlife otherwise it won't be around for long. This is not an eco-friendly resort! The staff cover your plate in cling-wrap before removing it and serving it to you. The cling wrap is then discarded in bins that are on the ground and open. We unfortunately watched a monitor lizard pull the cling wrap out of the bin and eat it. There's no need for having lots of little bins around the resort – just one in the bar area that's raised off the ground perhaps? On departure we were kindly gifted a snack 6 donuts and 2 bottles of water to take away with us. The donuts came in a plastic box with plastic cutlery in their own plastic wrapper. Really hope the hotel will rethink its choice of packaging to eliminate the amount of disposable plastic it sends guests off with. In summary:Island – fantasticRooms – fantasticCleanliness – not greatService – terribleFood – terrible Swimming pool – fantastic!
Tripadvisor rating score: 5 of 5, based on 127 reviews.