Beautifully made cocktails (and outstanding mocktails) like an Old Fashioned made with bourbon infused with croissants, a Negroni made with gin infused with coconut oil, and a clarified Kota Sumba made with soy milk and green coconut sambal syrup are enjoyed by guests lounging by the beachside pool at the open-air Beach Club. French mixology superstar Nico de Soto came up with them and taught them to their Sumbanese counterparts. These glasses, as well as the breakfast, lunch, and dinner fare prepared by chief chef Antoine LeVacon and served at the Beach Club, use flowers and herbs grown on the property's seven-acre organic garden.

Diners can watch the chefs at work in the open kitchen while they enjoy dishes like crudo with ponzu and sambal, Sumba Gnocchi topped with a cashew pesto phrazle sauce (cashews are a major crop on the island), and salt-crusted fish served with buerre blanc. Traditional Indo dishes like fried rice and fried noodles are served all day long. The traditional Napoli, topped with prosciutto and farm-fresh basil, is just one example of the delicious pizzas that come out of the blue and white custom Acunto pizza oven located outside.

Apicine, located on the roof of the building, is a nighttime eatery that specialises in Indo-Basque pinxtos and tapas like pan con tomate and anchovies, and a fantastic guacamole. Restaurant Julang may be found beyond the infinity pool the size of a football field. Fabrice's brainchild will host visiting chefs from all around the world for three to six week long residencies. Chefs produce a unique prix fixe supper meal for visitors throughout their stays, all while stationed at one end of a 30-foot long table. My favourite part of the dinner was the king prawn, which came with flan, asparagus, and cardamom foam and was prepared by chef Katsuaki Okiyama of the now-defunct Abri in Paris and his two-person staff.

Visitors to Cap Karoso will likely desire for more of the same since they won't want their time there to end. The lobby's massive travertine front desks and reception installation by an ikat master served as a poignant reminder that I was leaving a new and different universe, from which I had emerged more complete and richer than when I had first entered. My body was fed by the food and drink, my senses were delighted by the decor, and my spirit was uplifted by my contacts with the kind employees and townspeople. And if that isn't the epitome of gracious hospitality, I don't know what is.