(It seems that I was at the Ta'aktana about the same time as tsalagi. I had already started writing my review when he posted his/hers, so some of this info is duplicated but I did add a few more details.)

I just completed my first stay at the Ta’aktana Resort and it is truly spectacular. It’s an incredible value on pts. Base rooms start at US$538/night all in. I booked 3 mths ago for 187K pts (5 nights). The rate barely moved for the first 2 mths, then did a sky dive to finish up at 127K pts (which included a drop of 29K pts in 1 day about 10 days before check-in). That’s a redemption of over 2 cpp!

I applied my NUAs and was upgraded from 700 sq ft Flores suite to 1200 sq ft (112 sq m) sea view villa with private pool. Note that the Overwater Villas (195 sq m) were offered in the NUA pool (the only option I chose), but I noticed that Marriott kept changing my upgrade request to a 1 bdrm villa with pool a few hours/days after I made my request. I wrote to the GM about it and he apologized and indicated that the OW Villa should not have been in the NUA pool.

I landed at LBJ and barely got off the plane and there were 2 young ladies waiting for me on the bridge with a Ta’aktana sign. Nice start! They accompanied me to the baggage area where a (complimentary) limo was waiting for me. It was only a 10 min drive to the hotel. Upon arrival, I was greeted at the front entrance and was given a choice of 4 friendship bracelets, a nice memento of my trip here.

My butler was also waiting for me and escorted me to my villa. (He was so dedicated that he even checked with me to see if I needed anything on his day off!) The welcome gift consisted of a basket of fruit as well as a box of freshly baked sweets. The villas are large and extremely well laid out. They are very private in spite of being surrounded by other villas. All the rooms are extremely large particularly the living room and the bathroom. There is also a powder room and a butler’s area (small kitchen with fridge and sink). The terrace wraps around 2 sides of the villa and is also immense as is the pool (for a private pool). I did yoga on the terrace every morning and I don’t think anyone could see me. The only noise I could hear was the trickling from the pool. The minibar is complimentary. There were towel animals on my bed every day as well as notes from housekeeping.

Since the hotel is built on the side of a mountain, it’s a bit of a walk from the beach to the main building at the top, but there are buggies everywhere to give you a ride. I’m a walker and rarely took a buggy but I was often asked if I needed a ride.

The spa was beautiful and I was offered 20% off the menu prices. There are 3 restaurants, Indonesian and Japanese (both of which are only open for dinner) plus the main restaurant which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Every evening there is a Sunset Ritual at the Maiga Bar which is on the pier near the OW Villas. They offer you a complimentary small drink and snack. Sunset is absolutely spectacular there.

I found the food to be excellent at all the restaurants. There was an amazing selection of vegetarian options. At every meal, the chef would come out to say hello and ask how the meal was. Breakfast was complimentary for everyone I think, at least those on a cash rate per the website. In my case I got buffet breakfast and the 1000 pt welcome amenity. You could also choose a small hand fan as your welcome amenity.

I was also offered a complimentary Nera Sunset Trek one evening which I graciously accepted. The guide walked with me from the drop off area to the tip of the island. They had a small tent set up as well as snacks and beverages. The view was beautiful and a great place to watch the sun set.

The only thing I’m disappointed in is swimming in the ocean is not recommended due to “traffic” in the bay in front of resort. However, they do have a nice beach area. I didn’t see any boats in the area near the hotel, but I did see a few people snorkeling out there. Apparently, you can borrow a motorized device to propel you when snorkeling. I suspect it would be fine for swimming. There are also 2 large pools, one by the ocean, the other by the gym, plus all the villas have private pools.

Now back to those OW Villas. There are currently 7 of them. I asked the GM if I could see the OWV since I wasn’t able to upgrade to it. He agreed, and it was truly spectacular. The owners were very involved in choosing the décor and the attention to detail really shows. However, what struck me as odd was it didn’t seem that big (195 sq m per website). When I asked the GM about it, he said it was smaller than my villa, 95 sq m vs 112 sq m. So there’s a typo on the Marriott website because it says it is 195 sq m! I presume that will be corrected shortly.

I would be remiss not to mention that the big attraction near this hotel is Komodo Island, home of the giant prehistoric lizards. I booked a full day tour that included 6 stops at various islands/beaches including Komodo. It was an amazing day.

Finally, the staff was incredibly kind and friendly. It seems everyone knew my name and greeted me as Miss Margarita. Even the guard at the gate knew my name. For my tour, I needed to bring cash for the park admission fees (400,000 IDR) which I didn’t have with me. I asked at the front desk if they could do a currency exchange for me or if I could charge it to my room. They couldn’t but the incredibly nice lady at the front desk offered to go to the currency exchange shop in the village for me. She did it after work (on her motorcycle) and brought it back immediately for me even though I had told her it was fine for the next day!

This was truly an unforgettable vacation and I would highly recommend to everyone! There are lots of pics of the rooms and villas on the website, so I'll just add a few here.



View of the beach from the pier


Villa's private pool (and my yoga mat)


View from the breakfast restaurant


One of the 5 dragons I saw on Komodo Island



Property map



View from the Maiga Bar at sunset