The first time we went to Lombok, we stayed in the northern part of the island, in the Senggigi area, and the second time, we stayed in the south, at Selong Belanak beach. Here are my accommodation suggestions for these two places, as well as other recommendations below.
We were very well accommodated at Sempiak Villas (which has since been renamed Sempiak Seaside Resort), and when we went in October, the weather was absolutely perfect for a holiday, so we were able to go to the beach every day, which we wanted to do.
Sempiak Villas has several types of villas available on Booking, as well as other “Holiday Houses” which can also be viewed here.
Some are real mansions with private pools and incredible views of the beach, but ours, more modest, served us perfectly! And even though we didn’t have a private pool, the nearest pool to our villa was always almost empty by the end of the day, when we went there after the beach to watch the sunset. In fact, as you can see from the photos in these posts, the sunset in Lombok is absolutely fantastic and not to be missed.
Our villa (Kruing) was on a hill about a 7-minute walk from the beach and the hotel restaurant. On the way up to the villa was a bit more difficult and took longer. Therefore, the hotel offers a transport service, available at any time of the day via WhatsApp, to take us back to the villas by car or buggy.
The hotel beach was so good that we didn’t even leave it, except for the Snorkelling trip to the 5 Gili islands in the south, which you can read more about in the Things to do in Lombok post. On this trip we met two Portuguese who happen to be in the same group as us. They had been to the beaches in the south of Lombok and discouraged us from visiting the other beaches we had planned, including Tanjung Aan. This was because they were very disappointed with the amount of rubbish they found and said that Selong Belanak was undoubtedly the best beach they had visited.
The hotel provides beach umbrellas, sunbeds, and beanbags on the beach, and also has raised thatched-roof huts with sunbeds that are completely shaded from the sun, where we spent the whole day, only leaving to have lunch.
There are also dozens of restaurants at Selong Belanak beach, known in Indonesia as warungs. In addition to serving food, these warungs offer a wide range of surf schools where you can book lessons or hire surfboards for an hour or the whole day (which is usually cheaper). These surf schools also offer boat trips to other beaches with bigger waves, such as Mawi beach.
The hotel also has some surfboards for guests to use, but they were not always available.
I would highly recommend this hotel. The staff were very friendly, attentive, and always interested in what we were up to, and willing to help with whatever was needed. For example, on the day we went on the snorkelling trip, they offered to serve breakfast earlier. Oh, and we were also lucky enough to have them play with Maria Rita on the beach! 😉.
The first time we went to Lombok we stayed in the Senggigi area because we had planned to snorkel at the 3 Gili Islands (Air, Meno, and Trawangan), and as we were only staying for three days, Senggigi was more convenient, and saved us travel time.
Choosing a hotel in Senggigi was very easy as we had previously stayed at the Sudamala in Bali (in the Sanur area) and loved it. The Sudamala in Lombok did not disappoint either, and once again, we loved the rooms, the service, and the food at the restaurant, which was absolutely divine.
The beach which the hotel has direct access to, had a small stretch of sand, especially at high tide, so after a swim in the sea, we returned to the hotel’s sunbeds, which were right there.
I still miss the sunsets spent at the hotel bar, drinking cocktails with our friends we were travelling with. The hotel had a happy hour in the late afternoon, and we wouldn’t leave until the sun had set on the horizon, with Bali as a backdrop.
Other accommodation in Lombok
(all accommodation suggestions below are based on my research, and not personal experience)
Accomodation in Senggigi
Accommodation in the Gili Islands
Another option for accommodation in Lombok is the Gili Islands. Gili Trawangan is usually the most popular island, as it is the largest and offers a wider range of hotels, but there are also options on Gili Air and Gili Meno.
The best way to get to Gili Islands is by boat from Lombok, which takes about 15 minutes if it’s a fast boat. Hotels will usually arrange transport directly from Lombok Airport to the port where you catch the boats to the Gili Islands.
I don’t recommend taking the ferry from Bali to the Gili Islands because, as I’ve heard, depending on the time of year and the tides, the journey can be quite rough, with lots of seasickness and vomiting, but worse than that, really scarry. You can always take a 45-minute flight from Bali to Lombok, which is generally safer. If you do decide to take the ferry from Bali, make sure you research the ferry company thoroughly and check the sea conditions before you travel.
Accommodation in Gili T
Accommodation in Gili Air
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