Reply To: Indonesia trip report

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Places I stayed

Bali:

Villa Jempana after I arrived – I assumed it would be far easier to get to the trailhead for the Mount Batur dawn hike, from a hotel in the village near the trailhead. I was very wrong! There were no taxis willing to drive me the 3km or so at that time in the morning, so I had to arrange it with the trekking company, and it ended up costing just as much as the transfer from Ubud. Ah well!

Madani Antique Villas, in one of their private pool villas – I would absolutely recommend this, and would go back in a heartbeat. If you can’t afford the Viceroy and that glorious pool overlooking the gorge, the plunge pools at Madani Antique Villas overlooking the rice terraces come a close second. The room itself was lovely, and the open air bathroom was just gorgeous. While the location was very convenient for getting a Grab to a trailhead for a hike into town, it was further out than I thought, as Madani has rooms at two locations, and mine was a couple of km further out than the location marked on Google maps.

Anahata Villas and Spa – I stayed here for one night, after I changed my mind about taking the slow boat back from Flores to Lombok – oddly enough I didn’t fancy revisiting the seasickness or the marine wildlife feeding after all, so replanned my journey to the Gilis at the last minute, and ended up with a night in Bali, due to not great flight and ferry availability. This was one of the places that closed their pool inexplicably at 6pm, which was the main reason I picked that hotel, and the Grab availability on that road wasn’t great. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this hotel, as it wasn’t the easiest to get to other places from.

Poppies, Kuta, for my last night in Indonesia, before flying to Hong Kong – my Grab driver dropped me 200m from the hotel, saying he couldn’t drive down that road. I hauled my luggage 200m down a narrow alleyway, dodging motorbikes squeezing past, only to be told by reception staff that there was a hidden carpark right next to the hotel, that none of the taxi drivers seemed to know about that we drove past 30 minutes before (one way system traffic jam), so I could have been dropped right at the door ages ago. When I asked them why they didn’t just tell me about this when I emailed them to tell them my arrival time, they didn’t have an answer for me. As a result of traffic I missed the pool here too. The pool may make staying here worthwhile, I don’t know TBH. If you stay here, note there is a car park, which can be accessed by driving from the West end of the alleyway only.

Nusa Penida:

Mahendra Cottage – lovely owners if you really want to come to Nusa Penida to see the stunning sights, but just beware that EVERYONE and their aunt wants to see the same sights, and it sometimes feels more crowded than Ubud (especially Diamond beach, and the view over Kelingking beach). There are nicer, cheaper places to stay, but this was a good cheapie, that allowed me to splurge a couple of times.

Lombok & Gili Air:

The Puncak – lovely views, lovely pool, lovely food, helpful owner and staff, I would recommend. If you aren’t a fan of those air freshener things that spritz every 15 minutes all day and night long (either due to the overwhelming smell, or the annoying noise), ask them to remove it from your room.

Gilizen resort – it had just opened, so was available at short notice when I arrived on Gili Air earlier than originally planned. I had a gorgeous tiny little plunge pool, the breakfasts were amazing, the staff were brilliant, I really liked it there. It’s on a very dusty dirt road, so I did tend to have very dirty feet whenever I went anywhere, but the sea sorted that out pretty quickly! Plenty of lovely restaurants and bars nearby, close-ish to both nice beaches and the best snorkelling spots.

Vyaana – very nice, close to nice beaches (which BTW are best at high tide), great bars and restaurants and the lovely sunset views. Further from the snorkelling spots. Having a pool for when the tide is out is great. I liked my room, the open air bathroom was wonderful, and I loved their bedtime stories of local myths and legends, written out and left at turndown, with a local sweet.

It’s also worth noting that I *highly* recommend bringing a rash vest and water shoes for the Gilis – walking across the coral sand can get painful near the tideline, and snorkelling with the turtles often involves snorkelling with lots of tiny, and very annoying, jellyfish.

Flores:
Seaesta, Labuan Bajo – a hostel, but a *really* pretty one. Staying in one of the private rooms does not feel like slumming it. Beware they have DJ sets in the evening in the rooftop bar, so if you’re hoping for an early night, this isn’t the place for you.

Gecko homestay, Moni – your options are limited for Kelimutu. This place was fine for me, but possibly a bit basic for most people on HfP! I was devastated that they didn’t have *ANY* milk, for tea in the morning. Not even UHT. I mean, WHY???

Ricky Cowboy’s Homestay – this was what you would expect, for less than £5 a night including breakfast. I struggled, especially with the bathroom facilities, which were also open air, but not in a good way. Koka beach is stunning enough that I wish I could have stayed for another couple of nights though. Genuinely, it was glorious. I just want to emphasise, once again, that the bathroom was not.

Manulalu Jungle and Bajawa – allow more time than I did. There are some wonderful sights to visit near Bajawa. Bear in mind it will take 8-9 hours to drive from Moni/Ende (more like 10 from Paga), and it’s another 8 hours or so to Labuan Bajo. I used it as an overnight stop, unaware that I would have no time to see anything. Stay for 3 nights, and see sunrise and sunset right next to Inerie from your stunning veranda (with daybed). I loved this hotel.

Menjaga Bay, Labuan Bajo – this was supposed to be a highlight of my trip, as I had booked a stunning room, and I was really looking forward to it. I got an absolute steal of an introductory offer, as when I booked, it had just opened, combined with a Gold Hotels.com discount. They clearly decided that the price I paid wasn’t enough for the room I booked, as they involuntarily downgraded me to a cheaper room, with no compensation whatsoever. Hotels.com were no help. I wouldn’t recommend, as you just can’t trust them to not pull a similar bait & switch.

Also – I do recommend staying around Labuan Bajo for a few days, to see Padar island, the Komodo dragons, Pink Beach and less Pink Beach, and to do some incredible snorkelling diving.

I’m sure I’ll think of other things to mention! I hope some of this is useful to someone.