Artistic Sasak Houses, Luxurious Villas & Exotic Dinners at Hotel Vila Ombak Gili Trawangan

Stay in a traditional Sasak cottage

Hotel Vila Ombak is a complex of traditional wooden cottages and villas. If you want a different hotel experience, you may want to stay in the cottage (for 90 USD) due to its uniqueness. When you see their tall, steep and curved bamboo roof, you can tell that the cottages are designed like the traditional houses of Sasak’s tribe (a major tribe in Gili Trawangan and its mainland island of Lombok). These houses are called lumbung, which means barn for keeping food supplies (in the past, the tribe used to keep it on the second story).

Just like lumbung houses, the cottages also have two stories, but the second story is used as a room with its private bathroom. If you are staying on the second story, you will stay inside the curved bamboo roof and you will not see any concrete walls like on the ground floor. In addition, you have a chance of getting closer to nature, as you can see the sea and the surrounding islands of Gili Trawangan from your balcony.

Interior full of artistic ornaments

The interior is very unique. As the hotel design boosts a nature theme, the interior is dominated by wooden decorations. You’ll find the inside of the hotel filled with artistic furniture such as comfy wooden sofas or artistic local handicrafts such as small statues of Sasak’s farmers in the form of glass-holders.

Villas are available in different categories

Each villa (individual building with a living room and a bathroom) is available from 113 USD per night and like a cottage, each villa features artistic local ornaments and a garden view. However, book for an Akoya Pool Villa (278 USD) for a villa that has a backyard with a private swimming pool in it (it’s just 1 meter deep).

Just 100 meters from Gili Trawangan beach

From its name (Ombak means waves), you can guess that this hotel in located near a beach. Yes, that’s true! The hotel is conveniently located (just 100 meters) from the famous Gili Trawangan beach, the place where you will spend most of your daytime. Unlike beaches in Bali, the Gili Trawangan beach is much calmer, which is not unusual at all. Gili Trawangan is a small island in Lombok Strait and the distance between the beach to mainland Lombok is very close, hence the waves are naturally much calmer. This is very different from Bali’s popular beaches like Kuta and Sanur, which overlook the great Indian Ocean, where the waves are higher.

You can do many beach activities including touring the beach on a bike. You can do so by renting a bike from the hotel (1.20 USD per hour). For those who want to do diving, you can hire a boat from the beach where the boat will take you to several diving spots in the area. However, unlike on Bali beaches, you can’t surf here due to the calm waves.

Dine on a private beach

After a good day of being pampered by the beauty of Gili Trawangan beach, recharge your energy with delicious food in the restaurant hotel named Ombak Joglo restaurant (ombak: wave, joglo: an ancient Javanese house). The restaurant provides outdoor dining on its private beach. Every night, there is live entertainment (mostly Western music) held on the beach. So, when the weather is nice, it is best to enjoy your dinner on the beach.

The food won’t disappoint you either. There is a wide variety of food offered in the buffet as well as ala carte food to choose from the menu (Western and Asian, including Indonesian food). However, since you’re here, why not try Nasi Rawon (ala carte)? It’s rice served with a savory black beef curry and it’s black due to the oriental spice called kluwek. If you are not sure what to order, don’t hesitate to ask the waiters. They are all friendly and very attentive.