Gili Asahan Eco Lodge & Restaurant — Hotel in Gili Asahan

We recently spent six fantastic nights at Gili Asahan Eco Lodge, and it was the perfect retreat for our family of six (my wife, four kids, and myself). We were looking for a peaceful break in between a busy itinerary in Lombok and Bali, and this place exceeded every one of our expectations. The entire atmosphere was simply wonderful, and we're already dreaming of our next visit!||Accommodation: Thoughtful design and sustainable |We stayed in the Jungalow and Jungle huts, and they were simply amazing. The quality and craftsmanship were outstanding, with every detail thoughtfully designed using natural, local resources. It’s clear that a lot of love and care went into building them. We've experienced glamping before, but the huts at Gili Asahan have truly set a new standard for us. We particularly appreciated the commitment to eco-friendly hospitality, from the lack of hot water to the conscious choice not to change sheets every day. It all felt very natural and authentic to the resort's values.||Dining at the nautilus: Fresh, friendly and delicious|The Nautilus restaurant is an absolute gem with a truly lovely atmosphere. You can choose to have your meals with your feet in the sand right by the beach or at the proper tables inside. The menu offers great value for money, and the food was consistently fantastic, from perfectly cooked fresh fish to delicious meats, pasta and pizza (which is always good for the kids during a long trip). The fruit juices and milkshakes were a huge hit with the kids—they were the best we had on our entire trip! The best part was how at home we all felt; our kids were very comfortable to walk up from the beach to place their own orders. On our last day, we had a very early departure, but the staff had already prepared fantastic packed lunches for us. It was such a kind and thoughtful gesture!||Beach bliss & exciting Activities|The beach at Gili Asahan is a beautiful spot to relax and play. The resort provides paddles and kayaks for guests to use, which was a fantastic way to explore the lovely reefs nearby. For a more laid-back experience, the daybeds are a perfect place to read a book while keeping an eye on the kids. A small but important tip for other travelers: the beach does have a lot of coral at low tide, so bringing beach shoes is a great idea to protect your feet! We also organized a diving trip through the on-site center, which was excellent.||The heart of the lodge: The incredible Staff|What truly makes Gili Asahan so special is its staff. From the restaurant team to the front desk, everyone was incredibly kind and caring. Ilda at the reception desk was a highlight—she greeted us by name every single day, which is a level of personalized service I've only ever experienced in very places. They made us feel like part of the family from the moment we arrived and went out of their way to help us organize our ferry transfer to Bali.||After a busy trip trekking in the north, our stay at Gili Asahan was the perfect next step. It will forever be the best place we stayed during our three-week tour of Indonesia. It's a beautiful, eco-conscious resort with a wonderful, friendly staff and incredible value for money. We can't...

Gili asahan is a real paradise, unspoilt and quiet. Exactly what we wanted and the best way to explore the Gili islands. |We stayed in a bale with a private bathroom, which is a lovely way to experience the island. We were taken with the hermit crabs around our room at night! Nature is everywhere and truly embraced here. Snorkelling out the front of the hotel is great, even turtles come right up close to the shore. Lodge has been styled very well, it is gorgeous. We loved the boutique, a great way to showcase Indonesian products. We also really enjoyed the yoga offerings and the general relaxed feel of the place. Sustainability is really lived here - such as the heating water in pipes via the sun and solar panels. Plus the Kids of Asahan initiative, which we brought some supplies for. ||We so wanted to give it a 5/5, for us it was so almost there but there was one thing that we couldn’t get past. The restaurant, despite having great quality food, seemed to be a departure from the sustainability goals of the lodge. The menu was large, showcasing Italian cuisine (which was different, but we did enjoy this). However, there was a lot of beef on the menu - which is something which has a negative impact on the earth as a big contributor to climate change. This felt a little odd at an eco lodge! There was also large fish, such as tuna, which we were concerned about the sustainability of. We didn’t see any mention of where the sea food was coming from and what was locally caught. This was a bit disappointing as the fishing industry can be extremely damaging. More info on supply chain for the restaurant would be great, it would be nice to know what is local. I also didn’t think that the menu offered many exciting plant-based options - choices included pesto or chilli pasta, curry or other local veg options. Breakfast was also limited for vegans. Plant-based options are usually more sustainable so it was a shame to not see this better catered for at an eco lodge. The quality of the food was good, staff were friendly and helpful but we struggled a little with some of the sustainability concerns which I think could be addressed better.||We’d also like to encourage more signage around collecting rubbish from the beach. We collected a bag full, which can be handed in at reception in exchange for a free drink (not why we did it, but a nice incentive). However, we noticed that most guests didn’t seem bothered by the rubbish. We were saddened to see so much washing up and wanted to do our bit to help. Perhaps more signs could encourage other guests to think about this also? Maybe some general information would encourage learning also. ||Overall, it was a very positive experience and we’d highly recommend it! Sustainability is clearly important to the team and you can see that in almost everything they do, we just think there’s still some room for improvement where the restaurant...

For me this stay was all about expectation management. We came that day from lonely Maumere and a stunning stay there. So I have to admit, I was a little overwhelmed, how many people were having dinner at the restaurant. Gili Asahan is a small island south of Lombok, easy to reach via fast boat from Bali. We came by plane and arranged with the Lodge for a driver to pick us up, which worked out fine as well. In the island there are a few lodges as well as a local village, however if you are not keen to get to know the local staff or the Kids of Asahan, this place makes it easy to stay with the tourists. The lodge is making a good effort to entertain its guests, with free snorkeling gear, SUPs and kayaks as well as board games, horses, a yoga platform and bonfire in the evening. I read in a few other comments, that they got the feeling of Robinson Crusoe and in the beginning I also thought so. We had a bale for ourselves, which is basically a bed with a roof, a mosquito net and optionally privacy blinds to roll down. There is running water, but cold in the morning and salty. On the other hand, the restaurant offers a wide variety of Italian dishes and a few Indonesian dishes as well.

What really stood out for me was the extremely kind and welcomming staff, who really tried to make our stay as comfortable as possible. With just a few words in bahasa Indonesia, they were already very happy and always joking around with us. The German owner Jana also seemed to enjoy having us, which just feels nice as a guest and I would recommend to also check out her Kids of Asahan project and if possible to contribute to it!

All in all, I think this is definetly worth a stay if you want to enjoy some relaxing time in a not so touristy place and for us it was the perfect transition time from adventureous Flores to touristy Bali. Thank you for the...