Ponte Villas — Hotel in Gili Trawangan

We had a very pleasant stay at pointe villas in September 2024.

Pros :

Great location, tucked away far enough from the hustle and bustle of the Main Street but only a a couple minutes walk to get you to the restaurants , shops etc. . They also have a very nice little beach area with bar & food service.

The rooms are well appointed with all the amenities one could ask for. All the rooms have direct pool access. The beds are comfortable and the AC works very well. Only issue in the room is the bed frame juts out quite a bit and it’s really easy to hit your legs on the side (a very painful mistake we made a few times). The staff were kind enough to give us an upgrade for our first night!

Staff are overall very friendly and hospitable.

The food is surprisingly good , had several meals at the hotel. Caesar Salad was one of our favourites along with the iced tea. They also have a beach BBQ in the evenings, good choices there.

The public areas are beautiful , very nice landscaping.

All areas of the hotel are squeaky clean.

Cons :

Breakfast needs a lot of improvement.

It’s a la carte and the food + service were both inconsistent. The staff tried their best but they need more training in service. Some days we got our fruit and bread basket first (as it’s supposed to be) , other days we would have to ask for it. Sometimes food came cold , sometimes the staff would forget parts of the order. We didn’t know till the second day that you can order one sweet item as well.

Breakfast service needs to be looked at by the management.

While the restaurant food was good, the billing is very unprofessional. They give you a small hand written receipt to sign without any price listed.

Charging IDR 50,000 per bicycle per day is a bit cheeky. These should honestly be complimentary. Also, the bicycles aren’t in great condition , the first ones we got seats were worn down till the metal at the bottom, other bikes the brakes were very weak.

Check out time at 11am : this is ridiculous , you’re on a holiday on an island and you have to rush to check out in time.

A few side notes NOT related to the hotel but Gili Trawangan :

The fast boat from Bali is very rough, be prepared to get sea sick. They actually start handing out vomit bags during the boat ride.

There are no motorised vehicles on the island and you have to use a horse cart to get your luggage across to the hotel. The horse cart riders were honestly some of the rudest people we’ve ever met. IDR 100,000 to travel 500 meters and they show a lot of attitude. Ubud has a taxi mafia but the horse cart mafia on Gili T is just another level of ripping people off.

Once again, the two points above are not related to the hotel but something you will most likely encounter when...

No hot water shower- |We booked a private villa which has 2 bedrooms, we are a family of 4. |No hot water on day 2 when we returned tired from an entire day at the beach. They put on the heater and we had to wait 45 mins before the water turned hot.|We thought this was a one off and shrugged it off, but guess what? |On our day of departure (we stayed for 4 days) we had to rush to leave for our ferry and lo and behold no hot water in the shower again!! |This time I called the manager and complained! He was polite but I realize they save money by using the heater intermittently and the morning shift guy did not realize we were checking out early. We were told to walk 50 meters to the other part of the hotel to take a shower!! |2. Bad location - |Another big con is that the rooms are quite a walk from the entrance at the street. This could be an issue if you are tired late in the evening or if you have young kids or elders. We saw many hotels which are closer, best to choose something away from the centre i.e. the night market but also not too far away in the north of the island. Look for locations 5-10 mins walk from the market in the direction towards pink coco Lounge bar. If you just a couple and wanna relax the northern end near turtle beach would be ideal but it’s a good 20 mins cycle ride to the center. |3. 100% advance payment on check in! |They are the only villa in Indonesia (we are from Singapore and travel often to Bali) that takes the entire payment in advance! I was quite surprised but just agreed as we had no choice, so now there is no question of any adjustment in payment for the bad service due to the 100% advance payment! |The staff is very polite and nice but the management is trying to save money thats all.|We paid 350 usd per night for this villa and both wife and me were very, very disappointed. |I would avoid this tourist trap for sure, but Gili is beautiful and the beaches and...

from being picked up at the harbor by a hotel representative.|Placed on a horse drawn carriage and brought to the beautiful grounds.|This spot is away enough from the Big party vibe .. yet close enough to walk or cycle to the party.. The staff is warm and very helpful. The complimentary breakfast has many choices and everything is fresh and delicious..|the rooms are little Villas not connected to each other and the room has a queen sized bed ..couch .. plenty of shelves and hanging closets. Complimentary robe and slippers for your stay. Everyday 2 complimentary bottles of water are delivered to your room too. Also the staff places fresh flower petals in your room each day. smells soooooo lovely..|The bathroom is part open roof plan which is amazing as you shower under the sky,yet nobody can look in😉|their is nice long pool right when you |walk outside,two cushion seats on your own patio and your own cushion rope swing. The hotel offers a spa with massages at a reasonable price..|I had the 60 minute Balinese style..|my only glitch there was . The girl just couldn’t apply the pressure I wanted..|yet it was very clean and the masseuse was very sweet..|you can also rent a bicycle at a very low rate too…|The city doesn’t have motored vehicles of only kind.. bicycles and horse drAwn carriages…|Ponte Villas also has there own space directly across from them on the beach|with tables to dine at |and chairs to kick back and soak up the sun and the jump into the crystal blue warm water…|I highly recommend this place !!|Price,cleanliness,staff,comfort of rooms ,|interior design of room and outdoor architecture ,generous complimentary breakfast make this gem in Gili a must to vacation at|hard leaving the spot….|a...