Apit Lawang Villa & Dormitory — Hotel in Nusa Penida Subdistrict

Overbooked rooms, poor service recovery, run-down and unmaintained, dilapidated facilities, and overrun by pests and wild animals.

My friend and I booked Apit Lawang, with my friend due to arrive a day later. On the day she arrived, the staff realised the rooms were overbooked. They asked her to move to another accommodation that was further away from Apit Lawang, which would force her to incur additional transport costs because the dive shop we patronised was no longer within walking distance.

As we all wanted to stay together, we asked the staff if all of us could move to the other accommodation together, for the rest of our stay. Lo and behold, we were informed a day later that we would have to move back to Apit Lawang, as there were now rooms available. This resulted in us having to move twice, unnecessarily. When questioned, the staff got defensive and asked us to simply talk to the villa owner, when they had made the decision to allow our group of friends together.

Due to the multiple turnovers of customers, it seemed like the bed linen was not changed. Through a week's stay, I observed multiple turnovers of villa occupants, but did not catch sight of evidence of bedsheets being changed. The showerhead was extremely dirty and not cleaned (covered in moss), and the drainage was clogged, meaning the shower tray flooded while we were bathing. Doors were creaky, misaligned and had gaps in between, allowing any pests to enter the villa easily.

Lastly, pests and wild animals - rats were sighted in and around the villa. Gecko droppings were a nightly occurrence on our bed when we returned to the villa. At night, gnawing sounds were heard in the roof overhead - in the morning, leaf litter and rattan crumbles were found on the floor. Wild dogs were howling non-stop, as too cockerels crowing at all times of the day. And last but not least, so many wild birds had taken roost around the trees around the villa, that the incessant cacaphony of chirping in the morning woke us all up early. There was just no way to have a good night's sleep.

10/10 would not recommend this place, unless you want to test the limits of your patience and drive yourself to the brink of insanity, a la living in the jungle as in Joseph Conrad's Heart...

Did not have an enjoyable stay at Apit Lawang, bed sheet was dirty and there were lizard droppings from the roof, mosquito net given was not big enough to cover the entire bed. I saw a rat running on the roof at night while bathing in the open roof toilet, bathroom door was misaligned and was worried that the rat would enter the bedroom at night

On the 2nd night when our friend arrived, the staff told her that the rooms were overbooked and we had to be separated. They offered La Mogi as an alternative for us to stay together for the remaining 4 nights and it was atrocious when they ate their words, told us to move back to Apit Lawang after 1 night at La Mogi while lying to us that they did not tell us to stay at the other accomodation for the remaining 4 nights. Terrible customer service and experience at Apit Lawang, will not recommend anyone to stay here at all.

Dogs were howling on our first night in the middle of the night and we could not have a good night sleep, please save yourself some sanity and do not book here

Also water from the water cooler contains plastic chips and has a weird taste to it. Please do not drink and buy your own bottled water from the convenience store 20 mins away.

I guess the only happy thing I could mention was that they have a mini fridge at the reception which you can buy your beer and store any...

Thank you so much Apit Lawang for my amazing stay in Nusa Penida! This place really felt like home, the staff were honestly the most friendly, playful and welcoming people you could come across. I always got excited coming home after a day of diving or exploring to say hi to the staff and hang out for a bit. This place has the most delicious free breakfast - banana pancakes were my favourite! This place as it’s in nature you can expect a gecko here and there but as like most places in Bali we are surrounded by tropical nature and in these animals are a part of it. Don’t let that frighten you away from having the most warm and welcoming time at Apit Lawang. Thank...