A Tropical Island Getaway @ Camilla Resort & Villas, Gili Air, Indonesia

Escape to Gili Air and stay in one of the lovely villas at the small boutique hotel ‘Camilla Resort & Villas’!

Gili Air is one of three islands located north west of Lombok in Indonesia. It’s now been ten years since my last visit to Gili Air and returning to this exotic island to celebrate my birthday was the perfect time to return.  Continuing on from the birthday celebrations, we had a fantastic stay at Harmony Villas in Lombok and arranged a private transfer to Camilla Resort & Villas on Gili Air.  What makes the Gili islands unique, is that no motorised vehicles are supposedly permitted on the islands (although you may spot a few electric mopeds/scooters around).

The four star Camilla Resort offers villas built in a traditional architectural design, replicating the local houses ‘rumah gladak’.  The resort is surrounded by tropical palm trees and lush green vegetation and set back 350m from the beach to make you feel like you’ve totally escaped to paradise.  The resort is situated north of the island, away from the busy-ness of the harbour but very close to nearby eateries, coffee shops and boutique shops.  All these local spots are easily accessible by foot or by bike.

On arrival at the resort, we were greeted by the manager and his friendly team of staff.  A refreshing ginger drink was given to us during our check in – this was much welcomed after our journey from Lombok.  The manager explained the hotel facilities, breakfast times and payment was made.

Camilla Resort offers the following accommodation options:

• Superior villa with private pool
• One bedroom villa with private pool
• Deluxe bungalow with jacuzzi
• Beach bungalow
• Villa Putih – 3 bedroom villa

Villa Tosca

Since we arrived before the check-in time, we briefly waited at reception till our villa was ready.  We were led through a bamboo arch way down to our quaint one bedroom Villa Tosca.  As we opened the main doors, we entered the dimly lit bedroom decorated with simple wooden furnishings. Opening the wooden shutters allowed the natural light to brighten up the bedroom immediately.

The bathroom was very spacious with an open air shower and double sinks.  Complimentary toiletries and dressing robes were also provided.  Don’t you just love open air bathrooms?  The only thing you have to watch out for is the mossies when you make a trip to the bathroom at night. Ha ha!

What we loved was the private pool with super comfortable sun loungers.  Sitting outside enjoying the sunshine with a cool drink in hand couldn’t be more relaxing.  We made use of the pool to cool ourselves down from the tropical heat.  I’d highly recommend booking a villa with a private pool, to give you the option to relax by the pool if you didn’t fancy heading to the beach everyday.

Two bottles of complimentary water are available and replenished daily.  You can buy mineral water from the supermarkets and pop them in the fridge to keep them chilled as well.

Villa Facilities

• Air conditioning
• TV & DVD
• Mini bar
• Outside seating area
• Free Wi-Fi
• Fridge
• Kettle
• Hairdryer

Prior to arrival, we informed Camilla Resort that we required good Wi-Fi during our stay.  The staff gave us our own modem to ensure we had no problems with the Wi-Fi signal.

The staff also surprised me with a wonderful birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday to me as well.  So thoughtful!  The cake was absolutely yummy … soft vanilla sponge.  It was so good that Ian and I gobbled the entire cake in one day.

Breakfast at Camilla Resort 

Camilla Resort offer the guests the option to either have their breakfast in the restaurant above reception or at the beach club, anytime between 8-11am.  The first few day we sampled the breakfast at the restaurant, since it was only a few steps away from our villa. To reach the beach club, we used the complimentary hotel bicycles and cycled along the path towards the beach.  The beach club was only a couple of minutes away by bike.

The breakfast menu in the restaurant was identical to the one in the beach club.  There were various breakfast options available:

• Smoothie bowl with granola
• American breakfast
• Eggs Benedict
• Quesadilla filled with scrambled eggs, bakes beans, spinach and cheese

Some of the breakfast options came with a choice of fruit juice and either tea or coffee.

We found that the breakfasts at the beach club greatly differed to the restaurant.  Let’s just say we much preferred the breakfasts at the beach club.  The food at the beach club seemed of higher quality and presented really well.  Our favourite options were the smoothie bowl and the American breakfasts.  The breakfasts were of a good size and set us up for the rest of the day.

Tip: If you’re having breakfast at the beach club, inform the staff of your Villa name so they know you’re a guest at the resort.

Nearby restaurants we recommend visiting:

• Pachamama – an organic cafe located close to Camilla Resort, best reached by bike.  Ingredients used in the food are fresh and sourced from local farms.  The cafe offers yummy breakfasts to Nasi Goreng and burgers.
• Warung Sunny –  Indo fusion food only a short walk from the resort.  The restaurant does not sell alcohol.  Food was really good and at such an affordable price.

Location of Camilla Resort

Camilla Resort lies north of Gili Air and less than 400m from the sandy beach.  With the resort being away from harbour and north of the island, we didn’t hear the call to prayer during our stay.  From the harbour it’s only a 5 min bike ride or you can take a horse and cart (cidomo).  There are really good cafes and restaurants close to the resort offering fantastic local food.  If you’re a sunset lover, then make your way to the beach and there you’ll find a plethora of beach side bars.  So just find yourself a swing and swing away with cocktail in hand.

Hotel Services

Beach Club

Camilla Resort has a restaurant at the beach club, where you can sit back and relax on the colourful bean bags to watch the sun go down.  We only ate breakfast at the beach club, however the restaurant offers fresh seafood, sushi and Indonesian food.  You can’t miss the beach club, just listen out for the music and spot the pretty coloured bean bags and umbrellas!

Tip: Happy Hour is from 4 – 7pm

Bike Hire

There are free bikes to hire for the guests and these are parked right outside reception.  Do check the bikes before setting off as we found a couple of the bikes didn’t have very good brakes.  Also the bikes don’t have a light, so beware when cycling around the island at night.  Don’t worry about anyone stealing the bikes if you park them outside a cafe – each bike has the Camilla Resort on the front of the bike.

Tip: Bring a headtorch

Boat Tours

The staff at Camilla Resort can arrange private boat tours such as ‘sunset cruises’.  If these are a little pricey, group tours can also be organised for you and will be lighter on the pocket.  One trip we recommend is snorkelling around the Gili Islands and seeing ‘The Nest’ by Gili Meno.

Recommended boat trips:

• Gilis Snorkeling Day Trip
• Dive trip around the Gilis

Getting to Camilla Resort

From Bangsal harbour in Lombok, you can catch a private or public boat to Gili Air.  There’s also fast boat transfers available from Bali to Gili Air.   Camilla Resort arranged our private transfer from our hotel in Lombok to Gili Air, which included private car, speedboat and cidomo to the resort.  The journey took roughly two hours from door to door.

Price for private transfer to Camilla Resort: 1.200.000 IDR

Cost and How to Book the Villas

Price

From £50 a night.

Tip: There’s a 3% credit card fee

How to book

We booked via Booking.com.

Click for rates and availability

Overall, this was a lovely tropical getaway to Gili Air.  If you’re looking for somewhere to stay in Gili Air then book a villa at Camilla Resort.  The villas were cosy and we were able to escape the heat with a dip in the private pool.  Breakfasts by the beach were delicious, whilst listening to the sound of the waves and watching the boats go by. The staff were very helpful and friendly and made my birthday extra special with the surprise birthday cake.  The staff here do really go out of their way.  This resort is perfect for couples and families.

Have you visited Gili Air?  Where did you stay?

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