Nusa Lembongan, Bali, Indonesia
As you probably already know we like Lembongan a lot. This is my 5th visit here in 17 years and thankfully it hasn't change much in that time. If Lombok is Bali's brother, then Lembongan is most definitely it's cuter little sister, it's a beautiful part of the world.
Having stayed at Jungutbatu for two nights we were kindly invited along to be the first guests ever at Maharatu Villas nestled nicely in the middle of the island.
The location of Maharatu is great. Lembongan is very small and the resort is located up in the heart of the island with easy access to everything the island has to offer. Jungutbatu is a 10 minute ride away on the bike. Yellow bridge, sunset beach and the likes of secret beach are only 5 minutes away. It was a great place to be for a couple of nights.
Having made the short ride up from our lodgings at Jungutbatu we were warmly welcomed at Maharatu. The staff at the resort as with everyone in this area were both warm and welcoming. Big white toothed smiles greeted us as we parked the bike up and entered the resort. With our check-in complete we were show to our luxury villa.
The resort boasts 10 villas in total. Two rows of five face each other with a spacious garden in between. At the end of the garden is a large swimming pool then the restaurant/reception area beyond that.
The villas are your typical chic Bali style of bungalow. Sumptuous dark wood both inside and out. They have that lovely solid, natural feel about them that you get from this type of construction.
Each villa has it's own balcony out front for you to relax on and then a modern stylish open-air bathroom to the rear. Inside the dark homely wood has that luxurious feel to it and the room has everything you need. AC, a fridge, TV, wardrobes, kettle with complimentary tea and coffee, a desk and chair area, small safe for your valuables and last but not least a huge comfortable bed for you to stretch out on complete with mosquito net. We couldn't have asked for any more. Our stay at Maharatu was more than comfortable.
Both of the days we spent there we didn't venture far at all. Having been to Lembongan before we didn't feel the need to go off exploring and with facilities like these to enjoy we spent most of our time lazing around the pool. Taking a dip every now and then to cool off and generally enjoying the slow quiet pace of it all.
Lembongan isn't a massively built up island at all but you do still get some motor bike traffic particularly around the Jungutbatu area. Here, higher up in the middle of the island there is no traffic at all. No noise of bikes trundling past, just beautiful peace and quiet and blue skies as far as the eye can see. It really was a tranquil couple of days spent relaxing in comfortable surroundings. If your looking for somewhere a bit different to stay in Lembongan, away from the busier beach areas, then is in an ideal location to be. The only time we ventured out from the resort was late on an afternoon for a bite to eat and to watch the stunning sunsets that you get here.
As I mentioned earlier the resort is only a 5 minute ride away from the famous Yellow bridge. Yellow bridge links the two neighboring islands of Lembongan and Ceningan together. There are some great little restaurants that line the coast near the bridge and it's also one of the best spots for you to catch the amazing sunsets that you get here. The waterway that Yellow bridge spans is very shallow and when the sun heads down over Bali to the West all the amazing colours in the sky are reflected in the still waters. The sunsets here are some of the best we have experienced. The sky ablaze with a million shades of orange, purple and pink. It's truly breathtaking to experience.
Our time at Maharatu was so relaxed and it was easy to settle in to the tranquil slow pace of it all. We would gladly have stayed a lot longer if we could but with not long left on our visas it was time to move on. Hopefully we will get the chance to return again another time and enjoy more of this slice of quiet island life.
