Gili Paddy Hotel

I chose this “luxury” resort as a birthday treat and stayed 12 nights, but I won’t return. For the price, even the low-season discount wasn’t remotely worth it. Construction in the room next door began at 7am for my first three days. The walls were so thin it sounded as if the work was happening in my room. I gave them the benefit of the doubt at first, then asked to move after day three. The next room was better, so I extended my stay by six more nights. My experience with the manager was poor. The first time he handled my laundry, he told me at pickup that he needed cash. I only had a card, but offered to go to an ATM. He was rude, and I told him he should have mentioned the cash requirement when I dropped it off. With a separate load, he came to my room and rudely told me it had been waiting all day and I had to collect it from reception immediately. On day seven, after I’d extended, he came by around 9-10pm and demanded 100k each time I charged my electric bike. I only charged it every other day, and there had been no issue during the first week. The first room looked nothing like the pictures. There was mold everywhere and peeling walls. The air conditioning wasn’t working when I arrived, was fixed, then broke again in the middle of the night the next day. I couldn’t reach anyone, so I slept outside on a chair because it was cooler than the room without a fan or AC. The three rooms by the pool are nice and quiet, with thicker walls, and Nona’s restaurant, which leads into the hotel, is lovely, with nice staff. Those are the positives. The place felt extremely unprofessional, the manager was rude, and I was very disappointed. There are many nicer, more affordable options around the island.