The Palm Grove

The service was great, and breakfast was really good. The location is great too, near Mushroom Bay. This is a cute boutique hotel split across two parts. The main-entry side has the bigger pool, while the restaurant side has a smaller one and is quieter. Rooms are large with comfy beds, and the bathroom is outdoors. Watch your step on the stones outside after rain, they get slippery. The aircon works well. The beds have nets, but the rooms aren't mosquito or insect proof. I wished there was a bin in the room, and there are no instructions there, which would've helped. Try to avoid villa 15 or 14. It's not so much the music from the bar across the road, but the rooster next door that starts crowing at 3am.

The villa was gorgeous, with an outdoor bathroom, a mosquito net over the bed, a minibar fridge, and a little porch with chairs and a table. There were two pools and a restaurant on site, where we had breakfast each day and dinner once. My cousin and I arrived at the last minute after I got really sick and needed somewhere more comfortable than our hostel to recover. Super took wonderful care of us. He even drove me on his scooter to retrieve the phone I’d left at the hostel, and arranged laundry despite it not being a hotel service. When we needed it back early to catch our boat to Gili T, he made sure we got it. He laughed along with our chaos and was so kind. All the staff were warm, smiling, and checked in on us. We felt really welcome and comfortable. For the price, the care was more than we could have hoped for, and I’d absolutely recommend staying here.

The beach is just a two-minute walk away, and it’s easy to get around the island from here. I liked how the villas were arranged around the pool, and the grounds looked very pretty. The rooms are spacious, though they could use refurbishment. The bathrooms are outdoors. The shower was fine for me, but I didn’t enjoy having an outside toilet. The on-site menu has very few vegan choices. Across the road there’s a restaurant with live music that ends at 10. There’s also another resort and a private residence sitting in the middle of this resort, which felt unusual.

Super is such a delight. He sorted out everything we needed with so much cheer and politeness, and it was lovely meeting him and getting a little of his way of being to take with us. The place is gorgeous, good value, and has two pools. It was quiet in January, which is just how we like it.