Lombok, A Halal Tourism Destination

A Short Trip to Lombok: Visiting Mommy Duty Station 

I planned not to return home this month due to hectic schedule, instead, I arranged the children and their dad, my mom, the assistant to have a belated short Summer Break to my Duty Station in Lombok. This was the second time for the boys to take a trip by plane, 2 years ago they went to Bali to attend my husband's cousin wedding in Seminyak. Whilst, for our little girl, this trip was her first time taking the Sayap (Wings; means Plane):), same with the assistant.

Arrived at Lombok International Airport

The beasties boys :)

My family took the afternoon low-cost carrier from Jakarta, and arrive in Lombok by evening. I booked Aston Inn Mataram (https://www.astonhotelsinternational.com/en/hotel/view/14/aston-inn-mataram) for a night, in spite of this hotel is not recommended by UNDSS due to direct access to the main road and frail construction (we were at 7th floor and stayed in Superior and Deluxe Room) as you can feel the building shaking when the vehicles were crossing the road. 

As for Superior Room, there was nothing special to be reviewed. It is a standard room like in other Aston's branch hotel. While for the Deluxe Room, the space is quite wide and it also has a balcony that has the view of the pool bar. We stayed in this room with 3 kids. The sofa has to be taken out as the sofa leg is brokenly hidden (we notice it when our kids sat in the sofa), and we requested for an extra bed that cost IDR 250k, which is sturdy enough yet quite small. Both rooms cost in total IDR 1m, including breakfast, which I considered is quite pocket-friendly for family accommodation.

The Deluxe Room in Aston Inn Mataram

Superior Room in Aston Inn Mataram

The breakfast package provided various kind of foods from Locals to American Breakfast. I always love the American Breakfast. The best thing about breakfast is that they also served donuts, cake, and other sweets. In their coffee shop, they had a promotion of IDR 9,9K for hot or cold coffee, which I think the quality of the coffee is quite fair, yet for the non-coffee lovers, the coffee acidity is quite high. In overall I will give this hotel rank 7 out of 10.

From Mataram, we stayed 2 nights in Aruna Senggigi Hotel (https://arunasenggigi.com/) and booked connecting Deluxe Rooms. The rooms are bigger compared to Aston Inn and it has Seaview. What I loved about this hotel room is that it has balcony and clothes drying rack where you can dry your swimming suit, kids clothes, and towels. The Twin Beds is quite large and it fits for both parents and 3 kids. The total costs for 2 Deluxe connected Rooms for 2 nights were IDR 2,4m.

Deluxe Room Type in the Main Building

This hotel also has its own private beach, hill, and glass swimming pool. The kids had a great time and so much fun, we did not even think to sightsee, as the facilities in the hotel are complete. Senggigi is located in West Lombok which is considered prone to earthquake and tsunami. Amongst other hotels in this area, only Aruna Senggigi Hotel that has its own hill that is functioned as jogging track, or relaxing...yet in emergency situation, this hill is functioned as escape site or safe haven. This is also one of the considerations of why we chose Aruna as our main accommodation.

Jose and Jonathan pose with the Hill in the background

Let talks about the hotel's Private Beach which also has Seaview Restaurant. The beach might not be a sandy white or cristal clear, it is a bit dirty yet it is coral free. I think Hotel Management should put some trash bins and develop Ocean Clean Up activity for the guest, which is surely will give added value for the hotel. 

Baby Joanna plays sandcastle with Mommy

The boys are waiting for Aquaman to resurface

As for the foods in the Seaview Restaurant, surprisingly they were quite good and affordable. We spent IDR 640k for foods and meals for 4 adults and 3 kids. The menu is quite variant, we order a salad, 2 portions of chicken breast (@IDR 30k), 1 portion of the chicken leg (@IDR 30k), Chicken Slice with Orange Sauce (@ IDR 38k), 1 seafood combo, juices, tea, and beer. I definitely would recommend you to order their Chicken with Orange Sauce, which is chicken breast slices with thick orange sauce. 

Chicken leg and chicken breast with rices

Beef Quesadilla...a quite portion for single serving

The restaurant has an indoor and outdoor sink and bathrooms, yet I would recommend you to bring extra clothes and a towel if you decide to play at the beach. The bathrooms are quite modest and a bit dirty. The restaurant does not have its own kitchen, the foods come from Pandan Restaurant inside the hotel. Another restaurant inside the hotel which is good, yet a bit noisy with the live music, would be the Rooftop Cafe. We ordered 2 Cap CayVegetables/Chinesse Stir Mix Veggies (@ IDR 40k), 1 chicken Breast (@IDR 30K), Aruna Salad (@IDR 40k), Beef Quesadilla (@ IDR 40k), and Supreme Club Sandwich (@ IDR 42k), beef, and mineral water with total cost IDR 440k. We learned that the beverages, except beer in this hotel, is pricey and the taste is not that good, the juices were too watery. As for the food, I would recommend you to try its Supreme Club Sandwich and Beef Quesadilla. It was worthwhile to wait these foods arrive in our table.

The Rooftop Cafe Menu

Now, let talks about the fun part of the swimming pool. It is a glass pool, which is crystal clear, and the chlorine in the pool is friendly enough not to make your hair frizzy or itchy. The kids spent nearly half-day in the pool and rarely went outside. Only few people hung out in the people, a couple and an old man, so it was a bit serenity.

In overall, I would give 9 out of 10 for this hotel and would for sure recommend this hotel as Friendly Hotel for Kids and Adult. To make you stay memorable, kindly contact Ms Miranti Dewi in +6281246483000 that will assist you to plan your gateway in Lombok.

Caio Lombok and Mi Familia, next destination would be....MALANG