LAZING IN LOMBOK - QUNCI VILLAS, FEBRUARY 2016

Sometimes you just need a vacation place where you can totally relax and re-charge. This Chinese New Year break saw us doing just that at the lovely Qunci Villas located on Mangsit Beach, very close to Senggigi in Lombok, Indonesia.

Lombok is the so called "little sister" to the Indonesian island of Bali.  In fact, from our spot on the sun lounger, we could just about see the outline of Bali across the Bali Sea.  Much quieter and less touristy than Bali, Lombok was the perfect choice for five days of total rest and relaxation.

Of course there is plenty to do if you so choose.  The Gili Islands for example are a short boat 45 minute boat ride from the Hotel, we saw the outrigger style boats heading off daily from Mangsit Beach. 

There is also a Pottery Village and aWeaving Village, along with other beaches to explore and hikes into the mountains to discover waterfalls.  However, for this trip, we just wanted to "stay put", relax and do nothing.

We had chosen Qunci Villas mainly from Tripadvisor reviews, we booked our stay directly through the resort.  It was in our price point, and we liked the fact that it was only a short 10 minute taxi ride into the town of Sengiggi should we wish to head off the property for dinner.  It is just under an hour's drive from the airport Qunci Villas, we had pre-arranged transport through the resort, which made everything so much easier.  The barrage of taxi drivers waiting outside the terminal was pretty overwhelming, so we were relieved that we had done so.

one of the three pools, this one being the adults only pool

MANGSIT BEACH IF FRONT OF THE PROPERTY

VIEW FROM THE HOTEL RECEPTION

QUALI - THE SEAFOOD RESTAURANT

There are a few different room options, all of the rooms and villas are named and start with the letter Q.  We elected to stay in the one bedroomed pool villa, which afforded a little more quiet and privacy.  The Ocean View rooms are obviously closer to the beach, and have a view or partial views of the Ocean, but along with it comes more noise from the pool areas and the restaurants.  A garden view is another option.  There are also 3 options for accommodation situated on the Mangsit Hill, a little above the main property.  Here there is a two story, One Bedroomed Luxury Villa, a Two Bedroomed Villa, and the very ultimate of luxury, a Three Bedroomed villa.

For those wondering if this is a "kid friendly" resort, we did see families during our stay.  There are no kid facilities as such, water slides, playgrounds etc.  Some of the older kids we saw had a great time surfing in the ocean, fairly gentle waves but a safe entry from the black sandy beach in front of the resort. Other than that it is just the pool.

PARTIAL OCEAN VIEW ROOMS, CLOSE TO QALI RESTAURANT

Our Villa was almost at the back of the property, the last villa before the road, so we did get a little bit of road noise but nothing that disturbed us.  It was a very short walk down a lovely path to our "gate".

Welcome to Qembang (Flower) - our One Bedroom Villa with Private Pool

Our private, one room pool villa had it's own enclosed garden and pool.  Complete with two sun loungers and an outdoor seating area, it was blissfully peaceful.  The property does get "fogged" for mosquitos once a week, and they will leave a note in your room giving advance notice.

A BEAUTIFUL FRUIT PLATTER IN THE ROOM. I HAD NEVER SEEN SNAKE FRUIT BEFORE

Our bedroom had a King bed which was very comfortable with lovely linens.  The room had air conditioning, along with complimentary wifi and interesting art throughout.  Take note - there are no TV's in the rooms at Qunci, although we did see some staff carrying TV's one day and upon enquiry were told that you could request a television if you really couldn't live without one.  There was a safe and a small fridge, bottled water is provided free of charge both in your room and throughout the property..  The closet space if fairly minimal, but we managed fine.

The bathroom was partially open air.  It was the first time I had experienced a bathroom with an actual open air shower.  The staff come and spray each night for bugs so no worries there. 

The pathway from our villa towards the pools, restaurants and beach.

There are 3 restaurants on the Property, Quali the Seafood restaurant, Quah the  Mediterranean and the pool bar/restaurant called Nooq.  Breakfast is included in the price of your room and can be taken at any of the restaurants or in your room, the choice is yours.  It is not buffet style, rather a choice from a menu, but it was extensive and had items to suit most Nationalities.  A fresh fruit plate was served to you before your breakfast every day which was really lovely.  There are also some seats facing the ocean which are a great spot to enjoy your breakfast, or to settle down in the evening with a cocktail and watch the sun go down.

We found the food to be really good, lots of food choices, western and asian on offer.  The wait staff were certainly super helpful and friendly and we really enjoyed the service.  The prices were also pretty good, considering you are in a boutique resort. Then again, having experienced food and drink prices in Singapore, nothing can be as bad in comparison.  The only thing I missed was a room service menu in the room, or even a booklet showing the menus of the restaurants.  You could however just either call the restaurant to place an order, or as I did one evening (hubby not feeling so well),  popped to the restaurant, ordered and they delivered to the room.

During our stay, there were also a couple of "themed dining" evenings, but you can just dine from the regular menu if these evenings are not your thing.

GREEN CUSHIONED SEATS FACING THE OCEAN, PERFECT FOR BREAKFAST OR AN EARLY EVENING COCKTAIL

interesting cocktails on the menu

NOOQ POOL BAR, SERVING MAINLY THAI FOOD

shrimp papaya salad

Quali Restaurant to the left, and Quah to the right

beef kuey teow

OUR BREAKFAST SPOT AT QUAH

HARD TO RESIST PLAYING WITH MY BREAKFAST FRUIT PLATE

SETTLING IN TO WATCH THE SUN GO DOWN

COULD ANYTHING BE MORE PERFECT

There are three infinity pools on the property, one was an adults only pool, and one was a non smoking pool.  The adults only pool is right in front of the Nooq bar.  Fantastic sun loungers and a great view of the ocean, a perfect spot to relax.  We never had a problem finding a sun lounger, even though the resort was pretty full during our stay.

From our  sun loungers, we were able to view not only the fabulous Lombok Straights, with Bali in the distance, but also the "daily entertainment".  Vendors selling sarongs, souvenirs and touting for boat trips walked by daily along the beach in front of the pools.  A lot of displaying of goods to entice you over, but they do not constantly shout out to you, so it is not too disruptive.  They are not allowed to step onto the property, so you must venture towards them - if you are brave.  If you show interest, you are immediately surrounded by the pack, so be prepared to negotiate (and possibly run).  I had to take my husband with me for back up haha!!  We did venture into Sengiggi one afternoon to look around the Art Market, the sarongs there appeared to be far cheaper than buying from the beach, but maybe not so much fun!!!  

vendors on the beach, almost became a contact sport!!

For those wishing to indulge in spa treatments, Qamboja Spa, is located right on the property.  My husband and I had a massage which was incredible.  I would recommend booking your spa treatments as soon as you arrive, as they seemed to book up really fast.  There were a few ladies on the beach if you preferred a less zen, and less Indonesian Rupiah massage experience.  Although in truth, we did not find the prices at the spa to be totally outrageous.

QAMBOJA SPA RECEPTION

A SMALL SAMPLE OF THE SPA MENU

WELCOME DRINK ON ARRIVAL AT THE SPA

There were some beautiful, unique and interesting art works and sculptures dotted around the property grounds, and in the rooms.

For more detail on the interesting art works to be found at Qunci, and the concept behind the resort, please click on the link here to read more, the owner, Scott Coffey has certainly done a fantastic job in making this a really beautiful place to relax.  Some of the photos on the link do far more justice to the resort as a whole than I ever could, so please, CLICK HERE, scroll down through the 100 online pages, you will see what I mean.

I am very excited about the artistic ambiance we have created at Qunci Villas. The magnificent design reflects and honors its tropical location – a sunny beach on Lombok Island, Indonesia. But it is the depth of the complementary art forms that makes a trip to our island – and Qunci Villas – such a uniquely inspirational experience. SCOTT COFFEY Owner, Qunci Villas

The name Qunci comes from the Indonesian word kunci, which means “key”. Everything at Qunci has been Q’ed: Qing, Queen, Qozy, Quali, Quah, NooQ … All part of the distinctive Q signature.

​                                                                                          Courtesy of Qunci Villas

So very fortunate and blessed to have been able to experience this restful idyl.  Watching the sunset in the evening was certainly a highlight, and one I highly recommend.  Such a short hop from Singapore, it is definitely a great place to head to for a long weekend of "doing nothing".

Itslynnykansas was not compensated in any way for this review.  All content, photos and opinions are expressly the writers own, unless otherwise stated.  All content is provided "as is" and is for informational purposes only. The writer of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site.  The writer will not be liable for any losses, damages or injuries from the use of this information.

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