Jeeva Klui - Best Hotel in Indonesia?

Last fall we had the pleasure of visiting Indonesia with my sister and decided to spend the last part of our trip in Lombok and the Gili Islands. Tragically, Indonesia was struck by a series of earthquakes and subsequent tsunami just prior to our arrival, leading us to cancel our reservation in the Gili’s due to damage to our hotel and travel advisories. However, we kept our reservation at Jeeva Klui on Lombok, and looking back are so grateful we did as we had an amazing stay at what is surely one of the loveliest hotels in Lombok. Apparently other people agree because Jeeva Klui has been awarded as one of the top 25 hotels in Indonesia almost every year since 2012.

Location

Lombok is an approximately two hour ferry ride east of the island of Bali, but receives far less tourists/attention than its neighbor. However, Lombok has a lot to offer from snorkeling, surfing, and scootering, to visiting Rinjani National Park and day trips to the three stunning Gili Islands located just off Lombok’s west coast. Jeeva Klui is located on Lombok’s west coast just 25 minutes from the town of Mataram, where we arrived by ferry. While Jeeva Klui was happy to arrange transport for us from the ferry terminal, we ended up just hailing a cab when we arrived and quite enjoyed the drive up the coast past open fields, groves of coconuts, and lots of empty beaches. When we reached Jeeva Klui, it was fenced off from the road with a modest entrance, which made the sight that spread out before us all the more dramatic as we stepped through the gate: expansive lawns, flowering trees, and coconut palms flanking a gorgeous pool and basically private beach.

Accommodations

Jeeva Klui offers a range of accommodations, from garden view and beachfront suites to two story villas with private pools. We chose one of the garden view suites and the staff made up a lovely extra bed in our’s so that Justin, myself, and my sister could stay. Even though we were in a garden view suite, we could still see the ocean from our porch and were no more than a 30 second walk from the beach. Our room was beautiful, with an expansive porch, four poster bed, inlayed double doors leading to the bathroom, bespoke personal care products, beautiful woven bathrobes, and an outdoor rain shower in a little garden. One of the best things about Jeeva Klui is its dedication to responsible tourism and environmental stewardship, reflected in their use of recycled materials throughout the resort, refillable glass water bottles in the rooms to reduce waste, and their standing as one of the only hotels on Lombok that uses recycled water for their gardens.

*What the rooms with pools look like! Photo credit: Booking.com*

Activities

Jeeva Klui has really gotten pared down luxury right. While some resorts try (and sometimes succeed) to dazzle with an endless array of activities, Jeeva Klui focuses on a few key activities, mostly aimed at extreme relaxation, and as a result does them very well.

Beach - Jeeva Klui is located on Klui Beach, and while it’s not a private beach, it feels like it because it’s fairly secluded and doesn’t share the beach with any other hotels. A reef just off shore keeps thing along the beach pretty calm, and the sand is soft, fine, and almost white. My sister and I went beach combing almost every day during our stay and found a huge variety of beautiful shells and sand dollars, maybe because of the nearby reef. While there are a lot of rocks in the water along the beach, we found a perfect sandy swimming area at the very end of the beach by the yoga platform.

Pool - Jeeva Klui has two pools: a nearly 25 meter communal infinity pool looking out over the ocean surrounded by a gorgeous timber deck, and an adults only pool in the spa area. We ended up spending all our pool time at the infinity pool so we could enjoy the amazing ocean views. There were ample loungers and even some sofas around the pool for relaxing. One thing to keep in mind if you’re planning to visit with children is that water toys and flotation devices (aside from those attached to children) are not allowed in the communal pool.

Library - I’ve stayed at a few hotels with libraries and Jeeva Klui’s was by far the best I’ve seen for a number of reason. First of all, there was the view. Two of the library’s walls were floor to ceiling glass that provided wonderful views of the ocean. Second was the design. A beautiful hardwood floor, luxurious throw rug, framed black and white photos, a floral centerpiece, telescope, desk, and ample seating inside and on the library’s veranda facing the ocean. Then there were the games. Chess and checkers sitting out on the tables and board games in drawers and cupboards, which we thought was a lovely idea, especially since it rained a lot during our visit. Last and most importantly, Jeeva Klui’s library actually embraces its title and provides a lot of books for its guests compared to other hotel library’s I’ve visited. Two shelves and the cupboard below them full of books in fact, with plenty I was interested in reading.

Dining - Jeeva Klui has one restaurant located on the oceanfront verandah overlooking the swimming pool, the beach, and the ocean beyond. The restaurant is open air and offers a casual dining experience where guests can enjoy a selection of Western, Indonesian and Asian dishes inside the restaurant, at tables under the Banyan tree on the outdoor dining verandah, or on the beachfront deck. Breakfast was included in our rate and involved choosing items off of a simple menu. We particularly enjoyed the warm pastry basket that came with our breakfast each morning. Guests can also partake in a complimentary daily afternoon tea service at the restaurant offering a selection of snacks with a choice of coffee or tea. Aside from breakfast, we only ate a couple of other meals at the restaurant as there weren’t terribly many vegetarian options to choose from and though the prices were pretty average for that caliber of hotel, we preferred to walk to town and find something cheaper. Since they only have one restaurant, Jeeva Klui offers free transportation to the restaurant at their sister hotel Jeeva Santai for those who require more variety.

Spa - Jeeva Klui offers a mix of traditional Indonesian spa therapies, like Javanese massages and coffee wraps, and Western and Asian offerings in rooms overlooking the Lombok Strait and mountains of Bali for a truly luxurious and restorative experience. Or at least I imagine it is. We didn’t actually do any spa treatments during our stay, but reviews by guests who have are very positive. The spa pavilion is adults only and features updated spa amenities, new massage and manicure rooms, a cold pool and sauna.
Fitness Center & Yoga - Jeeva Klui recently opened a beautiful fitness center that despite its small size has a nice mix of new cardio and strength training equipment. A personal trainer and one-on-one assistance are available. Jeeva Klui also offers one hour complimentary yoga sessions for all ability levels every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 8:00 am in one of the gardens or at the yoga deck overlooking the beach. Guests are encouraged to sign-up at least 24 hrs in advance. Their yoga teacher focuses on the Angsana style.

Staff

The staff at Jeeva Klui were superb. They were some of the loveliest most accommodating people we’ve had the pleasure of interacting with during our travels. For example, my sister had purchased some woven baskets she was worried about getting through customs in Australia, so we asked the front desk if they knew where we could purchase something to varnish the baskets. Instead, they offered to send one of their maintenance crew to our room with a container of clear lacquer they used for maintaining their bamboo furniture. We headed back to our room and about ten minutes later a member of their maintenance staff showed up and, even though we told him multiple times we could do it ourselves so as not to waste his time, proceeded to varnish all the baskets for us. A real example of above and beyond service!

Things To Keep In Mind

Jeeva Klui is located about half an hour north of the town of Mataram, so don’t expect to walk out the door and be surrounded by food and shopping. We did go out walking looking for food multiple times and found a few restaurants and mini marts about a mile away. There were a couple of restaurants that were closer but they were closed during our entire visit.
Lombok has some gorgeous white sand beaches like Tanjung Aan and Mawun and the well known surfing beach of Kuta, all of which are located on the busy southern tip of the island - a 1.5-2 hour drive from Jeeva Klui. If visiting those places is key for you, you probably want to look for accommodations in the southern part of the island.
If you’re keen to visit the Gili Islands, Jeeva Klui is actually a great location as the islands are just a skip and a hop north of Jeeva Klui. The front desk can help you arrange transportation to the islands or you can head to Mataram and catch one of the ferries.
If you’re a foodie, Jeeva Klui may not offer enough variety for you since they only have one restaurant with a modest sized menu. Do keep in mind though that Jeeva Klui offers free transportation to the restaurant at their sister hotel Jeeva Santai, and The Kliff Bistro at the beautiful Katamaran Resort is just 10 minutes walk down the road.
If you’re looking for a resort for your young family, Jeeva Klui may not be for you. The vibe is definitely more adult centered with things like an adult only pool and spa and a no pool toys allowed policy at the communal pool. We didn’t see any children during our visit. With that being said, Jeeva Klui does not discourage families from visiting on their website and simply states that families may be more comfortable booking one of their pool villas where children can play as they please in the villa’s private pool.

Final Verdict

Jeeva Klui is a stunning resort on a beautiful stretch of practically private beach that is guaranteed to provide you with some seriously luxurious relaxation. If sleek sophistication is your thing, you’ll love it same as us.

Have you stayed at Jeeva Klui or are planning to stay after reading this? Have you stayed somewhere else on Lombok that you’d recommend? We’d love to hear from you! Send us a message or leave a comment!

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