What do you do when your resort is so wonderful you don't want to leave? Spend the day doing nothing, just enjoying the bliss!
It was an easy decision after a day of travel, a day of touring and a day of conferencing. Doing absolutely nothing at
Novotel Lombok sounded perfect. With breakfast on demand, a sweeping lagoon to lie by, a spa treatment booked, lunch on tap and a hammock by the pool for the afternoon, life looks pretty sweet.
So while I was doing nothing, here's what I did..
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| This is where I woke up and can you believe this room was just about to be renovated? |
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| Walking to breakfast I saw palm trees freshly decorated with flowers. |
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| 'Good' and 'Morning' did regular sweeps of the sand between the resort and the beach to smooth everything while we ate breakfast. |
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| I liked stealing the fruit skewers from the kiddies table - naughty me! |
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| Soup for breakfast doesn't really do it for me, but the others were lining up. There were plenty of other delicious options in the breakfast buffet. |
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| Next task was lying by the lagoon and enjoying the view. Just around the corner are some great surfing beaches according to a fellow Aussie traveller. |
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| I found myself a spot to relax and checked into the hotel's wi fi to check my emails. Thank you to Paul Ewart for this photo. |
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| Enterprising children were keen to sell us fresh coconut water, under the careful supervision of hotel security. His sisters were selling jewellery they made themselves while their mothers sold fine cotton sarongs for just $10 Aussie. |
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| This relaxed restaurant space with a view of the beach and ocean is where we ate breakfast and lunch |
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| My fave lunch - Nasi goreng |
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| There were lots of private corners and nooks in the swimming pool in the centre of my group of villas. It was impossible to resist a swim. |
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| Travel writers hard a work. Note: I was the one taking the photograph so technically working. |
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| Anyone for a poolside hammock? |
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| We called this the 'Stairway to heaven' because these were the stairs that led up to the spa where you could be pampered for over an hour for under $50. Bliss. |
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| Sorry, no more photos inside the spa because people were naked ;) |
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| I walked to the beach to take the sunset shot below.. As the light fades, the trees and pathways are lit. |
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| Sunset - end of a tough day :) |
While our visit at Novotel Lombok was sponsored by the resort, I still believe this resort punches above its weight. The beach side villas were private and luxurious with their own pools but my rooms (I stayed in an premium room and a villa) were well appointed and good value for money. I spoke to other guests who told me this was their third visit and they would be returning again.
Kerry Heaney
Disclaimer: Ed+bK travelled to Lombok for the Australian Traveller Writers Association Annual Conference which was sponsored by Novotel Lombok and Garuda.
