Destination Guides
Though only twenty-five miles east of Bali, Lombok has historically and geographically occupied a much more liminal space than its neighboring island. Located between the Indian Ocean and the Java Sea, both islands lie between Australia and Asia yet sit on either side of the Wallace Line: a faunal boundary separating the species distinct to each region.
Today, systems of belief intertwine like the bamboo woven walls so ubiquitous on the island. A small pocket in the east, around the bustling, scooter-filled provincial capital city, Mataram, remains predominantly Balinese Hindu. The rest of the island is Sasak Muslim, and five times a day the call to prayer drifts through the soundscape.
A fresh wave of hotels is crafting a new kind of holiday experience on the island: one where the island’s communities benefit, and their home of earthly pleasures take center stage.
Located on top of a hill, Somewhere hotel offers a worthy reward for driving up—the chance to submerge in the hotel’s infinity pool and drink in the rainforest-tipped curves of Are Guling bay below. Descending down the hill like terraced rice fields, each room has its own outdoor plunge pool that is just private enough to evoke a feeling of pure seclusion.
Over on the far side of Awang Bay lies Innit hotel, a modern and secluded beachfront venue with similar values to Somewhere, but with different design approaches. Innit is best accessed by boat, followed by a jump into the sand (there’s no jetty). The villas are sleek and minimalist, each shaded with vertical planks of locally sourced rajumas wood, and meditative in their geometric precision. In contrast, the hills surrounding Innit are rugged and rustic, covered in dry farmland interspersed with jungle. It is like being at the edge of the world.
