The Sira Lombok Review: Bali's Luxury, Without the Crowds

Peaceful, calm and secluded. A perfect couple’s escape from busy life, at a resort that is still growing into itself.

Where it is

The Sira is on the quiet north-west coast of Lombok, the island directly east of Bali. Lombok International Airport is about 65 km away, which in practice means 90 minutes in a car. That drive is the price of admission. Once you arrive, there are no beach clubs, no shopping streets and no bars outside the gate, and the sea is flat rather than surfable.

What you get instead is the view. From the ocean side of the resort you look across the strait towards Bali, and on a clear morning the cone of Mount Agung sits right there on the horizon. Turn around and Lombok’s own mountains frame the other side of the property.

The booking

I booked the Ocean View 1-Bedroom King Suite with Balcony through Marriott STARS at USD 409 a night. STARS added daily breakfast for two, a USD 100 hotel credit, a welcome amenity, and early check-in and late check-out if they had space.

I was there during Mandalika racing week, when the whole island fills up, so there was no upgrade to a higher room category. They offered a high floor instead, which I took, and honestly the third floor view mattered more to me than a bigger room would have. If your dates are flexible, avoid the MotoGP weekend. The hotel credit went on in-room dining, lunch and the spa.

Arrival

The welcome starts at the driveway. As the car pulls in, a member of staff plays the bedug, a traditional Indonesian leather drum. It’s a bit of theatre, but it’s the local kind, and it sets the tone for the stay.

From the driveway, a path lined with dense planting and small fountains leads to the lobby. You hear running water the whole way in. After 90 minutes on Lombok’s roads, that does something.

The lobby is teak walls and local art. Every piece on display was made by Lombok artisans, and the staff will tell you so if you ask. I was handed a welcome drink and a chocolate, both made on the island.

Check-in happened in my room, not at a desk. I wish more hotels did this.

The suite

At 94 sqm the suite is big, and it’s laid out like a real one-bedroom apartment rather than an oversized hotel room: a living area, a separate bedroom, and a bathroom with a walk-in wardrobe built into it. Suites connect, so families can take two side by side.

The STARS welcome amenity was waiting when I arrived, with a handwritten note.

The bedroom is behind a carved teak screen, which is one of the nicest details in the room.

The bathroom is the best part of the room. A freestanding tub sits under a carved teak screen that lets light in from the bedroom, and there’s a double vanity opposite with the walk-in wardrobe through the door beside it.

The shower room is separate and roomy, with a rain head and a teak bench. All the toiletries are the resort’s own brand, and the bath set had bath salts, a mandarin tea soap and a loofah.

The small details are where The Sira pulls away from a standard Marriott resort. There’s a straw beach bag and hat in the wardrobe for you to use. The slippers are straw and wood instead of disposable towelling. It’s hot and humid on this coast, and rather than pretend otherwise they leave hand fans in the room. The safe fits a 16-inch MacBook Pro, which is rarer than it ought to be.

One thing I didn’t like: the minibar opens from the top, so you can’t see what’s in it without lifting the lid and rummaging. It looks tidy and works badly.

Then there’s the balcony, which is really what you’re paying for. The sea on this side is calm, the pool is right below, and on clear mornings Mount Agung shows up across the water.

Around the resort

There are 46 ocean-view suites and 14 villas, so the place never feels busy. The villas come in one, two and three-bedroom versions and sit away from the main building.

Koi ponds and fountains are scattered through the grounds, and there’s a quiet seating area between the gym and the spa that I never saw anyone else use.

The pool is said to be the longest on the island. It runs parallel to the beach with the suites on one side and the sea on the other, and it was never crowded while I was there.

The gym is small but properly equipped, with a row of spin bikes facing the sea through floor-to-ceiling glass. Next door is a yoga pavilion open to the water on one side, and the resort runs a full daily activities schedule, posted on a board by reception, if you want more than the pool.

The spa is behind the gym. The welcome, a herbal drink and a hot towel, is done well, and the menu includes yoga-based treatments alongside the usual massages. I used part of the hotel credit here.

Eating

Three restaurants, plus Glassary, the library bar. I ate at two and ordered in once, and this is where the resort is weakest.

Medsa is the all-day outdoor place on the coast, Mediterranean with Italian and Greek dishes. From the table you can see the pool and the sea at the same time. I had the Diabolica pizza with a Flowery Spirit mocktail. The pizza was fine. Average, if I’m honest, and at these prices I expected more than fine.

In-room dining for dinner was a fruit platter. It arrived promptly and looked nice, and like Medsa it was average. Nothing wrong with it, nothing I’d order again.

Breakfast at The Island’s Table is the meal that redeems the food here, and then some. It’s à la carte, not a buffet. Pastries and local jam to start, then Gulai Ayam, a Javanese chicken curry, with an iced latte and a Go Coco Lombo. The curry was phenomenal, easily the best thing I ate on the property, and the reason I’d tell anyone to book the rate that includes breakfast.

Glassary, the library bar, is where to sit once the sun’s gone.

What I’d change

• The service. The resort is new and the staff are still gaining experience. Everyone was friendly and willing, but the polish you’d expect from a Luxury Collection property isn’t there yet. I’d expect it to improve; it just hasn’t happened by the time of my stay.
• The restaurants. Medsa and in-room dining were average. Breakfast shows the kitchen can do better.
• No kids club and no business centre. Both were still to come when I visited. If either matters to you, ask before booking.
• The top-opening minibar. Small, but you deal with it every day.
• The transfer. Ninety minutes from the airport is long and there’s no way around it on this coast.

Verdict

The Sira gets the big things right: the location is peaceful, calm and secluded, the suite is large and well thought through, the pool is long and empty, and breakfast is outstanding. What it doesn’t have yet is the polish. The team is young, the restaurants are ordinary, and a couple of facilities haven’t opened. At USD 409 with breakfast and a USD 100 credit, I still think it’s fair value, especially as a couple’s escape.

Book it if you want quiet and you’ll be happy eating breakfast like a king and lunch like anyone else. Come back in a year or two if you want the service to match the setting. The Oberoi Beach Resort is a few minutes’ drive along the same coast, and I’ve stayed there too. That comparison gets its own report.