Mala Garden Resort and Spa

Great for a more quiet stay with amazing sunset views. Breakfast location is awesome but could be more varied. Staff is super helpful and discreet.

My friend and myself stayed in this resort in December 2022. For the most part we had the place to ourselves as Gili Trawangan is struggling to attract tourists. Little wonder as it’s a bit of a nightmare to get to Lombok at present. Garuda Indonesia are not currently operating their direct flight from Bali and the fast boats can be cancelled due to bad weather with no notice. Our trip back to Bali was cancelled and it took us 17 hours on slow boats, buses and the like to get from Gili Trawangan back to Bali. The stuff of nightmares. Back to Mala Garden. The Manager is affable and does a competent job. He has great people supporting him, namely a delightful lady named Angun and a delightful bar tender named Jackson. The young lads who perform waiting and other menial tasks are also delightful. The resort is not in pristine condition, it is located on a tiny, isolated island so it would be a mighty extreme expectation that it would always be faultless. However, mention any issues to any of the senior staff and they attend to concerns very quickly. My friend and I loved our stay at Mala Garden. It’s a gem with flaws, but embrace the minor faults and you will love your time at this resort. I’ve stayed at 4 different places on Gili T over the years and Mala Garden is my firm favourite. Outstanding staff, massive rooms, great facilities and it’s located on the quiet, sunset side of the island. What more could a reasonable tourist want? I rate it Ten out of Ten!