Murni Homestay

I have mixed feelings about this place. The rate started at 200,000 per night, we managed to negotiate it down to 150,000 per night but I think we could have gone lower. The room we were in (2) was big and spacious but had a big ant problem. It was the only room with nets in the tiny windows at the top, so we chose this once based on the fact that malaria is prevalent here but we also didn’t want to spend the whole night fighting off mosquitos. There was a fan but it does get very hot in there. No hot water. The family was very nice but the father did lie to us a lot - he was trying to sell us a tour around the Gili Islands rather than actually going to the Gili Islands because apparently the cost to go between islands is over 100,000 per person - it’s not, it’s between 35,000-40,000 from island to island. Alongside the homestay he also sells tour packages. When we wanted to go to the ferry to catch the boat to the Gili Islands he told us a taxi would cost minimum 150,000 and that we should take his shuttle. We spoke to a taxi driver the night before and he quoted us 100,000 so on the meter I think it would be even cheaper. We did take the shuttle bus in the end because he gave us a discount from 75,000 per person to 50,000 person including the boat to the Gili Islands. If you stay there, you get the discount on the transfer. If you make your own way and rock up to the ferry, these are the prices (We pay more than the locals do): Gili Air 19,500 rupiah Gili Meno 21,500 rupiah Gili T 22,500 rupiah All one way.

The good thing about this place is that it's super cheap at around 12 pounds a night. So that's a good thing. But otherwise, pretty poor - rooms quite shabby, with cracks everywhere. The fan is weak and it does get hot. The worst part is the shower, which in our room (4) had a dustbin in it for some reason and the water more or less dribbled out. The wifi is pretty good for what I've found around Indonesia. I managed to update my iPhone here. But yeh, if you're looking for a cheap but not cheerful place, this is it!

We arrived in Lombok in the pouring rain and a taxi driver not really knowing where he was going and dropping us off basically in the middle of nowhere. We'd asked some people and they didn't know where it was so was left wandering. If it wasn't for a nice local on a moped we would have been sleeping somewhere else!! He had overheard or spoken to someone else we had asked and come along and took us one at a time with our luggage to the hostel. (We were being typically British and a little on the wary side but gut told us everything was fine) he dropped us off in the pouring rain and even helped us find the rooms as the owner had popped out for a while. He rang the guy (the owner had left a note with a number) and talked the nice man into what to do! We wished we had got his name as we couldn't thank him enough. He was over the moon when we have him some thank you money (only 50k but he was chuffed) BUT THE PLACE..... we had no complaints. You get what you pay for. We only stayed one night. The worse part was trying to find it. If coming from the harbour turn left when you see the first orchid sign and banana tree restaurant on the right hand side. Then yourll see signs for murni homestay. IT IS NOT ACCESSIBLE BY CAR! The owner was very nice and chatty. Spoke good English. Very small towels were supplied. The shower only had cold water and the bathroom smelt horribly odd. Other than that you get what you pay for!!