The Oberoi Lombok

For reasons we’re at a bit of a loss to explain, Bali is Indonesia’s unofficial holiday hotspot, home to any number of hotels of varying quality, attracting crowds of tourists year in and year out — while Lombok, the island just to the east, is undiscovered, unspoiled, and unpopular.

Of course unpopular is often high praise, when it comes to a resort destination — we go on holiday to get away from it all, not to stand in line. And now that we think about it, the reason Lombok is neglected may be its rural quality, the fact that it lacks Bali's nightclubs and bright lights.

All the better for us, then; instead of hordes of package tourists, the Oberoi Lombok offers a quiet escape to a 24-acre private estate, an utterly quiet and secluded place, and one of the last places in Indonesia for anything resembling romance.

Palm trees and mirror pools set the scene, and the ocean views must be seen to be believed. But the true appeal of this place lies in the private villas, set behind stone walls and beneath thatched roofs, each with the tropical luxury of garden baths, as well as enough privacy to ensure that even shrinking violets will fancy a dip. The superior villas have private swimming pools, and all of the accommodations come in handsome and spare Indonesian style, with teakwood furnishings and modern conveniences like DVD players and stereos.

Service is impressive, quite up to the standard of the Oberoi group’s Indian outposts, and the cuisine is rather extraordinary, whether served in the restaurants or on the beach.

That beach, by the way, is one of the main attractions here, presenting visitors with 550 meters of unspoiled golden sands. There’s no shortage of nature to see on Lombok, from volcanoes and waterfalls to coral reefs — though perhaps the most popular activity is man-made. That would be the Banyan Tree spa, offering the latest in decadent treatments as well as some traditional Javanese specialties, administered in outdoor pavilions in the tropical breeze. You’ll be lucky if you can remember how to spell “Bali” by the time they’re through with you.