Hotel Pairings

Grand Signature Resort Hoi An by M Village

We were lucky to find this place.

Grand Signature Resort Hoi An gave us exactly what we needed for a family stay, with a couple of really nice villas, a great room product and plenty to keep everyone occupied.

The kids quickly claimed the padel courts and pool table, while the different pools gave us plenty of options during the day.

There is also a coffee shop on site, which became something of a morning ritual.

But perhaps the biggest advantage was its position. Close enough to Hoi An's Old Town that we could dip in and out whenever we wanted — heading in for shops, wandering around or finding somewhere good to eat before returning to the hotel.

It felt less like somewhere we had to stay and more like a very good base from which to enjoy Hoi An.

We'd return: for the combination of space, family-friendly facilities and easy access to the Old Town.

Ayana + Samara, Komodo

Some hotels are memorable because of the room. Others because of what surrounds them.

Ayana is the latter.

The bougainvillaea seemed to be everywhere, and the views across the sea are difficult to rival. The rooms were modern and beautifully done, but it was the setting that kept pulling us outside.

Diving into the sea from the pier never got boring.

For us, Ayana worked particularly well alongside a few days out on the water with Samara. The boat became our way of seeing Komodo, while Ayana gave us a beautiful base to return to afterwards.

Even better, when we wanted the boat to collect us directly from the hotel pier, the team at Ayana were only too happy to help. No complicated transfers, no moving around — just straight from the hotel and onto the water.

It felt like the perfect Komodo combination: a spectacular hotel and a boat that could take us out to explore everything beyond it.

We'd return: for the setting, the sea and the combination of Ayana's comfort with days spent exploring Komodo by boat.

Pondok Santi + The Oberoi, Lombok

Lombok has a bit of a hold over us. We keep finding reasons to go back.

For exploring the Gilis, we think Pondok Santi and The Oberoi make a particularly good pairing.

Pondok Santi sits on a beautiful reef on the quieter side of Gili T. It has that relaxed kind of luxury that we particularly like — comfortable without feeling overly formal, with good music playing at the beach bar and the reef right outside.

Then there is The Oberoi on Lombok.

It gives you a completely different base: polished, luxurious and beautifully looked after, while still putting the Gili Islands within easy reach.

It is a long way from Kuta, but that's part of the appeal. You're removed from the busier southern end of the island while being perfectly positioned for days exploring the Gilis.

The food is superb, the service is excellent, and after a day out on the water it is a very good place to come back to.

Together, the two hotels give you two sides of the same trip — the laid-back island feeling of Gili T and the quiet luxury of Lombok.

We'd return: because this combination gets the balance between island life and a proper luxury base just right.