Paradise found
By Bronwen Gora
The Indonesian island of Lombok is fast emerging from Bali’s shadow as a sophisticated yet far lower-key destination in its own right – and at the forefront is its largest private resort development Samara Lombok.
Almost two decades ago entrepreneur Steve Ebsworth set his sights on owning a slice of Indonesian island paradise. A long-time player in SE Asian hospitality it was time for his most ambitious venture yet – a land bank investment in the most beautiful tropical setting he and his two business partners could find, and not in over-touristed Bali. “Surely if we found a place that we thought was utterly stunning then other people would think so too,” Mr Ebsworth says.
An exhaustive search led the trio to the island of Lombok a mere 30-minute flight east of Bali’s Denpasar Airport. Here they bought up 150 coastline-hugging hectares with two idyllic white sandy beaches and flatlands backdropped by striking vertiginous peaks.
Then, over time, their concept for a land bank morphed into something much larger: Samara Lombok, the largest master-planned integrated resort in Southeast Asia and the region’s first Destination by Hyatt-branded property. In addition to Hyatt, Samara has also attracted other major global partnerships including a Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy which will be the sixth in the world and another first for the SE Asian region.
Samara Lombok to open in 2028
Right now, construction of Samara Lombok is in full swing in the lead up to an early 2028 opening. Well over 100 of an eventual 500 luxury villas (many with private infinity pools) and land plots have been sold, the villas rising alongside 3 boutique hotels, 12 restaurants curated by celebrity chef Will Meyrick, a stunning ocean view Clubhouse perched almost 200 metres above sea level, full spa and wellness areas, upscale gym, cooking school, organic orchard, and, closer to the beachfront, a marine biology centre attached to a watersports facility. Children’s menus across the resort will be specially prepared by British children’s cookery author Annabel Karmel MBE.
In addition to the tennis academy’s 4 undercover courts (plus padel) will be a football training academy, 36-hole mini golf course, watersports centre, Hyrox style-fitness course, recovery terrace with ice bath, 25-metre lap pool and a kid’s club.
Samara Hills, Samara Bay and Samara Beach
Much of Samara was already up and running when your correspondent recently toured the sites’ 40km of bougainvillea-lined roads. The resort is divided into three areas – Samara Hills, Samara Bay and Samara Beach – and so large that ample space exists for a network of cycling, jogging and hiking trails to roam across the hills and flatlands. Only 25% of the site is to be built on, the remainder preserved as natural landscape, gardens and open space. Developers plan to have at least 100 villas completed by opening date.
In Samara Hills, where 300 of the 500 villas will be located, completed structures include the clifftop spa and Wellness Zone where guests will partake in pilates, yoga, sound healing and breathwork. Impressive to say the least, on the spa’s outdoor terrace clients lying face down on massage beds can still enjoy the coastal panorama before them thanks to mirrors on the floor strategically placed to reflect the view. Then they can roll off the massage bed and step straight into an infinity-edged plunge pool nearby.
Ovens are already installed in the open-sided pavilion housing the cooking school, located a few steps above the extensive organic orchard and greenhouse. After cooking class, patrons will enjoy their culinary creations while seated on beanbags on the lawn overlooking the ocean.
Adjacent the organic orchard is farm-to-table restaurant ‘Tiga Kelapa’ (three coconuts). Here your correspondent sampled delightfully tasty Indonesian-fusion meals made mostly from orchard-grown produce while elsewhere in the restaurant negotiations with a caviar supplier took place and potential buyers spoke to sales staff, inspected tile ranges and viewed other fittings being used in villa construction. Tiga Kelapa will eventually feature an infinity edge pool where guests can enjoy drinks, nibbles and ales from a future in-house microbrewery.
Nearby at Samara’s hospitality school, training is going ahead for many of the 800 locals who will be employed across the resort. In the philosophy of giving back, Samara already has in place a food program supplying 1400 local children with organic produce and is sponsoring 13 local schools while teaching local farmers organic farming techniques.
The Clubhouse at Samara Bay
The piece de resistance of Samara is the Clubhouse at Samara Bay. From an eagle’s eyrie location atop one of Samara’s steepest hills, patrons can drink in the most spectacular panorama spanning the entire estate and miles of beach-fringed coastline.
The Clubhouse is to offer two infinity pools plus a gym positioned on the side that captures sunrise and on the other, a cocktail bar where DJs will spin tunes as patrons watch those magical tropical sunsets. A central lift will take guests down to the lower floor’s Asian-themed restaurant.
Below the Clubhouse sits one of the three boutique hotels, an impressive, curved structure fronted by floor to ceiling glass which will reflect the surrounding landscape, ensuring the building is well-camouflaged from below.
Samara Beach, home to 40 villas plots, is designed around families, sports and coastal adventures. On the flatlands by the beach, villas here will be in walking distance of the ocean and all main sporting facilities (including the tennis academy, mini-golf, and football centre) plus the comprehensive kids’ club with a lazy river-style pool and fountains. All-day and a la carte dining will be offered in a beachfront pavilion.
Why Lombok?
Underpinning the entire Samara venture is a commitment by the Indonesian government to distribute tourism more evenly across the country and, most importantly, well beyond Bali.
As a result, Lombok has been designated one of 5 Super Priority Tourism Destinations (often called the “New Balis”) and received over $USD3 billion in government funding for infrastructure that so far includes Lombok International Airport, the six-lane highway linking it to the island’s popular south coast tourism areas where Samara is located, and the Mandalika Grand Prix circuit which has already hosted several international races.
While life in Lombok is still far calmer and quieter than a place like Bali, the tourism growth curve is imminent: Lombok International Airport currently receives about 2.5 million visitors each year but has the capacity to welcome a whopping 7 million people annually. And numbers are growing every year.
For Samara’s investors, there is even more of a carrot: Samara sells on a 90-year leasehold which is registered with the land office online, “fully prepaid, irrevocable”, Mr Ebsworth says, compared to the 25 to 30 years leases common in Bali. Turn-key villas are available from $USD750,000, and owners can enjoy their private residences while generating returns via Samara Lombok’s managed rental pool program when they’re away.
