The stylish resort and beach club sits in a prime position right on the white sands of Gili Meno, overlooking the aquamarine waters across to Gili Trawangan and Bali beyond.

BASK Gili Meno is the culmination of three years planning by Australian owner, Greg Meyer, and a team of multi award-winning designers and architects.

Designed by acclaimed architect, Gary Fell, BASK perfectly blends mid-century modernist design with laid-back island flair. The private villas are spacious and airy, with clean open-plan interiors, private pools and all the mod cons needed for a comfortable and upmarket stay.

The beach club flows seamlessly across the property, from the shaded interior dining areas to the sparkling pool and poolside lounges, down to the beachfront lounges and cabanas just metres from the sea.

Inside, the expansive state-of-the-art kitchen produces a sumptuous array of meals from snacks and light lunches to semi-fine dining, with an emphasis on freshness and quality.

At the entrance is an aquarium filled with fresh lobster, ready to be whipped into the kitchen and onto the table in minutes. A domed pizza oven turns out flat breads and gourmet pizzas to delight those around the pool.

A dry ager case on the other side of the kitchen displays prime imported meats such as Angus and Hereford beef from South Australia, which are aged in-house and produce some of the finest steaks you will ever eat, cut to your request.

Alongside the kitchen is the impressive wine cellar. Resort Manager, Manuel De Grauwe, is a long-time resident of Gili Meno and a discerning sommelier who curates the wine cellar at BASK with a finesse born of years of experience and love of good wines.

The cellar boasts around 150 labels, with varieties from some of the best wine growing regions in the world, earning it a prestigious Wine Spectator ‘Award of Excellence’ in 2024.

Prices range from mid- to high-end and many are available by the glass. From crisp whites to carefully-aged reds, sparklings and dessert wines, Manu’s collection perfectly complements the menu at BASK, as well as screaming “special occasion” – which a visit to BASK certainly is!

The kitchen is the domain of talented Executive Chef Bastian Marcel from Chile, who headed up restaurants in Bali before moving to Gili Meno earlier this year. Bastian has been making subtle changes ever since, including adding freshly-prepared sushi, sashimi and carpaccio to the well-rounded menu.

He has plans to add paella and more fresh seafood options, and to implement a wine-pairing menu soon. The resort is also opening up another restaurant on the property in the near future with a healthy organic theme.

We were privileged to sample some of Chef Bastian’s skills when we visited last week and can confidently say BASK is amongst the best restaurants in Lombok.

My lobster salad was a generous half lobster, plucked from the aquarium and perfectly poached. The tail was chopped and mixed with fresh salad leaves, red sorrel, a touch of dill, thinly sliced radish, red onion and diced apple, in a light and piquant dressing. A perfect symphony of flavours and technique; a light and mouth-watering delicacy for lunch.

Dian thoroughly enjoyed his fish of the day: a thick and juicy barramundi fillet, served with a delicious duo of sauces and a sprinkling of microgreens, while Greg devoured a brioche, fresh from the oven and stuffed with fresh prawns and lobster.

Guests can also choose from a carefully curated selection of light snacks such as calamari, beef tartare, grazing platters and salads, through to pasta, burgers, seafood and the signature steak menu.

In addition to the wine selection, there are cocktails, juices, beers and ciders, and a huge range of spirits and liqueurs from all over the world.

Moving from the dining table to a comfortable lounge alongside the pool, we settled in for an afternoon of relaxation and indulgence. All around were couples and groups of friends enjoying the pool, sipping wine and cocktails, and soaking up the ambience.

Further down on the beachfront, guests soaked up the sun on the lounges, at chairs and tables under umbrellas ordering up beers and pizza, and hung out beachside in the exclusive shaded cabanas.

It’s easy to spend days at the beach club, moving between the sea and the pool, taking dips to cool off; or finding a comfortable padded lounge to lay back and watch the constantly changing parade, indulging in drinks and food as the mood takes you.

But experiences at BASK extend far beyond the beach club. Gili Meno is recognised as one of the best beaches in South East Asia and locally known as “turtle heaven”. Snorkelling is easy straight from the beach and diving excursions around the Gilis are a must, providing a glimpse into a captivating underwater world.

Directly in front of the resort, around 40 metres from the shore, is the famous underwater art installation “Nest” created by acclaimed artist Jason deCaires Taylor and gifted to the people of Lombok by Greg when he first started to create the resort on Gili Meno in 2017.

Nest is a hauntingly beautiful sculptural work of 48 life-sized human couples embracing in a circle around others who are lying on the sea floor. The circular formation evokes time and continuum, and the Ph neutral cement sculpture is designed to form the anchor of a living reef for marine life in years to come.

Tens of thousands of visitors every year snorkel from the shore and jump from small boats to see the mesmerising underwater artwork that BASK has gifted to future generations and the environment.

As we climb onto the speedboat and head back to the mainland, we reflect on the transformation BASK has made to Gili Meno… not just for today but the innovations that are planned for the future, which will shape the direction in which this little island develops.

Sophisticated but not elitist, seeming to effortlessly create a luxurious standard while exuding laid-back style, BASK is the ultimate place to get away from it all, indulge, and relax in natural island beauty.