JD Jacobson
Review on Google
IMPORTANT NOTE: Many of Bask's 5 star reviews are left by customers who only visit the restaurant. This review is based off our stay in a 2 bedroom villa over a period of 3 days. The 2 bedroom villas are spacious, modern, clean, comfortable and well-designed. For the money spent (about AUD750 per night with discount applied) we felt it represented decent value especially with inclusion of a personal swimming pool. The main negative for me is the the public footpath on the island which is right beside the villas so when people (either Bask guests or other island visitors) walk along the path they often look into the villas out of curiosity. So while technically each Villa is a beachfront property this quality is ultimately tainted by a public footpath existing between the property and the beach. The quality of food at the Bask restaurant is solid. The food is always well presented, fresh and visually appealing. The prices with taxes however can be high and the flavour can be hit and miss. Half the dishes we ordered tasted good and the other half were surprisingly bland. The cost per person for a meal with a starter, main and non alcoholic drink was about AUD40 per head. There are other places to eat on the island (though not many in close proximity) but we didn't want to risk getting Bali belly for a second time so ate everything at Bask. We spent about AUD160 per day on food for two people. This was for lunch and dinner only as breakfast was included. The service at Bask was hit and miss / inconsistent. It was either overbearing or inattentive. My friend and joked that every time we wanted to be left alone someone would approach with some superfluous irrelevant question but that any time we actually needed service staff were strangely absent. All staff are friendly but some are too friendly at the wrong times and others not friendly enough at the right times! This part of Gili Meno has a mosquito problem. We were ravaged by mosquitoes at night pretty much everywhere we went. Bask does provide a free spray, but it needs to be applied thoroughly and often and it doesn't work flawlessly. The mosquitoes are determined, aggressive and very numerous. Strangely enough I was even bitten by mosquitoes in the day while having breakfast. The last thing I'll mention is noise. Gili Meno is the quietest and least developed of the 3 Gilis which is a good thing but it is extremely close to Gili T and as a result noise from the clubs and pubs on Gili T are easily heard at all hours. For example as I write this review, it is 3am and I can hear the distant bass from Gili T from the rear bedroom of my 2 bedroom villa. It is also possible to hear the loud music from the restaurant / pool during the day and some parts of the night from the villa. This isn't a huge problem but definitely subtracts from the "peaceful vibe" of the island. Overall bask was a mixed bag. It has strong and weak points but ultimately averages out at 6.5 or maybe 7 out of 10.
