Gili Air hotels with a pool, and one private pool villa

Do Gili Air hotels have pools?

Some do, some don’t. The beach hostels and cheaper guesthouses near the harbour generally don’t — you are a two-minute walk from the sea instead. The mid-range bungalows and the upper properties usually have one shared pool. A hotel with more than one pool is unusual on an island this size, because it needs land, and land near the water is the constraint here. A room with its own private pool is genuinely rare — there are only a handful across all three Gili islands, and KOHO has one of them. So if a pool matters to you, filter for it early; and if a private pool matters, you are choosing between a very short list.

KOHO’s three shared pools

Three pools spread across a large garden plot, which is the whole reason each one stays calm even when the hotel is full. They are all freshwater rather than salt or chlorine-heavy, open from early until late, and included for every guest with towels provided.

The main garden pool — the largest, framed by frangipani and loungers, with the bar a few steps away. The social pool, without being a loud one: this is where the floating breakfasts are set up and where most people gravitate in the late morning. Sun most of the day.

The lap pool — longer and narrower, for people who actually want to swim lengths rather than stand in the shallow end. Shaded for much of the afternoon by the planting along one side, which also makes it the cooler option when the deck is baking.

The sundeck pool — smaller, raised on the timber deck among the daybeds, and the one most likely to be completely empty at three in the afternoon. Our returning guests treat it as the quiet pool and plan their day around having it to themselves.

Photos and the layout are on the rooms page.

How the three pools feel through the day

Early morning, all three are yours — a swim before breakfast is the best time on the property. Mid-morning to early afternoon, the main pool fills gently and the other two stay quiet. Three to five in the afternoon is siesta hour: the deck is hot, most people are inside or at the spa, and any of the pools is calm. Late afternoon the main pool picks up again for a pre-sunset swim, then empties for dinner. There is never a scramble for a lounger — the whole point of three pools for 28 rooms is that you do not have to get up early to claim a spot.

Which rooms face which pool

The Superior Room (42 m², daybed) and the Deluxe Double face the main garden pool most directly — you step off your terrace and you are almost in it. The Deluxe Twin and Studio sit closer to the sundeck side, a little more tucked away. The Standard Room is set back in the garden rather than on a pool, which is part of why it is the entry rate — still a 60-second walk to water, just not a view of it. The full comparison lists the outlook for each room type; if the view is your deciding factor, message us and we will tell you which specific room numbers are free and what each looks onto for your dates.

The Private Villa’s plunge pool

One room type has its own water: the 80 m² Private Villa, with a plunge pool and an outdoor daybed inside a walled garden that nobody else on the property walks through. It is the room for a honeymoon, an anniversary, or anyone who wants to swim at midnight without getting dressed first. The pool is not a lap pool — it is a cool-off-and-read pool, deep enough to submerge and sit — but it is genuinely private, screened on all sides, with the daybed beside it under a frangipani. Inside there is a sofa, a coffee machine, a semi-outdoor bathroom open to the sky, and a gate that is yours alone. On an island where even the good hotels share their water, that privacy is the rare thing you are paying for.

Booking the villa: the honest version

There is exactly one Private Villa. It is the first room type to sell out — typically booked three months ahead for July and August, and often earlier over Christmas and New Year. Rates run roughly €165–270 a night by season. If your dates are fixed, message us on WhatsApp before you book flights, and we will tell you honestly whether it is open rather than let you build a trip around a room that has already gone. If it is available we can hold it briefly while you sort the rest.

If the villa is taken, the Superior Room is the next best thing and usually available at shorter notice: 42 m², a daybed, and the most direct view of the main pool, so you are a few steps from water even without your own. Couples who miss the villa and take a Superior almost never regret it — the private pool is a lovely extra, but the garden, the food, the spa and the quiet are what the stay is actually made of. Our honeymoon guide works through the room choice for two people in more detail, and the couples-retreat guide has a five-day shape for either room.

The other Gilis, and villas elsewhere

If a private pool is non-negotiable and the KOHO villa is gone for your dates, your options across the islands are a small handful of pool villas on Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan — Meno’s are quieter and honeymoon-oriented, Trawangan’s are pricier and closer to the noise. On Lombok itself, and in Bali, private-pool villas are common and often cheaper per square metre, but you lose the car-free island. Our three-island comparison and four-star guide weigh those trade-offs.

What’s included

Every rate, booked direct, includes à la carte breakfast, all three shared pools and access to Soma Vita — the sauna, ice bath and magnesium jacuzzi circuit. The villa adds the private plunge pool and daybed. There is no resort fee, no charge for pool towels, and no separate “pool club” fee of the kind some Bali properties add. See what a week costs for the fuller picture, or what four-star means here for how the rooms compare on space and finish.

Common questions

Written by the team at The KOHO Air Hotel, a four-star boutique wellness retreat five minutes’ walk from Gili Air harbour. We answer questions like these by message most days — just ask.