Small weddings on Gili Air: what a buyout actually involves

Guest numbers and what fits

A full buyout of all 28 rooms accommodates weddings up to around 40 guests between the standard rooms and the Private Villa. Smaller than a mainland resort, which is usually the point — everyone staying on site, no coach transfers between hotels, no half the guest list bussed in from somewhere else on the island.

Buyouts are not available in July or August, when the property runs at full capacity on individual bookings regardless — outside those two months, dates are genuinely negotiable.

What a full buyout includes

Exclusive use of all three pools, the restaurant and Soma Vita for the duration of your stay, plus the garden and poolside space for the ceremony and reception itself. We work the food and bar around your guest list rather than a fixed banquet menu, and a dedicated host stays with the group for the whole booking rather than handing you between departments.

Where the ceremony and reception actually happen

Most weddings here use the garden or poolside lawn for the ceremony itself, with the restaurant and terrace opening up for the reception afterward — the same spaces guests would otherwise use individually, simply reserved for you. There is no separate ballroom to book, which keeps the day feeling like the island rather than a function room airlifted onto it.

Getting guests there and back

Every guest arrives by boat, same as you will, and the practical rule of thumb is to have people at their departure harbour by mid-afternoon at the latest — boats do not run reliably much past that, especially in a larger group. An evening ceremony effectively means arranging a private return boat for anyone leaving that night, or — the far simpler option, and one a buyout already assumes — having the whole party stay over rather than trying to get anyone home.

Luggage moves by cidomo, the local horse cart, from the harbour to the property; nothing wheeled travels well on the sand paths, which is worth a line in your guest information pack well before anyone packs.

Where guests sleep

A full buyout puts your entire party across the six room types, from the Standard Room up to the Private Villa itself — worth reserving for the couple, if it is not already the venue for part of the celebration. See the full room breakdown when you are allocating guests, since sizes and bed configurations vary meaningfully between types.

Who to talk to and when

Buyouts, like the Private Villa, get pencilled in months ahead for the shoulder seasons either side of the July–August closure. Reach out via our groups & buyouts page or WhatsApp as soon as you have a season in mind, even before you have a firm date — we can hold provisional dates while you finalise numbers with your guest list.

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

Common questions