Food - Picture of Belukar Villas, Gili Trawangan
Photo: Food
From Review : Not For Everyone of Belukar Villas
Check In— / — / —
Check Out— / — / —
Guests
+4
Been procrastinating writing this review not just because I have been busy, but I've been thinking long & hard about how to say what I want to say honestly without offending the management of Belukar. I don't know if anyone has noticed but Belukar does not respond to positive…
Read more
Date of stay: February 2016
Response from Erica H, Owner at Belukar Villas
Responded Mar 20, 2016
Hi Nuraisha, Thank you for this second Belukar review, following your Airbnb report in February. We actively encourage objective suggestions and recommendations for improvements but sometimes need to defend our position. Would you believe that some tripadvisor reports are submitted by people who have never stayed with us or who have other motives? This makes such responses regrettably necessary! We do craft these responses carefully, craft being a word that reflects the thought that goes into them. As a family business, we are passionate about delivering an excellent service at Belukar which is why we focus on those reports that are not always 'top marks'. You make a good point though about not thanking our guests for the good reviews and this is certainly something we will rectify with immediate effect. As stated in our Airbnb response to you, "it is never our intention to be rude to our guests" and is certainly not a motivation....in spite of some of the ill-considered nonsense sometimes levelled against us; your report, by the way, is far from that category! Now, to your comments...and I don’t think you need to brace yourself. We can only apologise for the lack of warmth you felt from management’s welcome but are pleased that Dewi and her friendly team went some way to restore the situation. Whilst not a large business, please believe that Belukar can have its fair share of stressful distractions for management. We work hard behind the scenes to create such a peaceful and tranquil environment at Belukar but, although we get to run a business wearing shorts, the stresses are still the same as anywhere else, possibly exacerbated by being on a relatively remote island. We can think of no other explanation and once again offer our apologies! We certainly don't aspire to have the same management style as an Indonesian-based equivalent of Basil Fawlty - on which point, we note that the original Fawlty Towers cast will be appearing in Singapore in early April! Losing bikes can be one such time consuming distraction. However, we believe most people prefer a quiet unobtrusive and discrete search rather than any sort of accusatory, embarrassing or potentially volatile confrontation. Things do go missing and regrettably our low-profile surveillance is necessary. Many of the island’s roads are bad, particularly so in the wet season. However, a great many improvements are being made but it will take much time and money before we reach the standards we all want. The old axiom ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ is true and, my father (also an owner) having lived in Singapore in the 1940s and 1950s, can remember it being much the same. Hard to believe but true! We shall continue to wage war on flies and mosquitoes; fortunately, the end of the wet season will help. Finally, your observations about local phone contact numbers and unreliable transport! The phone numbers have been updated and those on whom we are dependant for transport told of your concerns. By law, we cannot own any passenger transport on Gili Trawangan so are wholly reliant on others. Sorry for the length of this reply but it should reflect the care and time we try to take in all our dealings with others. And thank you for your final paragraph in which you acknowledged that most of the fundamental and essential elements for a good relaxing break exist at Belukar: friendly staff and service; nice accommodation and excellent food. Regards
Read more
Been to Belukar Villas? Share your experience!