We booked Mimpi Manis (MM) only for one night as a conclusion to our Lombok nicely, On December 13th to Dec 14th 2011. The booking process is quite easy, as guided by Made, all we have to do is just fill the e-form which could be founded in their website. Since we order only one night, no payment in advance is needed, but we are requested to reconfirm our booking, one week before arrival.
These are our impressions :
Room and Toilet : MM consists of three rented rooms. One is bungalow, two is smaller but with differences on air conditioner / fan. We rented a room with air fan conditioned. The bed, the floor and the ceiling is clean, it covered with bed cover. There is a SDB available too. The bath room is spacious, clean and equipped with cold water shower and little wash basin. The toilet maybe needs replacement, but it still work anyway. Since MM relies on water pump, it would be wise if you store water in a bucket provided in the bath room, in case you have emergency in the early morning and the pump is shut down.
Accesibility : Mimpi Manis located 2 kms from the beach, so you need to rent motorcycle or car to reach Kuta Beach. Since our rented car has returned to Mataram in the afternoon, Gemma kindly offered us a free ride in the evening to observe sunsets ( fortunately she needs to visit her relatives or friends around Kuta beach), so we could enjoy the beauty of Kuta Beach.
Complimentaries, Facilities and The Owner:
A cold welcome drink was served when we arrived on a very hot day...You will be provided with tiny soap and toilet tissue as well, ......... nice !
MM offers free light meal for breakfast, and also provide meal for lunch and dinner ( until 8 PM, I think ). We ordered fruit, toast and pineapple pancake, all is served nicely and tasted tasty enough. The coffee is (surprisingly) so excellent, since it was roasted hand made by Made's Mother from Bali. I could sense smoky flavour in it.
If you already have your own supply of food, you could have it reheated with no additional cost. You could also borrow fork and spoon if you need those.
The staff is helpful, generous and ready to help you. The owner is so helpful and tried to make you as part of families, not only guest.
There is electricity problem around Kuta Beach, but MM has genset to overcome the problem immediately. So be ready for the sudden electricity shut down.... he he he.
Their dogs and cat is lovely. This is for the first time, we saw a dog could get along with a cat !
TV and Free DVD is also avaible. No terrestrial TV broadcast provided.
Orientation Tour :
This is a free tour arranged by the owner, he will drive you around Kuta, Tanjung (Cape) Aan, Seger Beach and its surroundings. It is suggested to have tour around sunset or early in the morning, so you could enjoy the beatiful beaches.
Access to Airport :
You dont have too much option here, unless you have your own car. Bluebird Taxi or other taxi service was very rarely seen in the area ( although they confirm they could pick you up there ), so we decided to accept the paid shuttle service to the airport. Driven savely by Made himself, we reached Lombok Intl Airport in 20 minutes.
Value:
If I compare the price to the facilities, and the generosity form the owner and the staff, I highly recommend you to consider MM as your choice of homestay. The room price is very affordable, the shuttle service charge is quite reasonable too.