Golden Palace Hotel Lombok
Twelve-storey four-star hotel in Cakranegara with a sunset pool, rooftop garden restaurant and sky lounge over the city.
Mataram
Mataram is Lombok's capital and its largest city, made up of the old port of Ampenan, the government centre of Mataram itself and the market and shopping district of Cakranegara. Few visitors stay long, but it is worth a day for the food, the markets and a feel for everyday Lombok life.
This is the best place on the island to eat ayam taliwang, the spicy grilled chicken named after a Mataram neighbourhood, along with plecing kangkung, sate rembiga and beberuk terong. Local restaurants are inexpensive and busy at lunch. The Mayura water palace and the Pura Meru temple in Cakranegara reflect the island's Balinese Hindu heritage, and Ampenan's old Dutch-era shopfronts are good for a wander.
Mataram has the island's main hospitals, malls and banks, and city hotels are a sensible stop the night before an early flight or a Rinjani start. The airport at Praya is about 45 minutes away.
Lombok Astoria Hotel
Four-star city hotel on Jl. Sudirman with an outdoor pool and gym, 15 minutes from Senggigi and five from Mataram Mall.
Bale Jaje
Stylish Cakranegara café and bakery with cakes, pastries, coffee and light meals, open from breakfast until late.
Roemah Langko by Putera Lombok
Colonial-era house in Ampenan serving Sasak and Indonesian classics, including ayam taliwang, seafood and plecing kangkung.
Sate Rembiga Ibu Sinnaseh
The most famous place in Lombok for sate rembiga, sweet-spicy marinated beef skewers, plus soups and Sasak rice plates.
Taliwang Khas Pak Udin
Simple, evening-only Cakranegara warung famous for its taliwang chicken, plecing kangkung and sate at modest prices.
Taliwang Irama 3
Busy, much-loved Mataram institution for ayam taliwang, the fiery grilled chicken of Lombok, with plecing kangkung on the...