Project CINCLOC: A blog about building a new boutique hotel in Indonesia

What is Project CINLOC?

My Sunshine and I literally met under the big Nangka (jackfruit) tree which is standing in the middle of Villa Nangka. One year after we met we had the opportunity to buy this amazing place and we started our big adventure.

Our dream was to create a unique place on a tropical island. A place where every room is unique and designed with love. The beds of our villas were made out of recycled boat wood, in the bathrooms, you would find handmade ceramic tiles, each room had unique pieces of art on the wall and of course, we made sure you’re sheets & towels felt like small pieces of heaven.

Villa Nangka - Best Place To Stay on Gili Air

In Less Than A Minute Everything Changed…

On the 5th of August 2018, a 7.0 earthquake hit Lombok and the Gili islands. There are no words to describe this experience. We lost our house, our business, our dream. Everything we worked so incredibly hard for, got destroyed in less than a minute.

What happened was a tragic anomaly but we were determined to rebuild our little paradise and come back better and stronger than ever. With the help of our friends, family, and complete strangers we raised enough money to keep providing a salary for our boys during the time we were closed.

Villa Nangka destroyed by 7.0 earthquake in Lombok

Saying Goodbye To The Old Villa Nangka

It was not easy to say goodbye to the Villa Nangka as we knew it. The villa’s and her belongings tell the story of who we are, where we’ve been, and the guests we hosted. To see how our workers took down our buildings broke our hearts. But we had to keep on going, one day at a time and one foot in front of the other.

And one day we woke up and could really feel it; it was time to leave behind what we knew and believe something even better will be waiting for us. Because with every ending, something new comes along. And with every great ending, comes an even greater beginning.

Building a new boutique hotel on a tropical island

Rebuilding Our Dream

A few weeks after the earthquake we had a meeting with an architect from Jakarta to discuss the future of Villa Nangka. At one point she asked me: “Where did you two meet each other?” I pointed out the big Nangka tree in the middle of our property and said with a smile on my face: “We met right here.” She started laughing and said: “CINLOC!” I looked at her confused as I never heard of this word before. She started to explain it:

“The word ‘Cinta’ means love in Bahasa Indonesia and the word ‘Locasi’ means location. When you put these two words together you get ‘Cinloc’ which literally means ‘love on location’.”

We looked at each other and immediately agreed that this is the perfect project name for (re)building our little boutique hotel on Gili Air.

Building a new boutique hotel on Gili Air

We Are Back In Business!

We re-opened the doors of our little paradise on the 1st of August 2019. Curious how it’s like to build a boutique hotel on a tropical island? Below you find an overview of our incredible journey.

Would you like to know more about our little hidden paradise? Reach out to us and we’ll respond to you as soon as we can.

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# DAY 27 OF PROJECT CINLOC

Who would have thought that taking a house apart would almost take as much time as building one? We started taking down our Villa’s six weeks ago.They are almost finished taking down our house and then there is only one villa left; the headquarters of the Gili Shark Conservation Project ...

# DAY 25 OF PROJECT CINLOC

Celebrating that our new website is online! Now everyone in the world can follow the adventures of project CINLOC. Check out the true story behind Villa Nangka, a glimpse of our little paradise before the earthquake and all the blogs I wrote in the last 3 months. It’s the first time ...

# DAY 23 OF PROJECT CINLOC

The birds are about to fly away...I look at them one more time before they knock down the wall. Suddenly I hear them whisper: “Don’t forget you have wings as well, all you have to do is fly.” Love Rose Feel free to share ...

# DAY 22 OF PROJECT CINLOC

Another nice surprise knocked on our doors. We got our first reservation! Don’t really know how this could have happened as we are still in the process of taking our buildings down. We also didn’t decided yet how the new Villa Nangka should look like. And we don’t even know ...

# DAY 20 OF PROJECT CINLOC

Another big step is made. We got a new house! I can’t even start to describe how happy and grateful I am. I was so fed up with moving our stuff around all the time. First we moved from our house to our camp in the field next door, where ...

# DAY 19 OF PROJECT CINLOC

〰️ Sometimes a picture says more than a thousand words 〰️ ...

# DAY 16 OF PROJECT CINLOC

A few days ago I decided to take a day off. I needed a lazy day to allow my mind to recharge. My mind is been working over hours since the earthquake, constantly solving problems, thinking of what to do next, it’s even processing how to react to the environment ...

# DAY 12 OF PROJECT CINLOC

The one thing that I have that nobody else has is me. My voice, my mind, my story, my vision. So I write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only I can do. Love Rose Feel free to share ...

# DAY 10 OF PROJECT CINLOC

If you have a wonderful man, who helps balance your whole world. Who isn’t perfect, but is perfect for you. Someone who makes you laugh and sometimes drives you crazy. Who is your best friend and sometimes your only friend. Someone who sticks around when things get rough and hold ...

Building a new hotel on a tropical island

# DAY 9 OF PROJECT CINLOC

The roof of the headquarters of our beloved Gili Shark Conservation Project is now completely gone. I have so much respect for our boys and our workers. Demolishing a building like this is not easy, especially not if you have to do it in this extreme heat. It's a very ...