In Reply to: Lombok info please including hotels ?? posted by Tuberose on Tuesday, 17. January 2006 at 13:52 Bali Time:
While Lombok has similiarities to Bali I think that there is no longer a frantic scene like Kuta with regards to shopping and partying. They never really recovered from 1999 and their tourism industry doesnt seem to be as resilient as Bali's seems to be.
Prices for upmarket hotels are very low particularly if you book online and most of them are right on the beach with beautiful grounds. Shopping at the mall in Mataram is very cheap and you can buy wood and pottery pieces at handicraft shops around the place for much less than you can in Bali.
There are wonderful trips that you can do around Lombok as well as, of course, the Gilis.