How Cocana Resort Brought Five-Star Luxury to Gili Trawangan

Cocana Resort opened on Gili Trawangan in December 2023 as the island’s first resort built and run to a five-star standard. Getting there was more than a challenge. On an island with no motorised vehicles, every building material, piece of furniture and kitchen delivery arrives by boat and crosses the island by horse cart. Delivering five-star service under those conditions takes a level of planning few resort projects ever face.

Nearly three years on, Cocana has become the benchmark for luxury on Gili Trawangan. Its guests rank it among the best hotels in the world, and it has been visited and featured by some of the most respected names in travel media. And it keeps growing, with new adults-only suites, a relaunched beach club and the island’s first omakase restaurant all added in 2026 alone.

A Market That Was Ready for More

Gili Trawangan is one of the most beautiful islands in the world, a postcard-perfect tropical paradise. In 2026 it topped a Forbes study of the world’s most swimmable destinations and ranked first on Lonely Planet’s list of the best places to learn to dive.

The island was already popular, and getting there was becoming easier. A new and improved harbour, stronger ferry links and Lombok International Airport opened Gili up to a wider, higher-spending market. What the island lacked was accommodation at the top end, with few options for travellers looking for an international standard of luxury.

Cocana was built to meet that demand, at a scale that could carry a full five-star offering. It opened with 111 keys on the calmer sunset-facing west coast: 45 private pool villas from 150 to 600 sqm and 66 lagoon suites. Two restaurants, a beach club, a gym and the island’s largest spa all sit on site.

What the Numbers Show

Cocana Resort has exceeded expectations, thanks to the team and the standard they operate to every day. Occupancy has run high since opening, and guest reviews earned the resort a Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Award in both 2025 and 2026, placing it in the top 10% of hotels worldwide.

The booking data shows that guests travelling as a pair are by far the largest group, making up over 80% of bookings. That validates how the resort was planned. 104 of its 111 keys are one-bedroom pool villas and lagoon suites designed for two. Families come next, and they’re well served by the two-bedroom villas and the three-bedroom villas, the largest available on Gili at 600 sqm of space with a 17-metre private pool. European guests stay longest, with Germans averaging 4.4 nights, while Asian guest stay usually as part of a wider Bali itinerary, a sign that for many, Cocana is the destination in itself.

The full resort offering has played an equal part. Cocana’s restaurants and beach club have become destinations in their own right, with more than half of all diners coming from outside the resort. At Cocana Sunset Club that figure rises to 62%, and Pacifica draws 45% of its diners from beyond the resort. Building five-star dining and leisure on site has given in-house guests everything they need, and has made Cocana a destination for the whole island.

Expanding the Experience

Since opening, Cocana has continued to expand its dining, services and experiences, with each addition aimed at exceeding guest expectations.

In July 2026, Cocana opened 28 Adults Only Deluxe Lagoon Suites in a secluded corner of the resort, each opening onto its own dedicated lagoon pool.

Cocana Sunset Club was relaunched in 2026 as a fire-led social dining venue, with open-fire grilling, sharing plates and a minimalist redesign that sets it apart from the island’s other beach bars. A new DJ programme, opened by German electronic artist Vik Tows and played through a state-of-the-art sound system with handmade speakers from Spain, keeps guests at the beach club well after sunset.

Since summer 2026, Cocana has also opened its doors to destination weddings and private events, with options ranging from elopements for two to full resort buyouts for up to 200 guests.

This month, Cocana opened Sensei Ikan, Gili Trawangan’s first omakase restaurant. Ten guests sit at the counter for an eleven-course Japanese tasting menu, followed by Nomikai, an evening of sake, Japanese whisky and cocktails.

“The reason people visit the Gili [Islands] has shifted to a more considered escape, but there is still a lack of dining-led experiences,” says Phil Mowforth, Executive Chef of The Guest Society. “Sensei Ikan will give visitors something special and memorable on this tiny island.”

Out on the water, a new partnership with local dive operator Scuba Froggy lets guests learn to scuba dive, complete PADI training and join reef education sessions with local guides, all arranged through the resort.

Earning Its Reputation

Cocana is gaining real traction with guests and international media, and has been recently featured recently in Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia and The Telegraph. Much of that attention comes back to the standard Cocana has brought to the island.

Bali News wrote that the resort “has quickly become the island’s benchmark for luxury stays”, calling it the way to experience Gili Trawangan “at its most refined.”

Guests are quick to mention the space and privacy of the villas and suites. Travel + Leisure called the lagoon suites “something special”, with swim-up terraces in “a configuration that exists nowhere else on Gili Trawangan.” After three nights at the resort, IndoBuddies said their pool villa “felt more like a private retreat than a standard hotel room,” and one Tripadvisor reviewer wrote that the villas “provide the perfect privacy for couples.”

The service leaves the same impression. One guest wrote on Trip.com that “the service is five-star, the staff helps with everything, resolves issues, and is always friendly.” IndoBuddies noticed that “staff remembered our breakfast orders, anticipated what we might need before we even asked.”

Dining has become one of the resort’s biggest draws. Travel + Leisure found the culinary offering “just as thought-through” as the rooms and described Sensei Ikan as “a sophisticated concept without precedent on the island.” Now! Bali said Sunset Club’s open-fire barbecue is “best savoured with a cocktail during sundown hours,” and Bali Buddies said Pacifica “blends refined dining with relaxed island energy.”

Then there’s the location on the island’s quieter, sunset-facing west coast. Now! Bali wrote that Cocana is showing guests “a more refined side of ‘Gili T’”, and one guest on Trip.com called it “the best hotel on the island! Open ocean views, well-maintained grounds, and a beautiful beach.”

As Travel + Leisure put it: “Here, you don’t have to choose between the Gilis’ famous looseness and the comforts of a well-run luxury property.”

Above all, Cocana has earned the trust of the people who matter most: its guests. The resort holds a 4.8 out of 5 rating on Google from more than 1,200 reviews and a 4.7 out of 5 on Tripadvisor from 239 reviews, ratings that place it among the highest-rated resorts on Gili Trawangan.

“True luxury lives in the emotions a place creates: the feeling of being truly cared for and the memories guests carry long after they leave,” said Alain Eggenschwiler, General Manager, Cocana Resort

Looking After Gili

Gili Trawangan’s reef, turtles and white-sand beaches are the reason guests make the crossing, so Cocana invests in protecting them.

Every month, guests and staff join Debris Free Friday, a beach clean-up run with Gili Eco Reef Conservation. In 2025 it cleared more than five tonnes of waste, with 70% recycled and glass bottles crushed into sand for building bricks. Cocana also supports Turtle Trackers by Proyek Penyu to protect the island’s sea turtles.

Inside the resort, rooms are plastic-free, drinking water is filtered on site through reverse osmosis, wastewater is treated and recycled, and housekeeping and kitchens use eco-labelled products. For Cocana, caring for the island is part of what five-star luxury on Gili means.

About Mirah Investment & Development

Mirah Investment & Development is Bali’s leading property developer, delivering successful projects across Indonesia for two decades. Our proven track record of high-performing hotels and resorts, serviced residences, and lifestyle destinations continues to define Bali’s hospitality and real estate landscape.

An extensive in-house team of locals and expatriates offer end-to-end services from architecture and design to professional property management as well as legal, taxation and immigration support.

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