There’s a part of Bali that doesn’t get, perhaps, as much attention as it deserves and that part is the Nusa Islands. Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan are three small islands that are not far from mainland Bali and are part of the province of Bali.
If you do decide to venture out into these lesser explored islands then you may find yourself in need of a good beach club and so, we sent out our team to the Nusa Islands to seek out the beach clubs for you.
One of the beach clubs they found there was Nome Beach Club and this is what they learned at Nome.
Introduction – Getting To Nome Beach Club
Getting to Nusa Penida requires taking a boat from Bali mainland out to the Nusa Islands, there is no other means of transportation as there’s no airport on the Nusa Islands.
It’s a reasonably easy journey in smooth seas that takes around an hour, but if the weather is a little stormy, it can be a fairly rough ride.
Once you’re on Nusa Penida, this club isn’t far from the harbour and you can walk there easily enough.
Getting inside is simply a matter of presenting yourself at the door to confirm your reservation or to take a walk-in spot if there’s one available.
Where Is Nome Beach Club? Jl. Ped Desa Tanah Bias, Kec. Nusa Penida, Bali
Website: Nome
Opening Hours: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, except Nyepi
What’s Inside Nome Beach Club?
Nome Beach Club has a pleasant swimming pool area, a range of seating options including day beds lined along the beachfront and restaurant and dining facilities.
Our Review Breakdown For Nome Beach Club
We endeavor to provide fairness for both the beach clubs we review and the readers that we represent with our reviews and that means that we use a standard system to review every beach club.
Our team visits the beach club (they may not all go at the same time or even on the same day but everyone visits) and then they each grade the beach club from 1 (worst) to 5 (best) using the criteria listed below.
After the visit, the team meet up to discuss their experiences and then to vote on the final scores against each criteria.
Finally, a member of the team is appointed to write up the review and to incorporate the discussions and scores as appropriate.
When a review goes live on our site, it remains in place for, at least, a period of a year before we revisit a club and review it again.
Pre-Club Advertising
We had no idea that Nome Beach Club existed before we began to research beach clubs in Bali for this site.
We’ve never seen any kind of advertisement for it either online or in the real world and that’s a shame.
From our perspective, the most important thing that beach clubs can offer is a pleasant social environment and for that to happen, they need to be busy and advertising plays a key role in bringing people through the door.
Location
Nome Beach Club is not quite on the Western side of Nusa Penida. While the club is very easy to get to on the island, it’s not ideally situated for a view of the sunset as it’s obstructed by the shape of the coastline.
Overall, given the remote location of this beach club, it’s in a better position than you might expect but there are beach clubs in the Nusa islands with better spots on the coast.
Booking Process & Seating Options
They use a booking widget system on the Nome Beach Club website and while it’s not as good as the systems employed by the big players in the beach club scene like FINNS, it’s not bad.
You can select the time and date you want to arrive, the number of people you want to book for, and a couple of other things – though you can’t select any specific seating, which is a shame.
It is, however, much better than e-mail, contact forms, and WhatsApp which so many beach clubs are using even though it’s not expensive to do better.
Overall, the booking process here is pretty straightforward. However, be aware that you must be on time for your reservation as they won’t hold it for very long.
Entry Fee
In keeping with the best practices among beach clubs in Bali, this beach club does not charge an entrance fee.
We heartily approve of this as nobody should have to fork out money to walk inside a business and decide if they like the vibe of the place.
Minimum Spend
There is a minimum spend associated with the daybed along the shoreline, otherwise there is no minimum spend in this beach club.
We should note that you can’t book these beds in advance, they’re allocated on a first come, first served basis. The minimum spend is a super reasonable price of 200,000 IDR per person.
However, because the minimum spend is low and not consistently levied through the venue, there’s no incentive for them to keep your bookings and that means, you have to be on time or you could lose your seat.
It’s a long way to come to find you can’t enjoy a day bed in the sun, if your boat docks a few minutes late.
Welcome And Security
You’ll be given a warm Balinese welcome by the staff when you arrive at Nome Beach Club but as with many beach clubs in Bali, there’s no security check.
And we like security checks, while incidents here in Bali are very rare, they’re rare – in part – because of the diligence in places where they do conduct basic bag checks.
We think the safety of guests ought to be every business’s main priority and we’d like to see more security checks.
Inclusions
You get a towel included for free at Nome Beach Club and that’s not bad considering the low minimum spend seating and that not all seating requires a minimum spend.
However, there’s no facility for a higher level of service with additional perks and we really do feel that a lot of beach clubs are missing out on a chance to provide better service and boost their revenue by not doing this.
Service
We thought that the service at Nome Beach Club was very good and while it’s not quite as polished as you’d get from a 5-star hotel venue or one of the very best beach clubs on the mainland, it’s more than good enough.
The staff are well-mannered, friendly, helpful and knowledgeable and they do their best to ensure you have a good time at Nome. They’re a genuine credit to their employer.
Entertainment
There is no entertainment at Nome but then, to be fair, you can’t really expect that much on a beach club in a remote location like this one.
There can’t be all that many talented DJs growing up on Nusa Penida.
It doesn’t matter too much, the vibe of this beach club is chilling by the ocean not partying all day and night long.
Pool Quality
The pool area is very nice and the pool itself is clean and well-maintained. It is a bit of a shame that the shorefront daybeds block the view of the ocean though.
Overall, though, we’d be more than happy to swim and spend a day in the pool at Nome Beach Club.
Menu/Drinks Pricing
The food and drinks at Nome are very reasonably priced and we can’t imagine that there’s a beach club in Bali with a more reasonably priced set of breakfast options.
The menu is also nicely varied and there are plenty of options to choose from and even the main lunch and diner menu is significantly less expensive than in most beach clubs both on the Nusa islands and on the mainland.
Food And Drink Quality
We were also pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food, no, it’s not fine dining or the best that we’ve ever had at a beach club.
But Nome Beach Club makes tasty food that is presented in an aesthetically pleasing manner and given the prices, the ingredients are of a very high quality.
All told, we think Nome Beach Club is one of the best places to eat on Nusa Penida.
Sunset View
You do get some sunset view at Nome Beach Club but it is partially obscured by the headland on the island and there are better views of the sunset to be had in Nusa Penida.
That’s a bit of a shame, because mostly, Nome Beach Club does everything right and it’s a place that you’d want to stay in for the sunset hour and a few cold sundowners.
Music And Ambiance
There’s piped music in this venue and that’s really only to be expected. We found that it was pleasant enough and unobtrusive.
It’s more of a background for conversation and the sound of the waves lapping against the beach than a major focus of attention.
We’re OK with that too. This isn’t a party spot and they don’t need to push the music too hard, it’s better suited to chilling with a few cold cocktails, and that’s something we can always get behind.
Payment Options
As with most beach clubs in Bali, they make it pretty easy to pay your bill at Nome Beach Club, you can cover the tab in cash or use your credit card or debit card.
If you need cash, there are ATMs within walking distance of this beach club as it’s in a built up area, however, you should be careful that you don’t fall victim to any of the common ATM scams when using ATMs outside of a bank or mall.
However, there’s no option to pay by QRIS and that’s a shame as it’s our preferred method of payment in Bali. Though it’s only open to those with local bank accounts.
Exit Process
This isn’t a very big beach club and it’s very easy to get back out the way that you came in, you certainly can’t get lost inside Nome Beach Club.
When you leave Nome, the staff will give you a warm and friendly farewell and you’ll feel like you spent your time there wisely and enjoyably.
Transportation
If you’re staying nearby to this beach club, then it’s easy enough to walk to your accommodation from here, the traffic on Nusa Penida is nothing like as bad as it is on the mainland.
If you need a ride, please use a local scooter taxi service (there is no Grab or Gojek service here) rather than driving home, particularly if you’ve had a few drinks.
The beach club staff can help you arrange a lift as you leave the club.
Social Media Presence
They do have an Instagram account and it’s kept reasonably up to date (the last post was 3 weeks ago as we go to press).
However, the images are often devoid of people and it’s hard to get a feel for what to expect from this beach club from their social media and that’s a shame because Nome is pretty good.
Other/General Comments
We felt that Nome Beach Club really excelled in many aspects and that it was one of the best places on the island of Nusa Penida.
One thing, you should be aware of though is that it can get busy and if you want the best seats, it pays to get there early as you can’t book them in advance, they’re given out in order of arrival.
Our Overall Opinion Of Nome Beach Club
While we wouldn’t make the trip to Nusa Penida just to go to Nome Beach Club, we would very much go back to Nome Beach Club next time we visit Penida.
We thought it was excellent value for money, and that the service and experience were very good, indeed.
It’s a great place to chill out for the day on a tropical island, but not a venue for partying.
FAQs
Can You Swim At Nome Beach Club?
Yes, there’s a fairly elegant pool area at Nome Beach Club. However, while it’s good for swimming, they’ve obscured the view of the beach from the pool area by arranging a row of day beds up tight against the shoreline.
You can also swim in the sea at Nome Beach Club and it’s in one of the few areas in Nusa Penida where swimming in the ocean is relatively safe.
Just make sure to watch out for the boats that come in and out of the harbour nearby and you’ll have a great time swimming at Nome.
What Can You Do At Nome Beach Club?
Nome Beach Club has a decent swimming pool area where you can swim. It has bar and restaurant facilities as well as a good range of seating.
You can sunbathe in the Bali sun, get direct access to the beach, where you can enjoy walks in the sand, building sandcastles and swimming in the ocean.
It’s not a party venue, but otherwise, Nome Beach Club has most of the facilities that you would expect from a decent beach club.
Is Nome Beach Club A Family-Friendly Venue?
Yes, children are welcome at Nome Beach Club and it is a family friendly venue. However, there are no special facilities for kids at this club and they will need to entertain themselves.
With pool and beach access, this should be easy enough for children with some imagination to unleash.
We should note that as with all family friendly venues in Bali, parents are expected to watch over their children and to ensure that they don’t annoy any other guests.
Who Owns Nome Beach Club?
Nome Beach Club’s ownership structure is not in the public domain and while Google’s AI confidently asserts that it’s “Michelle Van Praag” we know that Michelle is a Bali blogger and not a beach club owner.
We believe that Nome Beach Club is owned by a local business person.
Final Thoughts On Nome Beach Club
Nome Beach Club is a surprisingly good beach club experience given that it’s an offshore offering in a relatively remote part of the province.
The minimum spend is very reasonable and the food and drinks are first rate. We also couldn’t believe how cheap their breakfast menu is, we doubt you’ll find better value anywhere in the Nusa Islands.
Overall, while we wouldn’t visit Nusa Penida just for this beach club, we’d definitely recommend visiting the beach club if you’re on Nusa Penida, it’s a great place to chill out after doing the tourist thing.
