Easter Surf trip to Indo - Lombok?

[LCC08]

Hi all,
I am heading over to Indonesia in Apr / May 2014 for a dive trip to the Forgotten Islands (Saumlaki / Maumere), however I thought it would be awesome to chill and go surfing for a week beforehand.

My intentions are to fly out of Sydney on Easter Saturday and stay somewhere for 7 nights so I can improve my surfing and chill without mega crowds!

I have been chatting with one of the surf travel places who has recommended Heaven on the Planet in Lombok, which sounds really good, except for the negative reviews on trip advisor. I am probably a beginner / intermediate, i wont be able to take my board due to other luggage priorities, so where ever I go I will need to hire a board.

Does anyone have any other suggestions before I take the leap and book??
thanks

[jaffa1949]

HOTP in April 2014 well it is close to the beginnings of the Indo swell season and you could get lucky, and it won't be as big or as busy as later (July August is really the peak season) .
HOTP is very swell direction dependent as it is inside a very deep bay. Good for your stage as it takes the monster out of a swell.
inside Ekas lefts is a great intermediate wave with a long performance wall, the rights off the same peak are more hard core.
Outside Ekas is a dangerous shifty peak with lots of water moving and strong currents, not your category .
There is also an inside perfect A Frame sandbar peak at the inner end of the sandy beach great for improving all aspects of your surfing.
If the swell gets too big then other breaks further into the bay will accommodate you.

Big crowds are not likely as if Ekas is working Gerupuk and all points west of HOTP will be working .
The resort is slightly above average and more than adequate, if I wasn't heading further afield I 'd go again.
BTW make sure you keep your gear monkey proof or you'll have to go looking for it in the tree tops.
The pool is a little questionable as the monkeys copulate and crap in the cascade off the infinity edge of the pool.

Basically like any travel you need the surf gods providing swell, they can be fickle but you could also have the trip of a lifetime.
Good luck.

[BaNZ]

My local surf shop owner was just at Lombok last month. He said it is brilliant and is cheap. But need to take the boat out to the sea to surf. I got holiday next May so I might go there too! He said the swell will get big around that time too! But might be way out of my league though.

[jaffa1949]

That's not quite right BaNz, the entire south coast has a great number of beach accessible spots Ekas, Gerupuk, even Desert Point has land access there are quite a few surf camps, resorts and Losmen around Kuta Lombok. Look at Heaven on the Planet or you can do a boat trip from the Gerupuk area.

Some of the southern reefs are boat only spots and usually outside a beginner level.