Asia - Bali hotel question - Ubud

This is my first post, having joined this forum recently. Lots of great and timely info!

We are planning our Sept 2002 honeymoon in Bali and have one more decision to make on hotels. We are staying:

3 nights Four Seasons, Villa, Jimbaran Bay
3 nights Ubud, hotel?
2 nights Ritz Carlton, Suite, Jimbaran Bay

We are trying to decide between Kamandalu and Natura in Ubud and are not sure which one to go with. Both seem to be well reviewed, any thoughts on which property has better views, more romantic settings, etc??

Thanks!

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage. You have chosen the MOST wonderful place on earth for your honeymoon. I'm a certifiable Bali-nut, having made the 32-hour-each-way trek once a year since 1999.

Stayed at Kamandalu and reviewed Natura (looked at hotel in detail but did not actually stay there) in 2001. Both are wonderful properties, most visitors would be happy at either hotel. I like a true Balinese "look and feel" and much preferred Kamandalu, which was designed and built to look like a Balinese village. Natura is much more Asian-minimalist in style, very plain wood throughout the property.

Please send me an e-mail if you have more questions.

I can recommend the Maya Ubud Resort.
It is a very lovely and stylish Hotel. The atmosphere is elegant and luxury. All the staff is extremely helpful and kindly. The Hotel is managed to perfection by Paul A. Blake from NZ, he is well known as one of the top GM in south east Asia. In May 2002 I stayed with my wife in a Pool Villa (plunge pool). We loved it so much, that we will return in September 2002 again. BTW, it will be our ninth journey to Bali.

If you need further information feel free to contact me.

You will find some good info re: these properties on the "Luxury Hotels" forum. Just scroll up a bit.
Another honeymooner asked the same questions and received some pretty good advice.

Thank you for your replies. I will contact privately with questions as we get closer to the trip. We ended up booking with the Kamandalu given a promo they are running, and the greater cultural atmosphere.

Well I don't like to put a dash of cold water on this, but the nicest places i stayed in bali last year were the smaller places and NOT the big international hotels.

One of the things I liked about ubud is walking around the streets. A small place in ubud that wasn't air conditioned, was run by a family and featured little bungalows was among my favorites. There were some bigger places nearby, but the big international places were generally well away from the action.

by the way last i checked bali was still having trouble getting tourists.

When I went it was totally unnecessary to reserve in advance and in fact the rates available there were much lower than here, including for some of the big international hotels. there were a lot of deals available there. The ritz for instance was advertising rooms for under $145. i can't remember if it was for weekends or all week and one of the hotels, I believe the intercontinental was like $109 or less.

You can easily just go to ubud and find something there.

You've also left some places off your list. I liked Lavina (may have misspelled it)

[This message has been edited by MrAOK (edited 07-25-2002).]