PoincianaKings

Jermyn your reports are fantastic and this is no exception. Truly fantastic!

Digital01

Another excellent report! Look forward to the rest!

RandomBaritone

Really loving this. I stayed at the old Bali Hyatt in Sanur over a decade ago, back when the soulless Grand Hyatt on Nusa Dua was all the rage. I spent one afternoon at the Grand Hyatt Pool and cringed at the artificiality of it all, happily returning to my slightly shabby room at the Bali Hyatt.

Apparently they're renovating it top to bottom now; I hope they hold onto that off-the-beaten-path quality that made it so special.

adampenrith

The Bali Hyatt located in Sanur has been closed for about a year - part of a 2 year refurb, but the word on the street is that it will not reopen then - some sort of long term dispute over land owner ship.

It was a great hotel with an awesome location

Jermyn

The visa on arrival process at DPS was fairly painless. We first paid the fee at a small counter and then headed into a standard immigration queue where we handed over our passport and the receipt for our visa on arrival.

We were ready for it to take a while but we were through in around half an hour. As of June 12th USA, Canada, UK and most of Western Europe can enter Indonesia without a visa, which is fantastic news.

We quickly collected our bags and made our way landside, where our driver Imade was waiting for us. We had arranged in advance for him to take us to Tanah Lot temple on the way to Ubud as our flight was scheduled to arrive 2 hours before sunset.

The timing worked out perfectly. Imade parked up and left us to explore the the amazing temple grounds by ourselves.


The Tanah Lot temple itself is quite overcrowded, as you can see, however there is a trick. If you walk uphill past a series of market stalls, you reach a restaurant where you can sit and enjoy a fresh coconut and some satay for a couple of bucks. The view is perfect, the shrubs block out all of the people and frame the temple beautifully.


After sunset we headed back to the car for the one hour drive to Villa Shamballa. The villa is located in one of the villages near Ubud; the village itself has absolutely no visible tourists. As we passed through we were delighted to see all the villagers dressed in white heading to the village temple for a ceremony. There was no mistaking it, between this, the heat and the jungle scenery; we were a long way from home.


Arrival at Villa Shamballa

Upon arrival at the villa we were greeted by our housekeeper/ chef Ilu. There was gamelan music playing over the stereo system and the house was decorated with candles and fresh frangipani flowers. The atmosphere was wonderful, the green glow of the pool reflecting the candlelight beautifully against a pitch black jungle backdrop.


After our welcome drink we headed into Ubud for dinner at a restaurant called Indus. The food and service were great and the prices were incredibly reasonable. Unfortunately we weren't able to appreciate the amazing views at night, it was only after returning home and googling Indus that we realised how spectacular the view is.


Imade had initially insisted on waiting for us outside the restaurant, Balinese drivers seem to have no problem at all with just sitting around for hours on end. We told him we'd call him when we were eating dessert and sure enough, as soon as we stepped outside, there he was waiting to take us back to the villa.

As soon as we got back we said goodnight to Ilu and headed to bed. There was incense burning but once we blew the candles out there was no light at all. We were truly immersed in nature with a variety of chirping, clicking and howling sounds, as well as the sound of light rain, helping us to drift off to sleep.


The Morning

We awoke to this absolutely amazing sunrise from our bed:


There was only one thing for it, we just had to jump into our private jungle pool to wake up!


Thankfully, there was no need to wrestle the monstrous fruit down from the tree. Ilu had heard that we were awake and was already busy preparing the breakfast that we'd ordered the night before.

Breakfast was included in the villa price and included whatever we wanted.

The fresh watermelon juice, Balinese coffee and Nasi Goreng were particular highlights.


We spent the next 2 days diving. It was my first ever time in the open water and I absolutely loved it. I've already been diving again since (you'll hear all about it in a future TR).

I won't bore you with hundreds of pics but suffice to say Bali is a pretty good place to dive for the first time.



Evening activities



On our last night I arranged for some local Gamelan players to entertain us whilst we we had dinner.


I wanted it to be a surprise for K, so I asked Ilu to teach us how to cook a few of her best dishes in the kitchen. Meanwhile the gamelan players used the opportunity to sneak in and begin playing, just as we came out with the starters.



Conclusion

Overall the experience at Villa Shamballa was superb

• Service was 100% personalised
• We had our own driver whenever we needed to go anywhere
• The food and drink were absolutely spectacular
• The extras (massages, gamelan players, dinners) were fantastic value for money

The villa was away from all the hustle and bustle of Ubud centre and truly immersed you in the jungle. I cannot envisage how a hotel stay could possibly compare.

Jermyn

Thanks guys!

benjahman

This is awesome. Totally inspired to make a trip to Bali happen asap. Thanks!

spark787

No more visa entry fees for americans and canadians?! Finally! I guess you still have to pay the departure tax?

Great report!

mad_atta

Loving your trip report, as always Jermyn. I never have made it to Bali because I can't seem to shake my image of it as just drunk Aussies in Kuta, but I obviously should give it a bit more credit. Your jungle pool looks utterly amazing... and quite tempting in the middle of this cold snap in Sydney

mrgreen

Looks like there is a lot to look forward to on Bali

Jermyn

Intermission : Monkey Forest

Please forgive this amendment to your scheduled programming. I have exceeded the 100 picture limit on the Alila Villas Uluwatu post. As such my hand has been forced. The monkey forest has been decoupled from the Alila section

With our time in the jungle drawing to a close we bid farewell to the villa staff and made our way to the ever smiling Imade, who had already loaded our bags into the car.

On our way to Alila Villas Uluwatu we asked him to drive us into central Ubud so that we could have a quick look around the monkey forest.

The place is overrun with both tourists and monkeys. If you've been to some of the more impressive temple sites in Asia such as Angkor Wat the temple buildings in their jungle setting won't wow you, still the forest is worth exploring for an hour if you're in the area. Just make sure to keep all your valuables safely out of sight of the monkeys!

[CENTER]

The monkey will know


Monkey plumber


Intricate gargoyle-esque carvings and orange tiles are typical of Balinese temples

Jermyn

The Arrival

The drive from Ubud to Uluwatu took around 1.5 hours, passing the airport and continuing to the far southern cliffs of Bali.

Alila Villas Uluwatu are quite well hidden, seeing the sign from the road you'd have no idea that a resort of this calibre was hidden at the end of the narrow, twisting road.


Before we could enter the resort we were stopped at a fortified guard post where we were asked for the details of our reservation. Once we were given the all clear we began to wind through the magnificent resort grounds.


We were greeted as we stepped out of the vehicle and our bags were taken from us. We were then asked to take a seat in the 'lobby'. Nothing can quite prepare you for how absolutely spectacular the view is.

The lobby area was intentionally designed to take your breath away. I never managed to take a daytime shot here so instead, here's a professional shot from Alila.


As we sat listening to our hosts explanation of the facilities we began to notice some of the small details that were going to set this stay apart.


Throughout the resort small plinths and trays are set up with a selection of amenities on them. These include mosquito repellent, sun cream, moisturiser and a facial mist spray.

These are also available in the villas and even at the restaurant tables. Alila has obviously noticed that guests use these items a lot and decided to ready them for us, so that we wouldn't even need to ask.

After the intro we were escorted to a buggy, waiting to take us to our villa.




The Villa

A week or so before our stay I contacted the reservations department to request a villa on the fourth "floor". I had done some research online and had seen a couple of places mention that since we would be taking buggies down to the main resort anyway, we should aim for the most privacy and best view. Our villa : 408, did not disappoint.


In a word the Villas at Alila Uluwatu are magnificent. There is an abundance of space and every whim and desire is catered to. The furniture is robust and heavy. The layout of the villas puts you directly in touch with the elements. During the day the windows and doors can all be fully opened to effectively turn the villa into an open air space, allowing the cliffisde breeze to gently cool you.


Sunset

Bali is an island famed for its magical sunsets and Alila in particular is renowned for its spectacular Sunset Cabana. After spending a couple of hours enjoying the villa, that's exactly where we headed.




Night Falls

As the deep amber sun plotted its inevitable course into the Indian Ocean, darkness descended over Alila Villas Uluwatu. All of a sudden we were in an enchanting illuminated world, recessed lighting and candles casting mysterious shadows through the cracks of wooden cages. The pool was resplendent with turquoise light and all the while the ocean roared gently below.


One of my favourite places in the resort was the library. I believe this room was planned from the very beginning, a nod to Alila's roots in Aman hotels.

The design of the room makes it completely relaxing and inspirational. There are so many juxtaposing elements all complementing each other phenomenally. Light/ dark, soft/ hard, natural, man-made, smooth/ rough ; every element works perfectly.

During the daytime the pool was more compelling but at night the library really came into its own.


Alila Uluwatu has two restaurants. A European establishment named Cire and the more casual, locally flavoured, Warung (Indonesian for restaurant). In my pre-stay reading I kept hearing that Warung offered better food and better prices. After trying it on the first night we were never tempted to veer "across the pool"!

Service was very personal, all of our preferences were noted on the first evening and then subsequently remembered by the servers throughout our stay.

For our first dinner we took a seat by the magnificent driftwood sculpture and enjoyed one of the tasting menus.


We visited the gym on our second night and in our entire time at Alila we never saw another guest use it. For me it had become a necessary tool to stimulate hunger after almost 10 solid days of overeating !



The gym had absolutely everything you need except for one thing. After our workout, K came out with her hair dripping wet.

"They don't have a hairdryer", she said.

I told her not to worry, I had an idea.
We headed next door to the spa and mentioned our surprise at the fact that there was no hairdryer. The spa staff were massively apologetic (despite this probably being completely out of their control) and immediately ushered K through to a treatment pavilion where she could dry her hair.

Meanwhile I sat in the beautifully appointed waiting area.


I would have happily sat there minding my own business but the staff went above and beyond, they wanted to make sure that my five minute wait was comfortable. I was immediately offered a delicious iced ginger and lemon tea, which I enjoyed sipping on listening to the spa music and watching the reeds gently blowing back and forth.

We tried to walk as much as possible, rather than taking a buggy. At night the illuminated stairs made for a secluded and romantic wander back to our villa.


At night the interior of the villa is reconfigured by the darkness, just as the common areas of the resort are.

Big_Foot

Jarvis, can you comment on your Ubud hotel choice?
Did you have a chance to see other hotels?
We are planning our trip next May and at the moment
it's between the Four Seasons, Chedi Club and the new Ritz Reserve Mandapa.
All are freshly renovated or brand new.

I'm planning to spend all of our time in Ubud, decided to skip the beach
as we have traveled extensively to Bora Bora, Maldives and Seychelles
and we are really looking forward to seeing the rice fields and the temples.

I'm looking for the best photography, best views, best sunrises etc,
you know what I mean?

Great report, thanks!

callmedtop

I have not stayed at the FS, or the new Ritz Reserve, but the Chedi Club is truly spectacular. I had a virtually perfect stay there last December.

Also stayed at the Samaya Ubud, which was very good, but Chedi was another level. A really fantastic value with all the inclusions (minibar, laundry, etc.)

FlyingDoctorwu

Chedi will have nice picturesque views of the rice fields. LM225 had a great stay there and did a trip report there..

The new RC reserve is down in the river valley if I'm not mistaken so I can't imagine the views would be that great.... we stayed at Amandari, which is up above the RC...

I can't comment on the FS

FDW