Wonderful hotel in the countryside

100   Recommended
Deluxe
May 27, 2017 by EXPERT

 Map | 2 Reviews | 100% Recommended
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Sthala, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel
 Map | 2 Reviews | 100% Recommended

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Deluxe

Liked:
Location
Service
Food
Amenities
Room
Stats
Room
Deluxe

Getting there

Getting to the hotel from the airport was pretty straightforward. Typing the name of the hotel in Uber brought it up quickly. I booked an Uber and headed upstairs to the departures area. Prepaid SIMs are easy and cheap in the airport so it is best to have a local number handy to call the driver. At the time of this writing, Uber is still having issues with the local transportation drivers so don't mention ot anyone that you are waiting for or looking for Uber. About ten minutes after booking I was in the car and on the way to the property. The drive was about an hour on a Friday afternoon and cost IDR 190K with surge pricing.

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Check In

The guest services agent addressed me by name the moment I got out of the Uber. I asked how she knew who I was and she said that it was her job to know the guests. Check-in was quick. I was informed that they'd upgraded me to a deluxe room, though I think that is what I'd booked. I asked to see the welcome amenity before choosing the 500 points. The options were these wooden carving of reclining Bhudda, reclining Ganesh and a Welcome sign.IMG_8526.JPG

 

They asked me to wait a moment in the lobby for the GM to greet me, but when they called him he was unavailble.

 

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Room

The rooms are not very large but sufficient. 

Other reviews included pictures of the room and mine was the same.

 

The safe was located in a cabinet under the TV IIRC. I am always disappointed when the safe is low so that I have to stoop down to gain access. The safe was big enough for a laptop.

 

There was a coffee machien with pods in the

Bathroom

The bathroom is somewhat sealed so that it keeps in the steam when showering. This is nice as you don't step out of the shower into a cold bathroom. This is also important as the shower doesn't have a door but rather a glass seperation wall which goes 3/4 the legnth of the shower.

Service

The staff were very friendly and pretty much everyone called me by name throughout my three night stay. There didn't seem to be all that many people staying at the hotel. I imagine this makes it a 

Dining

Breakfast
As there aren't so many people at the hotel, they are not putting on a full buffet. There is a table with fruit and cakes and bread. The menu that was posted in the thread was still in use. The options are pretty good and the plating is really fabulous. They definitely take pride in the presentation of the dishes.

 

During the three days I tried the Mexican Smash, which was a variation of the Eggs Benedict with avacado, the Nalu bowl and an omlette. Everything was delicious and the quality exceeded my expectations.

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Lunch/Dinner
I ate twice at the rooftop bar. Both times I had the most delicious fried fish sandwich with great chips on the side. The portion was a bit too much for me, but the taste, and again the plating, was spectacular.

 

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Location

The hotel is up in the hills about 15-20 mins from Ubud's center. The hotel has shuttles back and forth every two hours. They use various vehicles depending upon the number of people who booked. On the way back I waited at the Coco supermarket with two guys who were on the van into town with me, and we nearly missed the pickup as it was a totally different car with no markings. The drive had a Sthala sign, but he was just standing at the car which parked on the opposite side of the small parking lot from where we had been dropped.

 

Getting Uber drivers to come to the hotel for pickup was challenging. At one point I spent an hour playing catch and release with Uber drivers. I'd make a request, they would accept, but not move their car. I'd call, they would pick up and say they can't come to the hotel as they won't be allowed in. I tried to assure them that there was no problem at this hotel. They still wouldn't move their car so I'd have to cancel. The one time that Uber charged me a IDR 10K cancellation fee I challenged it and it was reversed.

 

That particular evening I used the BlueBird taxi app and was on my way within 10 mins. The BlueBird cost about double to my destination compared to an Uber. 

 

One evening I had an Uber driver complain when he picked me up to take me back to Sthala. He mentioned that it is very far away when compared with the fare. I offered him a tip and we were on our way.

 

There is really nothing outside the Sthala. Some shops have popped up across the street, but really tourirsty cultural sorts of stuff. There is a small shop that sells drinks and snacks, but this is really like a very local corner shop. The woman running it was very nice. She spoke no English but was showing me all sorts of snacks and drinks that I may be interested in. 

 

All in all the location was nice and relaxing.

Spa

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The Crème de la Crème Spa had opened the day before my arrival. The space seems a bit too large for the furniture, but the manager mentioned that they are still setting up.

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In the evenings they filled up with bookings. There were about 6-7 masseuses during the two times I visited. The prices were reasonable for a hotel spa. IDR 350K for an hour-long full body massage. Rather than use oil, they use a cream for the massage. It seems to have some tiger balm type of ingredients inside which was really nice. The air conditioning was a bit loud, but hopefully that is something they will work out.

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The staff are all from local villages but have been working as masseuses for a few years.

 

Upon finishing my treatment  I was offered some hot tea. While chatting with the manager he asked for my impressions and then asked if they could get a picture of me with the staff. I suggested that I take a picture of him with his staff as well. 

 

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Overall

This is a hotel I would definitely recommend to anyone who is looking for a nice relaxing getaway in a natural setting. I agree with the comments that the rooms lack the sense of place and are pretty generic. But I think that if you keep the curtains open, spend time outside in the great rooftop bar and pool and interact with the wonderful staff, you will have a really njoyable stay.

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