Introduction Plataran is an Indonesian hotel company that operates hotels and dining/event venues around the country. Self-proclaimed as a luxury, eco-conscious brand, I had been intrigued by it and have been meaning to check out one of their hotels for a while now.Plataran Canggu drivewayPlataran Canggu opened in 2000 and is certainly amongst the first upmarket hotels to open in the area, way before Canggu became trendy. With only 19 rooms, the resort is small and intimate. Despite that, the resort occupies relatively large plots of land, certainly with a room count to space ratio that's much lower compared to any of the other hotels in or near Canggu. Location The Plataran is ironically not located in Canggu, instead in neighbouring Kerobokan—although it is 5 minutes away from Canggu, and 15 minutes away from the beach. The hotel is located at the far end of a village road, so I would recommend having a transport option at one's disposal. There didn't seem to be anything interesting within walking distance either, apart from some local warungs and home goods stores. As such, location isn't a strength of the hotel. Check In We arrived at the hotel by car, and being the only guests checking in that day, we were greeted by name. I was surprised by how empty the resort is, especially compared with other places we stayed at. I believe we were one of the only two rooms occupied during our stay.Nevertheless, check-in was quick and we were invited to take a seat whilst they did final checks on the room. We were served a welcome drink that oddly tasted like Coca-Cola (hmm), and offered some cold towels. Soon after, we were driven to our room by buggy. Room We originally booked a Garden Villa, but we were upgraded on arrival to a One Bedroom Pool Villa, which I certainly wasn't expecting. The pool was relatively sizeable, although I wasn’t inclined to use it during my short stay.One Bedroom Pool VillaOpen-air living roomThere is an open concept living room out on the porch of the villa. Directly inside is the bedroom, which consists of a large four-poster bed, a desk, two armchairs, and a closet. There is a small fruit platter left in the bedroom as a welcome amenity.BedroomBedroomFruit welcome amenityKettle, Coffee, and Tea. Notice that the provided water came in refilled water bottles (and tasted odd)Behind it is the open-air, marble bathroom—something I didn’t realise when booking the hotel. The bathroom had two sinks, a tall terrazzo bathtub, as well as a dimly-lit shower. I personally do not like open-air bathrooms, as it is easily susceptible to various insect and plant debris (which is an issue anywhere on the island). As such, I wasn’t a big fan of the bathroom.BathroomBathroomToiletShowerI’m not sure exactly what to say about the room’s design, but I frankly wasn’t especially fond of the open bathroom. That said, it was relatively comfortable, and I especially loved the armchairs which were very well-padded and very nice to read a book on. Dining Teras Canggu RestaurantThe hotel has one restaurant—neatly set inside an antique Joglo house that featured many curios—located next to the lobby/reception. Afternoon tea is included by default and it was frankly much better than I had anticipated. There was a nice and fresh seafood meatball, along with a vegetable and egg finger sandwich and a small peanut dumpling.Complimentary afternoon teaBreakfast was similarly pleasant. I tried their Plataran Egg Benedict, which was better than I expected it would be. Everything tasted balanced. We also had a fruit plate and some croissants, all of which were rather simple but very much edible. The orange juice was also very fresh, although they, unfortunately, added a bit of sugar as evident by the undiluted sugar in the bottom of the glass. Granted, this wasn’t the best breakfast we’ve had in Bali, but it was certainly nice and not something I would skip.Fruit PlatePlataran Eggs BenedictCroissants Service I thought service was attentive. The friendly hotel’s manager was frequently present to ask us how we were, and if everything is fine. I felt that everyone was friendly and well-intentioned. Amenities The hotel features a spa and two pools, along with what looked like an event space. Both pools are relatively small, and one is located riverside.Restaurant-side poolRiverside poolThere is also a space that appears to be useable for events and features a temple, a traditional Balinese kitchen, and a rice storage hut.Interesting event space/cultural exhibition(?)Suspension Bridge to cross river to event space Overall Even though I wasn’t very fond of the room's design or layout, I thought that it was comfortable enough. That said, I do have my biases due to my dislike for open-air bathrooms, so the rooms can be very wonderful to those who like or don't mind such bathrooms. The hotel’s service is relatively good and the same could be said about the food. This first time at a Plataran hotel was a fine introduction to the brand, and I would be happy to try staying at other Platarans, particularly in more interesting locations like Komodo Island. The hotel surely isn't exempt from flaws, but it definitely has its merits. I especially thought that the Balinese-village-looking event space is an especially strong point of the hotel, and definitely makes it an interesting place to hold events. Library/loungeWhilst I’m personally not very keen on Plataran Canggu due to my reservations about the bathroom setup, I wouldn’t hesitate to try other Platarans in the future.