Alila Villas Uluwatu - REVIEW MASTER THREAD
Jul 13, 2022, 7:31 am
#46
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: AUH
Posts: 8,266
A moment of silence (pardon the pun) for the poor, poor residents at the Alila tonight, where they are letting a wedding take place for more than 4 hours now which is so loud that it can be heard unacceptably loud from the Six Senses where I am staying. Complete with a shouty loud band that sounds like bad karaoke, screeching MCs, and hilariously, a light show just in case anyone would doubt that all of this was coming from the Alila, rather than from Six Senses.
I am just lost for words. The management clearly lives on a different planet.
I am just lost for words. The management clearly lives on a different planet.
Jul 14, 2022, 7:39 am
#47
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: New York, Hong Kong, Austin
Programs: Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 55
Had a 4 night stay on points booked next year prior to a week split between Amandari/Amankila. Just made the decision cancel and consider alternative options to start the trip.
Jul 26, 2022, 6:41 pm
#48
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2020
Programs: Delta Gold Medallion, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,010
wow this sounds awful. I was looking at this review before I read yours. Property looks overhyped for $800/night / 25K points equivalent.
Just returned from a 5 night stay here. I had two one bedroom villas booked for my family. I inquired about costs to upgrade and was offered the nightly rate listed on Hyatt.com. Didn’t make sense to “lose” what I paid for the one bed room villas to have the larger combined villa.
Location is very isolated but that is the price you pay for the views. Stuck on the resort with two restaurant options is tough for an extended stay. Not sure if it was due to the recent opening or not but a few things i tried to order were sold out.
TLDR: I wouldn’t return and regret detouring to Bali to visit this hyped Hyatt property for the price/points.
Location is very isolated but that is the price you pay for the views. Stuck on the resort with two restaurant options is tough for an extended stay. Not sure if it was due to the recent opening or not but a few things i tried to order were sold out.
TLDR: I wouldn’t return and regret detouring to Bali to visit this hyped Hyatt property for the price/points.
Jul 29, 2022, 1:10 am
#49
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: SF/OC
Programs: UA GS, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 474
Decided to burn some points here for two nights next week. Will provide an update, but so far I was told no weddings on those two nights...
Update - Cancelled my booking. The aggressive monkey verbiage scared me off!
Update - Cancelled my booking. The aggressive monkey verbiage scared me off!
Last edited by lagunas2k; Jul 29, 2022 at 11:56 am
Jul 29, 2022, 3:39 pm
#52
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2015
Location: BOS, YVR, ZRH
Programs: *G
Posts: 17,398
Aug 11, 2022, 12:40 am
#54
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 49
Overhyped
Finishing a 6 night stay at Alila Villas Uluwatu. TLDR -- while there are some real positives here, on balance I'm not sure the good outweighs the bad.
Positives -- staff are generally very nice people who really make an effort. Nearly everyone knew my name by day 2. Food in Warung is very, very good. Obviously, the architecture and location are visually stunning.
The negatives: the wedding situation is a real, real issue -- the first night my wife and I were here, we had to call multiple times due to noise from wedding after parties. Service can also generally be "island timey" -- breakfast in the mornings is borderline comical; expect 10-15 mins for coffee and longer for actual food. Poor Globalist recognition -- zero upgrade, and wasn't even given a better view room on the 400-level, as requested. The hard product is also starting to show its age in the rooms. And of course, location is isolated and getting off resort to Ulu is 10-20 mins in a cab.
Bottom line, I'm legit surprised this place can still command the same kind of rates as Six Senses next door, which I've heard from multiple sources is much nicer.
Positives -- staff are generally very nice people who really make an effort. Nearly everyone knew my name by day 2. Food in Warung is very, very good. Obviously, the architecture and location are visually stunning.
The negatives: the wedding situation is a real, real issue -- the first night my wife and I were here, we had to call multiple times due to noise from wedding after parties. Service can also generally be "island timey" -- breakfast in the mornings is borderline comical; expect 10-15 mins for coffee and longer for actual food. Poor Globalist recognition -- zero upgrade, and wasn't even given a better view room on the 400-level, as requested. The hard product is also starting to show its age in the rooms. And of course, location is isolated and getting off resort to Ulu is 10-20 mins in a cab.
Bottom line, I'm legit surprised this place can still command the same kind of rates as Six Senses next door, which I've heard from multiple sources is much nicer.
Aug 12, 2022, 9:48 am
#55
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: USA
Posts: 115
Finishing a 6 night stay at Alila Villas Uluwatu. TLDR -- while there are some real positives here, on balance I'm not sure the good outweighs the bad.
Positives -- staff are generally very nice people who really make an effort. Nearly everyone knew my name by day 2. Food in Warung is very, very good. Obviously, the architecture and location are visually stunning.
The negatives: the wedding situation is a real, real issue -- the first night my wife and I were here, we had to call multiple times due to noise from wedding after parties. Service can also generally be "island timey" -- breakfast in the mornings is borderline comical; expect 10-15 mins for coffee and longer for actual food. Poor Globalist recognition -- zero upgrade, and wasn't even given a better view room on the 400-level, as requested. The hard product is also starting to show its age in the rooms. And of course, location is isolated and getting off resort to Ulu is 10-20 mins in a cab.
Bottom line, I'm legit surprised this place can still command the same kind of rates as Six Senses next door, which I've heard from multiple sources is much nicer.
Positives -- staff are generally very nice people who really make an effort. Nearly everyone knew my name by day 2. Food in Warung is very, very good. Obviously, the architecture and location are visually stunning.
The negatives: the wedding situation is a real, real issue -- the first night my wife and I were here, we had to call multiple times due to noise from wedding after parties. Service can also generally be "island timey" -- breakfast in the mornings is borderline comical; expect 10-15 mins for coffee and longer for actual food. Poor Globalist recognition -- zero upgrade, and wasn't even given a better view room on the 400-level, as requested. The hard product is also starting to show its age in the rooms. And of course, location is isolated and getting off resort to Ulu is 10-20 mins in a cab.
Bottom line, I'm legit surprised this place can still command the same kind of rates as Six Senses next door, which I've heard from multiple sources is much nicer.
Was it a little quieter during the week? I’m staying there Sunday through Tuesday. Also, was it fairly easy to get a ride into town and places like karma beach club?
Aug 20, 2022, 3:32 pm
#56
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 49
that makes me more than a little sad. I have a couple nights booked here on the tail end of my 10 day trip to Bali this month. I’ve been looking forward to this hotel for 2 years, while patiently waiting for Bali to reopen.
Was it a little quieter during the week? I’m staying there Sunday through Tuesday. Also, was it fairly easy to get a ride into town and places like karma beach club?
Was it a little quieter during the week? I’m staying there Sunday through Tuesday. Also, was it fairly easy to get a ride into town and places like karma beach club?
I booked my trip in Sept 2019, and finally went two weeks ago. I’d be lying if I said my wife and I were not disappointed. As to your questions —
(1) yes, quieter during the week. Sadly, the service issues (particularly food and drinks) did not get any better. Not joking when I say ordering coffee and food at breakfast would take us 1-1.5 hours. And I was far from the only person there extremely frustrated by the severe service issues at breakfast - I remember seeing another couple looking at me in the morning like “is this for real?” Just a very unfortunate way to start the day.
(2) Cabs worked fine — just WhatsApp the concierge and they’ll call one for you. We went to Sundays Beach Club and it was less than 10 mins. Getting to the shops and restaurants in Ulu will be slightly longer. If you’re heading further out, prepare for the famed Bali traffic. Ubud took us 90 mins.
(3) My wife went to Six Senses for a spa treatment and was frankly blown away by how much better run the property was. Alila isn’t anywhere near them, yet charges nearly as much if staying on a paid rate.
Aug 20, 2022, 5:04 pm
#57
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: Jose Cuervo Gold, Bud Light Platinum, Schwab 401K, VW Bug 2MM
Posts: 1,100
that makes me more than a little sad. I have a couple nights booked here on the tail end of my 10 day trip to Bali this month. I’ve been looking forward to this hotel for 2 years, while patiently waiting for Bali to reopen.
Was it a little quieter during the week? I’m staying there Sunday through Tuesday. Also, was it fairly easy to get a ride into town and places like karma beach club?
Was it a little quieter during the week? I’m staying there Sunday through Tuesday. Also, was it fairly easy to get a ride into town and places like karma beach club?
Aug 20, 2022, 5:22 pm
#58
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: USA
Posts: 115
I booked my trip in Sept 2019, and finally went two weeks ago. I’d be lying if I said my wife and I were not disappointed. As to your questions —
(1) yes, quieter during the week. Sadly, the service issues (particularly food and drinks) did not get any better. Not joking when I say ordering coffee and food at breakfast would take us 1-1.5 hours. And I was far from the only person there extremely frustrated by the severe service issues at breakfast - I remember seeing another couple looking at me in the morning like “is this for real?” Just a very unfortunate way to start the day.
(2) Cabs worked fine — just WhatsApp the concierge and they’ll call one for you. We went to Sundays Beach Club and it was less than 10 mins. Getting to the shops and restaurants in Ulu will be slightly longer. If you’re heading further out, prepare for the famed Bali traffic. Ubud took us 90 mins.
(3) My wife went to Six Senses for a spa treatment and was frankly blown away by how much better run the property was. Alila isn’t anywhere near them, yet charges nearly as much if staying on a paid rate.
(1) yes, quieter during the week. Sadly, the service issues (particularly food and drinks) did not get any better. Not joking when I say ordering coffee and food at breakfast would take us 1-1.5 hours. And I was far from the only person there extremely frustrated by the severe service issues at breakfast - I remember seeing another couple looking at me in the morning like “is this for real?” Just a very unfortunate way to start the day.
(2) Cabs worked fine — just WhatsApp the concierge and they’ll call one for you. We went to Sundays Beach Club and it was less than 10 mins. Getting to the shops and restaurants in Ulu will be slightly longer. If you’re heading further out, prepare for the famed Bali traffic. Ubud took us 90 mins.
(3) My wife went to Six Senses for a spa treatment and was frankly blown away by how much better run the property was. Alila isn’t anywhere near them, yet charges nearly as much if staying on a paid rate.
Heartbreaking. I have a Cat 7 cert expiring end of August that I'm burning here, along with 25k more points. Thanks for the info though. I'll know to temper my expectations and just be there to enjoy the views and nearby temple/beach clubs
Aug 23, 2022, 8:18 pm
#60
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Pacific Northwest
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