quitecontrary

Lerasp - given your wishes to dive and to eat out at restaurants outside the hotel, I suggest that Amanusa might suit you better although I don't like the Nusa Dua area as it's an enclave of hotels with little Balinese culture. You would however be closer to Uluwatu and Jimbaran and would be able to dive by taking a boat to Nusa Lembongan from Benoa Harbour.
Amankila is in a more remote area so you would be more or less confined to the hotel in the evening. You really should stick with your plan to stay in Ubud.

halibahs

Agree with Musken, Ubud has really evolved to tourist central and lost much of its charm. East Bali where Amankila is located offers a much more authentic experience. Lots of beautiful small temples and paddy fields around Amankila (within an hour drive) and Besakih is actually closer to Amankila!
The resort organises traditional dance perfomances regularly and I believe they have recently reintroduced the fire dance! They also have a tour to a traditional Balinese village where women still weave sarongs and craft pottery the old style.

If you really have to do a day tour in Ubud, Amankila is only about an hour away, so a day trip is possible. I think that will save the hassle of packing/unpacking.

As for diving, Kila teams up with an outside diving company (I believe it's called H2O sport) and they have a very detailed diving brochure in room and I'm sure they can send you one via email. I remember a dive ranges from US 150-400/person including transfer to launch site. East Bali has some amazing dive sites but current can be fairly strong.

The only problem is that Amankila is very remote and you certainly won't find restaurants and shops like those in Kuta/Seminyak. Eating out (for dinner at least) is virtually impossible. But as Musken mentioned, the food there is fantastic and they are happy to make whatever you want.
+1 for doing the satay evening and beach dinner for a bit of variety.
Their seafood BBQ was divine

Unless you absolutely have to eat out in evening, stay 4 nights at Amankila and you can do beach, dive, temple/village/paddy fields sightseeing all in one go!

Beach dinner


Classic Kila shot

lerasp

thank you everyone. certainly a lot to think about.
-Wana is not an option, too much running around for such a short time.
- Kila is certainly making a good case for itself. last time i was in Bali was 10 years ago, so understand that place has changed a lot. At that time, i really enjoyed just wondering around Ubud with few people around, poking into to random temples, shops, seeing locals out and about on the street, stopping to lunch. sounds like this is not what I will find now.
if we can do many/most cultural activities out of Kila, then it certainly would be easier than switching properties and maybe being in Ubud is unnecessary.
would still like to hear from anyone who has done diving either out of Kila or Nusa. I sent a request for diving details from both, but would be nice to know the difference in dive sites reached from each (if any), transfer times, etc. i dived from Nusa side, towards Nusa Penida and enjoyed those dives quiet well. no idea what to expect on the eastern side.

Question - how easy is it if we book at Kila for 4 nights and change our mind once we are there to move to Nusa. is it easy to do (assuming availability)? or do they make it diffucult/discourage such moves?

halibahs

Last time I was in Ubud in May, walking around the Royal Palace and was inundated by crowds of rowdy mainland Chinese tourists... Not the "Eat Pray Love" Ubud we knew of anymore

There are one or two wreck dives around East Bali I think and a good chance to see Mola Mola if you are there in season. The reefs are similar to around Nusa Penida but slightly more untouched.

Don't worry if you want to move between Kila and Nusa, Aman is extremely flexible, as long as availability allows, they will be very happy to accomodate.

Musken

I visited Ubud for the first time 11 years ago and then I visited again 3 or 4 years ago. I was really shocked to see the difference when we just walked around on our own. Lots of western-like cafe's and coffee shops etc. and loads of tourists. Of course, when we stayed at Amandari and went on their excursions, we got to see the traditional part of the surroundings which was great, but unless you stay there and take part in their activities, I would just leave out Ubud for such a short stay and rather go to Amankila as I said.

quitecontrary

There's a lot more to the Ubud area than Ubud itself - the surrounding villages all specialise in a craft such as wood carving in Mas or silver smithing in Celuk and although these villages have also become more touristy over the years they are still very interesting and a million miles from anything we experience in Europe or the US. There are the ubiquitous motor bikes everywhere but that is 'progress' you can still walk 10 minutes north of the Palace and come to rice paddies where the local workers toil all day. Last time we stayed in a 3/4 star which only cost us something like $80 a day and we had the most peaceful stay ever looking out onto the rice paddies - only problem the bed was rock hard!

We went to see the Wayang Kulit (shadow puppets) show at Oka Kartini one night and another night we went to see the Legong dance performed in a village compound. Although there are cultural activities and performances in hotel's and restaurants elsewhere on the island I've found the performances in Ubud to be more authentic.

If you stay in Ubud you're better placed to go and see the various rice fields http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ric...&bih=672&dpr=2 I found the weaving in Sideman very interesting - http://iweb.tntech.edu/cventura/ikat.htm - this may be possible to fit in on the day you transfer to your next hotel.

Pausanias

In 1990, when we first stayed at Amandari, Ubud was basically one little street, a few cafes, a handful of losmen, and a fancy art gallery selling paintings for about $100. Amandari was hosting a group of Canadian cyclists and a very well known rock star. And Mr and Mrs Pausanias.

It was sheer chance that we stayed there. We had been staying on the Banda Islands for a week and thought it was just about the most beautiful place we'd ever seen. After Banda, we had booked for a few days into the Sengiggi Beach Hotel on Lombok but we really didn't like it at all, so we flew back to Bali without any reservation. Somehow I recalled an advertisement in Conde Nast Traveler for this new place, Aman something, so we called them from the airport, took a taxi and our world changed, hotel-wise.

It was $250 a night and we did two nights in one standard room and two nights in a duplex thing.

quitecontrary

Lucky you Pausanias - my first time in Ubud was as a backpacker in 1980! That time we stayed in a losmen which probably cost something $2 a night! My enduring memory from that time was the mangy dogs who barked all night - the dogs are still there. I don't think there was an Art Gallery but there were a few shops and cafes close to the Palace. We visited various painters at their studios and did actually buy a painting for $75 which we still have. Then the dance and puppet shows were all in the villages with mostly Balinese attending and a few tourists.

We've back a few times over the years - the last time was just over a year ago.

GetSetJetSet

I haven't been to Amankila, but I would choose it in a heartbeat. I am at Amanusa now, and this has to rank in the bottom-2 Aman experiences I've had. Not a big fan of this place (or Bali in general), and I would not return.

stevenshev

Just to circle with feedback:

Thanks for all the help and opinions.

Sayan was fantastic.

View on Amankila was actually one of mild disappointment following Sayan. Physical plant seemed extremely dated, especially coming from the newly-renovated FS property.

Service was top-notch, in typical Aman style, no complaints there.

Overall, the opinion was that moving from Sayan to Amankila would have been a downgrade even if it were price neutral, at a near-100% premium, it was highly disappointing.

Thanks again!

aa213bb

(bolding mine)

I find these two recent reports very disheartening. Having been to Bali, but not the Amans, we've strongly been considering a return later this year ... seeing these types of reports does not inspire us, though.

GetSetJetSet, care to provide some more specifics on why this experience disappoints? I'm curious, too, as to your other poor Aman stay -- are there similarities as to why the both left you underwhelmed?

stevenshev, I'm glad to read service levels remain typically Aman; does your disappointment stem strictly from the hard-product side, or are there other concerns?

bubb1

We have been to Amankila several times and included a stay at Sayan on our recent trip, and we were pretty underwhelmed... I think this comes down to a personal aesthetic preference and not a matter of quality, unless perhaps you consider square footage or something similar as a measure of quality! There is simply no comparison in my mind between Sayan and Amankila, but to each their own.

MikeFromTokyo

I would take those recent comments with a grain of salt. Nothing else in Bali even compares to the Amans.

vuittonsofstyle

^ Although I do like the revitalised Legian and Legian Club these days.

MikeFromTokyo

The Legian does look very nice, and I have been wanting to visit Seminyak. Do you think the entry level studio suites, or the one bedroom deluxe suites are acceptable for double occupancy?

I just noticed that Legian Club has one bedroom villas as well, which look like the best option.