FlyerTalk Forums - Element Bali Ubud [Master Thread]

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Element Bali Ubud [Master Thread]

Element by Westin Bali Ubud has quietly opened its doors to guests, apparently sometime in the past week or so. Category 1.

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/elemen...language=en_US

I'd be curious to read reviews if anyone has stayed here. Thanks.

We have reservations for a couple nights in April. I will let you know how it goes. I am only a gold so not sure about any benefits at that hotel. I will repost after our visit.

would love to hear about your stay. we have reservations later in May

Any recent stays at the property? I'll be staying mid July.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lorribarnes (Post 29582832)

We have reservations for a couple nights in April. I will let you know how it goes. I am only a gold so not sure about any benefits at that hotel. I will repost after our visit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex_I (Post 29618052)

would love to hear about your stay. we have reservations later in May

Would like to hear from one or both of you. The reviews on the SPG website and TripAdvisor are all very positive, but I always like to hear from Flyertalkers as well.

I am staying at this property for two nights to check out the local Ubud attractions. My summary of the hotel is that it is a good deal and functional for to visiting the local area.

The hotel is in the middle of all of the trinket shops, so perfect if you are into that. A shuttle bus runs every two hours and will bring you to the Monkey Forest (09:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 19:00 with return trips at 09:30, 11:30, 13:30, 15:30, 17:30 and 19:30). Reservations are required at least 3 hours in advance.

As a platinum guest you can choose between points, breakfast or a local gift. I went for breakfast. You also receive a certificate for one 15-minute massage per person and you get a 20% discount on lunch and dinner (excluding alcohol and room service).

Some of the rooms in the hotel are still not completed. You can see some mattresses are still in plastic wrapping, etc.

The dinner in the restaurant was decent, but the service was rather slow and sometimes a bit confused.

The pool has three sections - one for children connected to a bigger section for adults. The third section is lower and is fed by a waterfall from the main pool. The pool also has a bar that is open until 19:00 that serves the same menu as the main restaurant. There is a daily happy hour (16:00-18:00), but only on a pre-determined item. This month it is on Bali Hai beers.

Awesome! Thanks for the update..........still deciding if I should stay here for 4 nights or the Sthala for 4 nights in February during our trip to Bali???

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...460c9d543b.jpg
Open-Air Lobby

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...fa2023a4f3.jpg
An overview of the side of the hotel.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...59bf31d909.jpg

Garden Figures

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1d271689db.jpg
Down the road is a decent looking massage spa. Prices are very reasonable - 2 hour massage for 22 USD! The place looked clean. Will be going there.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b8abe08e1c.jpg
Up the the road from the hotel you can find a brand squatter. Can anyone guess the brand? :)

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9a287212d0.jpg
Unlike the original, they not only sell coffee but coconuts at a very reasonable price of 15,000 IDR (approx. USD 0.95).

@Bravada04, I will try to make my way to Shtala to snap some photos and get an impression for you. Just looking at a map, I would say that Shtala probably has the more relaxing location, with both the positives and negatives associated with that.

I love Flyertalk!! LOL. That would be fantastic.
I am just torn as to what to do.........I will give you a little low down as to what we like and maybe I will let you make that decision for me :)
- It's vacation and I tend to indulge in cocktails a lot more and unfortunately take up smoking!
- We love strolling out to local restaurants for dinner and enjoying the culture ( it sounds like this might be difficult in both of these places )
- Don't mind taking cabs etc., but it also sounds like it is not that easy in Ubud to do this.......let's say it is 10:00 p.m. somewhere in Ubud at a local restaurant off the beaten path - how easy is it to get back to the hotel
- Love relaxing by the pool
- Love sitting on the balcony at night enjoying a cocktail
- Did I mention really love walking down the streets and finding a local restaurant :)
- Maybe it might be just flipping a coin for either of these places...........unless maybe one is more convenient than the other.
- The Sthala looks quite nice with having the river run right beside it
- Albeit your pictures now look really nice too!!!! UGH what to do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bravada04 (Post 30041562)

Having stayed at the Sthala and drove by and stopped at the Element, the Element probably fits your bill better. The Element has some local restaurants within walking distance (it's further north on the way to Tegallalang Rice Fields where as Sthala is further south, on the way to Kuta/DPS). Having that said, there are 2-3 local restaurants close to Sthala where you can walk to as well as a decent coffee farm.

Traffic is horrendous - it can take 45 minutes from Sthala to Ubud center on the free shuttle. I did rent a moped and drove around in it tho - makes it a little quicker and I was able to go to local restaurants in Ubud from Sthala. I'd advise against taking a cab in Ubud as they pretty much just rip everyone off (Grab/Go-Jek aren't allowed to operate in Ubud). Sthala however is far enough from Ubud to get Grab :)

Service is amazing at Sthala, breakfast is decent (not as good as other SPG SEA properties I've been to) and there's a balcony that overlooks the river/pool. Sthala has an infinity pool that overlooks the river.

@ Mods, I just realised that we have two threads about this hotel. Could you please combine them? The other is: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/star...er-thread.html

Some further observations now that we have had breakfast:

There are lots of biting mosquitos here, so remember to use insect repellent. We did not do that at dinner last night and now our legs look quite spotted. :)
The breakfast is fully self-service including coffee. The staff only clears the tables. That said there was a good selection of local foods, egg station, etc. The only thing I found slightly limited was the selection of fruit juices, in comparison to other Bali properties.
As mentioned in the other thread on this property the suites are not completed yet. I ventured onto the seventh floor where these seem to be located. Here there is also a previously unmentioned glass platform extending out over the gardens. I could not get the best picture since it is raining, but this is not a walk for those with fear of heights!
The hotel also offers free bicycles on a first-come, first-served basis. I am not sure if I am brave enough to ride a bicycle around Ubud.
In the general hotel information there is a mention of a free reception event. This was not mentioned at check in. I inquired and it should be on a weekly basis, but it has yet to be implemented.
The in-room dining menu appears to be exactly the same menu as in the restaurant

So, I have some additional comments now that I have checked out along with some more photos:

The room constantly had a slight damp smell to it during the stay
Breakfast the second day seems to have items, like chicken wings, that appeared to be leftover from the previous dinner. This was not the case on the first day
We had a pool-view room, which I would not recommend to most unless you are intensely using the pool. The waterfall is quite noisy during the day.
Generally speaking the soundproofing between rooms and to the outdoor corridor is rather deficient. I do not consider myself to ordinarily be sound sensitive. I suspect higher level floors would be better due to less traffic and distance to the pool.
When we were checking in we had been told the pool-view room was an upgrade. While we were checking out another couple was extending their room and there were few free rooms available. They were told such and were then asked, "Would a pool-view room be okay with you? We have nothing else." This made me believe that I somehow had been given a downgrade as a plat.
We had one maintenance issue - the blind in the bathroom went out of track - which we quickly reported to the front desk. After 24 hours, we still had not noticed any indication that someone had attempted to repair it.
I checked out using the app and deposited the keys at the reception, since there were several people waiting. While I was waiting for the taxi one junior reception agent came to me twice asking me to verify my bill and then to confirm that they could charge my credit card. I told her yes, please send the invoice by email. This seems to have caused a lot of confusion. Either their processes, systems or training do not actually support mobile check out (yet). I have yet to receive the emailed invoice.
We walked briskly from Ubud center back to the hotel. It was a fairly rapid 20-30 minute walk.
I think the walk to and from Sthala would take much longer, which leads me to @Bravada04 - I will update the Sthala hotel thread with my comments. I visited the hotel, took a tour and snapped several pictures for you. The main pain was the one-hour (=3 km) detour. I believe I earned some karma today! :)
My summary - this Elements hotel is better if you want to be closer to Ubud and potentially walk it, or if cost is your main factor. This hotel really is a deal for cash or points. If you want a bit more peace and quiet and a slightly higher standard, are not bothered by the traffic, nor by the additional cost, then head to the Sthala.