Beautiful setting with so much potential

The Royal Pita Maha is one of the three hotels owned by the Ubud Royal Family (which probably explains the Royal prefix). Along with the Pita Maha Resort and the original Hotel Tjampuhan, the three make up the Tjampuhan Hotels; the latter of the three had served as the royal guesthouse from 1928 until the 1970s when it opened to paying guests (at one point, the place hosted the artist, Walter Spies).

The Royal Pita Maha was opened in 1995, and has 75 Pool Villas that view the beautiful Sayan Valley. It separately features the Royal Kirana Spa that is designed by Bill Bensley. To those wondering about the hotel’s name, Pita Maha was the name of the 1940s art movement that led Ubud into becoming Bali’s cultural capital. The movement started at what's now Tjampuhan Hotel, led by the then-Prince Tjokorda, who along with Walter Spies and Rudolf Bonnet, reimagined the artistic styles of Balinese artists. As such, the historical-artistic influence is still very much visible at Royal Pita Maha, where virtually every space within the hotel is covered with numerous paintings and carvings done by local artists, some under the direction by the King of Ubud himself.

Deluxe Pool Villa

The Royal Pita Maha is located in Kedewatan Village which borders Sayan (where hotels like Mandapa, Amandari, Four Seasons, and Samaya are located). The hotel itself is around 10 minutes north of Central Ubud, so it is not an ideal base to explore on foot. There are several local food establishments called warungs nearby, some of them rather popular with visitors and locals alike. However, the street that leads to the hotel from the main road is quite lengthy, so the hotel isn’t the most pedestrian-friendly out there (neither are many resorts in Bali).

Impressively large statues by resort entrance

The Royal Pita Maha Lobby

The Royal Pita Maha Lobby

We arrived at The Royal Pita Maha shortly before 14.00, earlier than their official check-in time at 14.00. After presenting our IDs, we were invited to the beautiful, valley-viewing Dewata Lounge for a welcome drink of warm herbal tea. This was also where much of the confusion ensued. We were told that they would be checking if the room is ready since there was 20 minutes until check-in time, but we were also handed our keys along with a breakfast card (something I haven’t seen in a long time!). Interestingly no one really updated us on that front and pretty much left us waiting… we decided to head to downtown Ubud for a bit. We requested the staff to just take our luggage in whenever the room becomes ready and was assured that it will be done. Unfortunately, our bags were still there out in the open when we returned, to which the reception staff reasoned that they wished to keep the room sterile until we entered it. This made a rather disappointing start for the stay.

Welcome Herbal Tea

View from Dewata Lounge

The Royal Pita Maha Villas

Villa Entrance

We booked an entry-level Deluxe Pool Villa and received one as such. We were brought to our villa by a friendly staff member who briefly explained the features of the room. I personally thought the room to be very spacious and opened to an absolutely stunning and unobstructed view of the valley. The view probably also distracted me from the look of the villa itself, which frankly had seen better days.

Deluxe Pool Villa

​​​​​​​Deluxe Pool Villa

​​​​​​​Deluxe Pool Villa

Like many of the hotel’s public areas, the room hasn’t quite aged very well, and there were several pieces of furniture that looked very outdated. Some parts of the room also looked unkempt: some parts of the thatch ceiling appeared to be rotting, many of the seat cushions look stained, and the mosquito net that draped over the bed wasn’t very clean. I also didn’t like how dark the room is at night, given the lack of proper lighting leaving some corners of the room to be dim.

​​​​​​​Deluxe Pool Villa Living Room

​​​​​​​Deluxe Pool Villa Garden

However, there’s surely a novelty about the place, a sort of rustic charm that eventually made the place feel quite nice. The room and the hotel’s design can be said to be anything but sleek or modern, but that was also what made the place feel very Balinese. There were little touches like Hibiscus flowers placed everywhere, and a couple of small informative pamphlets explaining local fruits and wildlife.

​​​​​​​Welcome Fruit Bowl (well, an attempt at one)

Interesting Details

Interesting Details

I very much enjoyed the oversized indoor terrazzo bathtub, despite the toiletries being only decent at best.

​​​​​​​Deluxe Pool Villa Bathroom

​​​​​​​Deluxe Pool Villa Bathroom

​​​​​​​Deluxe Pool Villa Bathroom

​​​​​​​Deluxe Pool Villa Toilet

​​​​​​​Deluxe Pool Villa Shower

What really impressed me was the view and the organically shaped infinity plunge pool that viewed the valley. Despite that, the pool itself felt to be a bit rough and the sunbed also has seen better days.

​​​​​​​Deluxe Pool Villa Pool

​​​​​​​Deluxe Pool Villa Pool View

Apart from the hiccup at check-in, I found the staff mostly to be agreeable and well-intentioned. Interestingly, most of them looked young, which was later explained when we were told that many staff members were trainees from a local hospitality school.

I for one was quite impressed (and also confused) by the attention to detail. For instance, our room is promptly serviced (without request) when we headed to breakfast early in the morning; we were surprised to come back to find that it has been cleaned. The same was done when we headed out for dinner one evening, where we came back to see that our room has been turndown. Yet, interestingly, housekeeping didn’t proactively offer to turndown the room when we are in the room (which made me initially think that the hotel didn’t offer turndown service). Despite these lapses, I thought that everyone was very friendly despite any shortcomings or misunderstandings.

View from Dewata Lounge restaurant

View from Dewata Lounge restaurant

We didn’t dine at the hotel apart from breakfast, which was included in our rate. Breakfast is an à la carte affair and is served at the Dewata Lounge, which is the sole operating restaurant at the moment. I ordered an Eggs Benedict with spinach in place of beef ham, since their Eggs Florentine is confusingly served with a cream sauce instead of Hollandaise. It was oddly served with a side of fries, which isn’t precisely my idea of breakfast food… but okay. The dish itself wasn’t the best I’ve had, but I wouldn’t mind having it again given a lack of other choices.

Eggs Benedict with spinach in place of ham (aka Eggs Florentine)

The had a choice of two pastries—croissants and danishes. We tried the croissant, which was nothing to write home about, but I did appreciate that it was warm and flaky. We also had a fruit platter that was served in a small cocktail glass and tried a glass of fresh pineapple juice that sadly had sugar added to it.

Pastries and drinks

I did also sample an omelette, which came with some unusual sides. It was just edible.

Omelette

As a result of the low occupancy from the pandemic, many areas of the hotel appeared to be unkempt. 

Apart from the pool in our villa, there are a couple of pools in the resort, including an interesting-looking Sacred Spring Pool. Sadly, only the infinity pool under the lobby was open since the spring pool had been recently victim to a landslide and thus had to be repaired.

Royal Pita Maha Infinity Pool

Royal Pita Maha Infinity Pool

Guests are momentarily requested to stay out of the lower section of the hotel that is being repaired, however, after asking the reception staff, I was authorised to head down to view the river.

Elevator heading down

Yoga Patio with Waterfall in the background (that caused the landslide)

Closed Lagoon Pool

Ayung River

The hotel has no gym.

Advert inside elevator (Floating lunch? hmmmm)

Overall, I think that the Royal Pita Maha is an interesting hotel that’s perhaps worth checking out, particularly for cultural travellers heading to Ubud for the first time. The look of the hotel is undoubtedly Balinese, and had a bit of charm despite looking painfully outdated. I honestly really struggled with whether or not to give a recommendation for the hotel based on the room we stayed in, but I reckon that one will have a much better experience booking in one of the newer-looking Royal Pool Villas.

Sunset from room

I personally can perhaps see myself returning at some point in the future, just to check out the Sacred Spring Pool once it is repaired; however apart from that, unless there are major renovations conducted, I, unfortunately, see no compelling reason to return here.