Not an Aman, but exceptionally in its own regard.

There possibly isn't a Bali hotel that's quite as famous as Alila Villas Uluwatu. The subject of numerous architectural honours since its opening in 2009, the WOHA designed hotel is indeed a striking design masterpiece that's only made better by its spectacular position on top of Uluwatu's cliffs. 

Despite that, Alila Villas as a brand hasn't had the smoothest sailing. After the coming and going of the villas at Hadahaa (now Park Hyatt Hadahaa), Tabanan (now Soori), and finally Koh Russey (now Koh Russey Resort), Uluwatu now remains as the sole hotel in the portfolio.

Located in the southern part of the island, Alila Villas is comparatively remote compared to other areas. One thing to mention is that Uluwatu and the Bukit Peninsula have many, many small, dead-end roads, and signage is probably not a strong point of the hotel. In fact, Alila is located slightly further from the main road or sights of interest compared to 'neighbouring' hotels like the Bulgari, the Six Senses, and The Edge, as well as LXR's Jumana. 

As such, the hotel is rather isolated and I don't reckon that venturing outside the hotel on foot is a very realistic thing to do. 

We arrived in Uluwatu on a very rainy afternoon; as it had been raining since the day prior, some roads along the way are covered in significant puddles of water due to poor drainage. As we passed the security check and pulled up to the lobby, two members of staff promptly showed up and greeted by name and attended to our luggage, and a third valeted our rental car. 

Reception

We were taken to one of the sofas next to the reception, where the check-in formalities ensued. We were presented with a box containing cold towels, along with some snacks including puffed rice crackers two pineapple tarts, and glasses of Frangipani water—all of which tasted great. Our check-in host was very professional and courteous, and after offering some face mist and quickly checking us in, she brought us to a separate, small vestibule where a golf cart was waiting to take us to our villa.

Snacks

We were driven to our villa by our 'host' (which seemed like the equivalent of a 'butler' at other hotels), who explained the facilities of the hotel along the way. As it was still raining at the time, the golf cart was covered in a waterproof tarp to protect its occupants from the elements—impressive. 

Once outside, our host took out an umbrella and brought us and our luggage in one by one. We found the room to be very clean. A greeting card along with several snacks was waiting for us on the table in the middle of the room, they included several fruits, a couple of coconut-flavoured macarons, some plantain crisps, along with a bottle each of orange and apple juice. 

Bedroom and welcome amenities

Suffice to say, the design of the place does live up to the hype. Whilst the rooms looked cold and sterile in pictures, the lighting made it feel very inviting and warm. I was especially impressed by the integration of local materials in unexpected ways that made them look sleek, like white-washed rattan ceilings and wire mesh lamps. 

There was a small, rather old-looking Samsung tablet in the room that served as an information guide, and one could also theoretically use it to order room service. 

Bedroom

Bedroom

The bathroom is similarly beautiful and well designed, although some parts of the bathroom did start to look a bit tired—the sink and toilet look a bit aged, and some parts of the mirrors had rust. Like at Amans, there were a lot of towels in the bathroom, and all the linens were very plush (they were from Ploh).

I also found it interesting that the bathroom has two showers, one inside, and the other outside. Yet, the placement of the outside shower away from the pool meant it was rather pointless in my opinion, as one has to pass the bathroom to get into the outdoor shower in the first place. 

The hotel had also since replaced its single-use bath gels and shampoos with reusable bottles—all Alila Living branded and were labelled 'His' or 'Hers'. They were of high quality, and those labelled 'His' had a more intense fragrance.  

Bathroom

Bathroom

Shower

Wardrobe

There initially wasn't much of a view from the room, due to mist and rain, but once that cleared up the next day, we were able to clearly see the sea from the room and the pool. The pool is a plunge pool and was a decent size for what it is. 

Pool and Cabana

Villa at night

Bedroom

Alila Villas Uluwatu is perhaps most famous for its spectacular swimming pool along with its bird-cage cabana, and suffice to say, they did not disappoint. The pool and cabanas are very well kept and looked as beautiful as they do in pictures. 

Cabana

Pool

The hotel does have access to a private beach some several hundred steps down. As it had been raining every day during our stay, I had not ventured down given the steep and slippery condition of the stairs. That said, as far as I was aware, the beach does not appear to be staffed nor does the hotel offer any loungers down there. 

There was also a well-equipped gymnasium that was wonderfully open 24hrs, and its equipment was modern. As an early riser, I was very happy with the fact that it was available 24/7.

Gym

Finally, there is also a small library that also carries some traditional board games.

Library

The food we had at the hotel was simply exceptional, from the snacks they left at the room, or during our meals. 

During our stay, we sampled several of their breakfast options, all of which were à la carte. Breakfast is served at the CIRE restaurant, which is otherwise closed for other meals. Frankly, everything tasted wonderful and of high quality. One dish that I personally felt was especially remarkable was the 'Corn Eggs Florentine', which replaced the usual English muffin with a doughy corn cake thing. Furthermore, the cold-cut platter was amongst the best I've had outside Europe.

Eggs on brioche with truffle-aioli

Croissants

Fruit plate and cheese platter

Bubur Ayam chicken congee

Corn Eggs Florentine and chia seed pudding

Cold cuts

Aloo Paratha (on the menu every other day)

Soto Ayam chicken soup

We also had dinner at the hotel one time at The Warung, the hotel's Indonesian restaurant and the only one open for lunch and dinner. We ordered the 'Mengibung Dinner' which was essentially a platter of dishes from around Bali. 

The Warung

After ordering, our server brought some Indonesian tempeh and prawn crackers that were to be enjoyed with this myriad of Indonesian sambals. Some were much spicier than others, but it proved to be an excellent way to sample many sambals at once. We were also presented with a complimentary herbal concoction topped with ginger beer, which tasted refreshing.

Indonesian crackers and sambal

The Mengibung platter was simply spectacular, both in taste and presentation. The platter included the following best to my knowledge: (clockwise from top) Balinese chicken curry, fish satay, prawn lawar salad, chicken and long bean lawar salad, sambal Tuna, long bean and peanut srombotan salad, Balinese pork ribs, and sambal matah fried duck, served with red rice. 

Mengibung Dinner

Mengibung Dinner

The Mengibung dinner also came with this small cup of coconut ice cream, which tasted very refreshing.

Coconut Ice Cream

Service was, for the most part, polished and excellent. The staff were warm, friendly, and courteous, and some of them are charming and great at making conversations. Everything was good, but notably, the service didn't feel especially proactive. Not that that is a bad thing though, since every request was fulfilled very quickly and professionally. Service is more or less seamless, which was particularly evident whenever we needed our car

At its price range, Alila Villas appears to compete with the Bali Amans, but Aman and Alila are two incredibly distinct brands (at least in Bali). Whilst both are very high-end and prioritises a sense of privacy for their guests, Alila isn't a replacement for Aman. Service at Aman is distinctively a lot more homelike and familiar, whereas Alila still retains a rather formal service concept.

Whilst the hotel staff don't seem to automatically know our room numbers (and I suppose it wouldn't be realistic to expect likewise outside Aman), I was regardless still impressed by the polished and professional service. There weren't any managers going around, monitoring their teams and guests, and that was not necessary at all, since everyone knew what they were doing, and were very good at it too.

For instance, we found that the window between the pool and the room couldn't close and as such maintenance was promptly despatched to fix it. Later, we came back to our room to find an array of delicious sweets along with a small card as a token of apology for the 'inconvenience'.

Sweets left in our room 

Overall, I found Alila Villas Uluwatu to be, simply put, a spectacular hotel deserving of its reputation. The view, the rooms, the food, and also the service was very good, and combined they all come together to make a hotel that's nothing less than amazing.

The hotel is located a bit further away, and good beaches aren't precisely accessible, so I'd probably recommend splitting one's trip between Alila Uluwatu, and another resort in Bali. That said, Alila Uluwatu is a great hotel that's worth checking out.