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Hi guys.
I’ve convinced myself to strongly consider renting Villas in Sanur and in Ubud rather than staying at a hotel.I’ve noticed that most of the ones I’ve looked at have got open air / semi outdoor bathrooms, and possibly the same for kitchens.
How do guests cope with insect attacks at night when lights are switched on?
Mrs Aston is worried and is considering holding the ‘bum gun’ (from recent chat threads) ready to shoot any 4 – 8 legged interlopers while she spends a penny.I guess this is an ‘us’ problem, since so many properties have this kind of arrangement for bathrooms and kitchens and I didn’t notice any particular reference to that in a negative manner on the property reviews.
Any thoughts on this please?
Hi @Aston100 – I had the same concerns as your wife! We had a villa (within a hotel resort) which was semi-open air. I spotted the odd lizard (ghecko?) but that was about it. No mosquito bites thankfully but I did use insect repellent. I hate creepy crawlies but honestly it was fine!
Right, but we came across a monitor lizard at a place in Phuket. Must have been 4 foot or more.
I think I’ll be brandishing the bum gun too.@yorkshireRich which Viceroy room category have you booked? I saw both Pool Suite and Terrace Pool Villa available for 105k points, so I obviously chose the latter for 5 nights. I initially wanted to stay at the RC Reserve, but got turned off when I saw the only points category isn’t a villa and doesn’t have a pool…but I’m concerned Viceroy will disappoint. Mulling whether I should instead split it into 2 nights the Banyan Tree Escape and 3 nights at the Anantara Ubud opening soon. So please report back your thoughts on Viceroy!
My itinerary is fly in to DPS, 3 nights at the Raffles to explore Jimbaran / Uluwatu / Seminyak areas, fly to LBJ, 2 nights at Ta’aktana (Marriott Luxury Collection) to see Komodo National Park, fly back to DPS, 5 nights at the Viceroy(?) to explore Ubud / northern Bali, fly out to SIN for 4 nights at the refurbed Mandarin Oriental before returning home.
@yorkshireRich which Viceroy room category have you booked? I saw both Pool Suite and Terrace Pool Villa available for 105k points, so I obviously chose the latter for 5 nights. I initially wanted to stay at the RC Reserve, but got turned off when I saw the only points category isn’t a villa and doesn’t have a pool…but I’m concerned Viceroy will disappoint. Mulling whether I should instead split it into 2 nights the Banyan Tree Escape and 3 nights at the Anantara Ubud opening soon. So please report back your thoughts on Viceroy!
My itinerary is fly in to DPS, 3 nights at the Raffles to explore Jimbaran / Uluwatu / Seminyak areas, fly to LBJ, 2 nights at Ta’aktana (Marriott Luxury Collection) to see Komodo National Park, fly back to DPS, 5 nights at the Viceroy(?) to explore Ubud / northern Bali, fly out to SIN for 4 nights at the refurbed Mandarin Oriental before returning home.
hi, I booked the pool suite, as it was only one available at the time. I have however looked again today and the terrace pool villa is now available. The only problem is that it was 31 days upto arrival for cancellation, so I am unable to cancel. I have emailed them on the off chance to see if they can change the booking to a terrace villa, and I will let you know how that goes.
I don’t think I will be disappointed with the Viceroy as it seems to be far enough away from the centre of ubud, but also close enough to not to be so secluded.
We will have plenty of time in the pool and The fine dining restaurant has rave reviews but we won’t be allowed in there.I will probably do a trip report at the end of the holiday
@yorkshireRich I’d hope they can accommodate the change for you given the villa is clearly available on your dates for the same points. Either way, enjoy and I will be very keen to hear the pros and cons of this resort.
Hi, I thought it was sensible to post this here, as a well as the daily chat thread, for those that are planning a trip involving Ubud.
1) go to Petulu village for one sunset (if you have any interest in nature, don’t worry if not), purely to see the madness of all of the herons of Bali coming to roost in the trees of Petulu. It’s an incredible sight!
2) for food in Ubud, I recommend I Love Bali for a cheap and cheerful substantial meal, Bebek Bengil Crispy Duck for said crispy duck, or Hujan Locale if you want a fancy meal. I also had the crispy duck there. It was incredible.
3) For a massage, I *highly* recommend Sang Spa Ubud. I’m a bit of a massage afficionado, and I have no time for bad massages. Tini was fantastic, and from the reviews I read, the rest of the staff are wonderfully skilled at sorting out aches and pains. Also the prices are fair.
4) for anyone who wants to avoid the hellish traffic around Ubud, stay outside of the city centre, ideally to the North where there are some incredible accommodation options (either with jungle/gorge views, or rice field views) , and do one of two things
– plan a trip in first thing (after an early breakfast) or last thing (to enjoy dinner in Ubud), the traffic seems to be at its worst between check out time and mid afternoon
– if you have reasonable mobility, get a grab to one of the trailheads for the walks into town (you won’t encounter traffic that’s too awful until you get closer to Ubud), then enjoy the views of rice fields while strolling the rest of the way. Do the same on the way back, in reverse. This worked brilliantly for avoiding the stress of the traffic repeatedly.Two obvious routes are:
https://strava.app.link/hT1F0eK5ALb
and
https://strava.app.link/j8RgfhN5ALb
The only reason they took so long is that I kept stopping to take photos!
For the second trail, I recommend you continue along the section where I completely missed the turn for the bridge and had to backtrack (unless you have the surefootedness of a mountain goat) – the path is narrow and bordered by a steep drop into a gorge for the last section between the bridge and Ubud. Continue down my wrong path onto the road into Ubud.
There’s also a Sari organic walk, and various other trails on Google maps.
I hope this is useful to someone!
cat, extremely useful indeed.
Thankyou for some great tips there.
After emailing, they have said they will do that. Looks like that is my upgrade though.
Only 2 weeks to go.
Indonesia to start requiring a health declaration w.r.t. MonkeyPox – effective 29/08/24
Another QR code on arrival
Anyone stayed at the SLH properties via Hilton? How did you find them? I am HH Gold and have previously stayed at Conrad Bali. We are thinking of flying in from Sydney as that’s where we are first headed. Return is from Japan so quite a lot of planning to do in terms of minimising cost of flights as the distances are huge. Some SLH properties look small but lovely. We are a family of 4 though with 2 teenage kids so the cost does add up. Quite tempted by the pool rooms. If anyone’s stayed, please do share how you found it.
Anyone stayed at the SLH properties via Hilton? How did you find them? I am HH Gold and have previously stayed at Conrad Bali. We are thinking of flying in from Sydney as that’s where we are first headed. Return is from Japan so quite a lot of planning to do in terms of minimising cost of flights as the distances are huge. Some SLH properties look small but lovely. We are a family of 4 though with 2 teenage kids so the cost does add up. Quite tempted by the pool rooms. If anyone’s stayed, please do share how you found it.
Not quite an answer to your question, I’m afraid, but just to say that the Asian flagship Hilton Orchard has
connecting rooms and a fabulous breakfast for Hilton Golds! It’s also right in the buzzy part of the city
for your teens.Hi any thoughts on the Hyatt Regency Sanur vs the Andaz Bali next door? Travelling next summer and spending a week in Sanur – couple no kids. The Regency is offering lower rates – is it worth paying extra for the Andaz? (we have no status with Hyatt btw).
Anyone stayed at the SLH properties via Hilton? How did you find them? I am HH Gold and have previously stayed at Conrad Bali. We are thinking of flying in from Sydney as that’s where we are first headed. Return is from Japan so quite a lot of planning to do in terms of minimising cost of flights as the distances are huge. Some SLH properties look small but lovely. We are a family of 4 though with 2 teenage kids so the cost does add up. Quite tempted by the pool rooms. If anyone’s stayed, please do share how you found it.
Also interested in this as I noticed that https://villatokay.com on the Gilis is one of the available SLH ones and looks ace
Hi any thoughts on the Hyatt Regency Sanur vs the Andaz Bali next door? Travelling next summer and spending a week in Sanur – couple no kids. The Regency is offering lower rates – is it worth paying extra for the Andaz? (we have no status with Hyatt btw).
I looked at those and also the Intercontinental.
Eventually I decided to book a private pool villa round the corner instead.
So many to choose from for well under £100 pnHi all, been meaning to add a few bits of advice here (not sure if it warrants a full trip report!).
– Having passed through Bali several times (far more times than necessary, due to several changes of plans after making initial bookings), I highly recommend that when arriving into Bali, or departing Bali you do the exact opposite of what you would normally do. Aim to arrive as early as possible, or as late as possible! I initially arrived from Singapore at around 8pm, but I didn’t bother with business class on a relatively short hop, so my luggage took AGES to arrive. By the time I left the airport it was 9:30pm ish, so there was no traffic. Other trips to and from the airport involved hideous traffic jams.
– Don’t underestimate the time taken to cross Bali – I had a couple of occasions I had booked a hotel with a gorgeous pool, just for one night before departing again, but it took 3 hours to get from the ferry to the hotel, arriving at 6:30pm, when the pool was closed for the night. Again, it’s better to take the first or last ferry out of, or into Bali, either allowing you to spend a chunk of the daylight hours in the place you’re leaving or arriving into. Avoid taking the ferries around noon, if you can. the noon ferry.
– If you want to visit places all over Bali, either aim to leave early and come back to the hotel late, or change hotels midway through the trip.
– Gili Air is lovely, there are some incredible places to snorkel (with both hawksbill and green turtles all over the place!), there are some lovely beaches, and loads of lovely beachside restaurants. I recommend Fhane’s spa for a fantastic massage. It’s quite busy, but not unbearably so, and is a lovely, relaxed place to spend some time.
– If you have any interest in visiting the rest of Indonesia – do it, it’s incredible, but don’t rely on Google Maps for driving times (they’re wildly wrong!). Do a Google search for discussions on TripAdvisor.More on a trip report that I’ll post later, covering Flores too.
I hope this helps some people!
Cat, it helps massively. Traffic is as I expected it. Tbh, I expected it to be that horrific, it’s probably been actually okay.
Currently in ubud. Going to do some exploring tomorrow, and maybe take an early morning walk.
Loved where we stayed in Seminyak. The area and hotel (Hotel Indigo) really surpassed my expectations.
Oh, one last thing. It looked like my emailing worked. I was upgraded to a 2 room upgrade to a deluxe terrace villa at the Viceroy.
@cat , would you recommend the Madani antique villas in Ubud?
Just back from slightly less than 2 weeks in Bali. We had a few nights in Nusa Dua (staying at Bali Tropic Resort & Spa) followed by 6 nights in Ubud (staying at Adiwana Monkey Forest). Both hotels were good but the staff in Ubud were excellent and couldn’t do enough for us.
Flights were on Emirates (MAN-DXB-DPS) with the first outbound leg delayed which resulted in a missed connection and unplanned 20 hours in an airport hotel in Dubai. The airline organised a hotel and meal vouchers which we were grateful for though it meant we lost a night in Bali.
First time to Bali and loved Ubud, despite the endless traffic – a much larger town than we anticipated. Nusa Dua was ok but we don’t feel a need to go back again in a hurry.
Had a good driver contact – an enterprising woman who has a few male drivers working for her. Good prices, good communications and good English. Happy to share details if it would help.
Just back from slightly less than 2 weeks in Bali. We had a few nights in Nusa Dua (staying at Bali Tropic Resort & Spa) followed by 6 nights in Ubud (staying at Adiwana Monkey Forest). Both hotels were good but the staff in Ubud were excellent and couldn’t do enough for us.
Flights were on Emirates (MAN-DXB-DPS) with the first outbound leg delayed which resulted in a missed connection and unplanned 20 hours in an airport hotel in Dubai. The airline organised a hotel and meal vouchers which we were grateful for though it meant we lost a night in Bali.
First time to Bali and loved Ubud, despite the endless traffic – a much larger town than we anticipated. Nusa Dua was ok but we don’t feel a need to go back again in a hurry.
Had a good driver contact – an enterprising woman who has a few male drivers working for her. Good prices, good communications and good English. Happy to share details if it would help.
Thanks Rarity Monk. Wasnt sure if we wanted to stay at Nusa Dua, but decided to go ahead with Ubud again as its just a bit more peaceful and less touristy (away from town centre). Could you share the driver contact – naive_cousin0c at icloud dot com. Thanks!
I wouldn’t stay in Nusa Dua as it’s mainly an enclave of western hotels with very little in the way of local life. If you want the beach Sanur or Seminyak are better although Jimbaran is our favourite as we like the IC there.
@RarityMonk – could you please share the details of your driver contact? Email is 0ampule.duffel at iCloud dot com
Apologies for the delay @BBbetter and @JenT, I’ve not yet worked out if/how I can get alerts of someone has tagged me on here. I’ve emailed you both details today from RarityMonk at gmail dot com. Hope it’s useful.
I agree with @qc if you’re looking for the real Bali – we visited knowing it was going to be just for some R&R with little exposure to local life, although we were fortunate that our hotel had a large temple in the grounds which was very active for a new moon festival attended by locals whilst we were there
Thanks Raritymonk, received it!
Thanks @RarityMonk! Got picked up this morning – early for the pick-up, perfect communication, great vehicle and lovely driver. Highly recommended from us too now.
Anybody been to Surabaya?
Currently got 2 nights booked in order to go climb Mt Bromo, but happy to add a day or two if necessary. Can’t really get a genuine feel from comments elsewhere on the internet.Amended itinerary:
Surabaya – 2 nights
Yogyakarta – 5 nights
Ubud – 5 nights
Sanur Beach – 5 nightsWe didn’t go to Surabaya on our trip to Java as we didn’t fancy getting up in the middle of the night to hike up Mt Bromo to see the sunrise! It was 1980 though so even if we had gone the info might be out of date!
We combined Yogyakarta with Solo (Surakarta) as they’re close to each other. Lots to do in Jogja – will you go to Prambanan as well as Borobudur? Don’t forget to see the Ramayana ballet.
We didn’t go to Surabaya on our trip to Java as we didn’t fancy getting up in the middle of the night to hike up Mt Bromo to see the sunrise! It was 1980 though so even if we had gone the info might be out of date!
We combined Yogyakarta with Solo (Surakarta) as they’re close to each other. Lots to do in Jogja – will you go to Prambanan as well as Borobudur? Don’t forget to see the Ramayana ballet.
Thanks QC.
I suspect there have been one or two changes in the past 45 years!
Yeah we’ll be doing both temples on separate days when in Jogja.I’m struggling with trying to get a flight into Surabaya the same night as we arrive into Kuala Lumpur.
It seems a waste of the evening to stay in an airport hotel at KUL and fly out the next morning. The BA and the MAS flights (still deciding between them) get into KUL around 17:00 – 17:30 so I guess it will be 19:00 by the time we’ve checked into the airport hotel, dumped our bags and are ready to head into Kuala Lumpur to grab a meal – not sure it’s do’able given the 1.5 hours journey time each way.Alternative is Turkish Airlines LHR > IST > SIN > SUB which gets us there on one ticket, but it isn’t cheap: around £2.5kpp in business class one-way. Economy is about £700pp one way, but I don’t think this is the kind of journey I’d want to spend in economy.
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