Decided to have a short stop over in Ubud to try the Bali Spirit hotel. I have stayed in Ubud several times but usually on the other side. Our driver had trouble finding it, it has a very non distinct entrance around a dog leg. The hotel run shuttles to and from Ubud or you can pay 10000Rp each person at times outside of these (although you have to wait for the shuttle to come back if you have just missed it). Seems to be about 10 minutes drive into Ubud central.
We were given rooms 202 and 204 which werent interconnecting as we requested but were right next door to each other and we were happy enough with this. The views are lovely. From our room all we could see was beautiful greenery. The room also had DVD players and TV. The bathroom was outside and there was a warning on the door to keep the door locked at all times (obviously have had some trouble with theft??) I like the outdoor bathrooms with the pebble work so was happy enough with this, but the toilet didnt flush well. There was a smallish kitchen area but this lookest pretty old and tired.
I did my usual spa experiences at Verona and Zen spas on this trip. The prices in Ubud are so much better than in Legian for this type of thing and the spas themselves are really very nice. Had my usual spice bath at Verona and the meditation oil massage at Zen spa. I bought extra bottles of the medidation oil (as I usually do) but this time they had solidified by the time I got them home. Not sure if it was a bad batch or got too cold.
Did a bit of shopping in Ubud market (not a lot as it can be hard to bargain here as it is a visited by lots of daytrippers)
Went for a shopping spree down Jalan Raya Andong - there are some amazing shops down here. I went to Kerti's first and bought a stand to hold the mosaic bowls i had bought. This seemed to be a fixed price export kind of place that reminded me a bit of geneva, and just bit further up we found lots of other great shops. I can highly recommend Lotus Lamp shop - the lady there is called Dayu. We bought some beautiful pieces from her, and also some really well priced ceramics from the shop next door. A bit further down we bought loads of metal decorator pieces, we filled suitcase of this for just over $100AU, so we went a bit mad in there. WE now have too many pieces and not enough places to hang them all.
Made a point of eating at Cafe Wayan and Murnis Warung (my favourite bali places to eat), and also I enjoyed my meals at the Bali Spirit Hotel.
All in all I did like the Bali Spirit hotel but I think that the Hotel Tjamphuan which is the same price is better positioned and has nicer/newer rooms. Although the Tjamphuan doesnt have TV or DVD which my family did use non stop at the Bali Spirit. I am trying the D'Omah later in the year and havent found any posts on this hotel on this forum - so will be sure to do a report on that one once I get back.