In Reply to: Hotel vs Vila posted by balibubba on Tuesday, 31. May 2011 at 14:18 Bali Time:
The thing with villas I find is that you can't get much feedback on them normally, and you're more or less putting all your eggs in one basket. If there is something you really don't like about it when you arrive (like a pool that never gets any sun or horribly uncomfortable beds) you've already paid and you're locked in. I guess with a hotel you have more warning that there might be issues. Going through a reliable villa agency might avoid this - I haven't done that myself in the past because I'm too much of a tightarse.
The big upsides with a villa for me are not having to deal with the general public and being able to skinny dip!
There are villas in hotel complexes and also complexes of villas with hotel-style facilities.
Good luck!