In Reply to: Villas posted by Kempy on Sunday, 4. March 2012 at 13:42 Bali Time:
Hi Kempy. My partner and I have stayed in three different villas, all around Seminyak, so I will give you a fair appraisal of each. Of course the plus points we liked may not be what you are after.
We have been to Bali about 7 times ourselves. The three villas we have stayed in have all been based on a LOT of research. Our wants while looking were(1) location (wanted Seminyak) (2) Full sized pool (rare in 1 bed villas)
Our first trip to Bali, we stayed at "The Villas", - Walking in through the gate of our villa for the first time is a memory that will always stay with me. The smell of the beautiful garden, sound of mood music playing softly and quiet lapping of the pool were sounds and sights as we made our way along the winding ten metre path (surrounded by well established tropical garden) which opens up to the full sized pool(not just a plunge pool). A sense of peacefulness washes over you, we were in the pool and relaxing within ten minutes of walking in . The bedroom is adequate, comfy bed (four poster with mozzie net) that is turned down every afternoon, bathroom behind is nice enough withh quite a big bath in a little tropical garden setting (and well big enough for us both) - The outdoor kitchen is well stocked with utensils and a full sized fridge. They have a living area upstairs which is a bit of a waste and we didnt use, ok I guess if you have people over. The first morning was a pleasure, whilst swimming at 8am, two chefs came into the villa and cooked our breakfast whilst we swam.....ahhhh
The staff at this villa were oustanding (but then again, in Bali they are mostly anyway) - The spa they have attached to the premises is called "Prana Spa" and is pure decadence and has won many Asian spa awards. My partner spent a lot of time on a daily basis in there !!- Across the road is Bali Deli, nice up market fresh produce. One stipulation if choosing "The Villas", make sure your villa is on JL Kunti - they have another location where they have expanded to off JL Seminyak (near Bintang supermarket) which is about a five minute walk down laneways and difficult for taxis etc.
Next place we stayed at was "the Ulin" - located 50 metres from eat street in Seminyak where Ultimos etc is.....awesome location! the villa is massive, again, full sized pool (infinity pool), massage bale near the pool, outdoor kitchen. They put candles around the pool at night and will even do a barbecue feast for you to eat outside next to the pool....very romantic !! The minibar is replenished daily (complimentary, consists of soft drinks and a few beers, nuts etc), extra bonus is the seperate lounge area is a/c, bedroom really nice with awesome bed and really heavy curtains to keep all the light out ! Bathroom is beautiful, bathtub massive and in a really relaxing area. Staff incredible and attached spa also very good. You will see on trip advisor that The Ulin is ranked No 1 of villas in Seminyak. I totally agree. This place is heaven and i would highly recommend. Good luck choosing......it is half the fun !
Hope you have a great time