Shabnam

Hi,
My husband and I have shortened our Bali trip from 10 to 7 nights in the first week of may..we are basically looking more to chill ...a good massage,a nice ambience to relax ,good food is our focus with a fair bit of sightseeing thrown in.
So we can either do plan A or plan B-
Plan A
4 Nights at the Ritz on the Jimbaran(2nd -5th may)
3 Nights at the Alila Ubud in Ubud(6th-8th)
Plan B
Just stay all 7 nights at the ritz in Jimbaran and do a day trip to Ubud.

So does it make sense to divide our time btwn staying at two hotels ..we dont want to make it too hectic but also don't want to lose out staying in Ubud if its really wht you fodorites recommend.
Also the Ritz told me that there are two ways of getting to Ubud -Taxi which is priced atRS 175000 or the hotel car which costs usd 40 for drop off only.
Ritz is offering us a package rate of USD 245(massage and breakfast) from the 2nd May till the 6th and USD 210 (only breakfast)from 7th May Onwards.
The Alila Ubud is offering usd 160 for a superior room and 180 usd for a delux room including breakfast from the 6th May onwards.
I am sure about the Ritz but wanted to know if the Alila Ubud is worth it??
Any suggestions ??

Shabnam

Sorry..i forgot to mention that the ritz rates are for a Ocean veiw delux room !

Mealea

I just got back from Bali a few weeks ago. I stayed 3 nights at the Ritz and loved it. Great place. I'm sure you'll enjoy it a lot and the spa is fantastic.

I then had reservations at the Alila Ubud for 4 nights. As soon as I got there, I was very disappointed. I stayed 1 night since it was already getting late and left the next day. I know, Alila looks great on their website, but in reality the superior and deluxe rooms are small, dark, and charmless. It is very overpriced for what you get and I didn't like the atmosphere of the place. So many things went wrong, I can only say I was very disappointed. I met other people there who were also disappointed and planning to leave. The spa treatments were not very good either. Maybe the suite rooms are very nice, but I can definitely say the cheaper rooms are not nice at all.

I highly recommend staying a few nights in Ubud. I did find the PERFECT place. The new Uma Ubud. I've been meaning to write up a report, but no time yet. I loved it so much I extended my trip and it was hard to leave.

7 days at the Ritz is too much in my opinion. Ubud is wonderful, just reconsider your plans for Alila. I recommend 3 or 4 nights at the Ritz and 3 nights in Ubud. That's the perfect combination. I can recommend some good drivers too. You don't need to use the hotel cars and transportation services unless you really want to pay four times the price compared with hiring an independent driver.

rhkkmk

as an alternative to hiring the taxi how about hiring a driver for the day who could ferry you all around the places you want to go....putu would do a fantastic job...his top rate was 40,000 rp for a really full day of 10-12 hours....so you could do the ubud places and maybe some other places of interest....he is fantastic and has a nice largeish suv....

Shabnam

Hi Mealea,

Ok...alila is definately out if you feel so strongly about it.
Now the Uma .are the terrace rooms nice..is that where you stayed ?Could you elaborate on the ambience etc because the website dosent have many pics .
Also do you recommend taking any of the hotel packages.
Thanks rhk...i think hiring a car is sensible .

Shabnam

Mealea,

You'd mentioned some drivers....in Bali.I would definately like their contact details.

Thanks

Mealea

Hi Shabnam, Okay, I'll look up the contact details of the drivers I mentioned. I'll write a longer message later, I promise. As for the rooms at Uma, I stayed in a Terrace room and liked it a lot. I thought it was much nicer than the Garden room, even though the Garden room is more expensive. There were special introductory rates until March 31, but I'll bet if you ask, they may be able to give you a discount. Because it's a very new place, they do everything to make you happy. Full report coming soon.

Shabnam

Hi mealea,

The Uma is offering a discount of 10 percent for the terrace room from the first week of may...wanted to chk if thats standard or can i negotiate a bit more ??

rhkkmk

putu's contact address is: [email protected]

he is fantastic and lots of fun...

he will also collect you at the airport if you choose...

welltraveledbrit

I agree with Mealea...we also left after one day at the Alia (back when it was the Chedi) in Jan 2001. The pool is incredible, we liked the food and the public areas were nice BUT there's an awful lot of concrete and the rooms weren't fabulous.

We moved to the Ibah. It's the most extraordinary place and everytime I recommend it I think...why am I telling other people! It's a charming smal and very upmarket property close to Ubud (they run a shuttle the short distance up the hill). It's very lovely, secluded and exotic, filled with buddhas and gorgeous flower arrangements. The service is excellent, ginger tea brought to your room everyday at 4pm with cake!The pool is amazing and you can walk out into the countryside from the hotel. Unfortunately the website doesn't do it justice.

Don't worry about moving around in Bali. I understand your concern about rushing around but some of the charm of Bali is seeing the villages and towns along the way...the rice paddies on the hillsides are incredible.

Hope you have a great time.

Craig

I second the recommendation for Putu.

Mealea

Thanks to the advice from people on this board, I contacted Putu for my Bali trip. He was very nice and professional in answering back right away. However, he was all booked up in March, even though I wrote to him a couple of months in advance. He's a very busy guy. Seems very nice and I got a positive impression.

I called him once I arrived in Bali and he offered to help arrange something, but in the end, we found some other good drivers. If you want Putu, you have to book really early. Will post the other information later when I have more free time.

rhkkmk

you have to be very early for the best of the best...putu has gotten lots of press on this forum so i suspect he is in fact busy as you report...but march isn't even the busy months for bali??

raoulette

Hello. It sounds like you've already taken your trip to Bali, I just wanted to post all over the internet the wonderful time my family and I had recently in Bali. We had a great driver, family man who really knows his way around. Can take you to the cheapest places and will even find what you want and get it at a local Indonesian prices. Great guy who is desperate and hardworking for money from us tourists to feed his family. He works hard and worked long hours with my family. Please, if anyone talks to him, tell him Mr. Bob an American living in Saudi Arabia sent you (we're blonde hair blue eyed people so the contrast should stick in his mind). His phone number is 0818552161. His name is Aan Yudiyanto, he sometimes goes by 'double A, N'. I found him right out back of the Bali Dynasty Resort, a little strip of shops leading from the resort gate to the beach.

celticsandy

i hope you have a fantastic trip to Bali. My wife just finished our 4th yesterday and it was fantastic. I know Putu seems to come well recommended. If you cannot reach him may I suggest the driver we had. His name is komang and can be reached at062-081-236-59105. I'm from Canada and purchased furniture on this trip as well as previous times and komang has always been there to guide us through the red tape of cargo etc. A full day of driving is in the 350 000 rupiah range. Great english. You won't be disappointed. Regardless, enjoy the island ! Andy