Downtown ubud hotel
 

as we prepare for our 2010 triip to bali we are seeking hotels smack dab in the middle of ubud....we have the komaneka but wonder what might also be lurking behind walls....we want to be able to walk out of the hotel right into town.....so if we wanted some shopping for 30 minutes and then a return to the hotel it all would be right there..

thanks

karen and bob
andy and beth

Bob, and I thought I was going to take heat for starting the planning early! :)

I smell a mini May 2010 Indonesian GTG in the works.

are you in?? you guys shouldwould love bali

Early or late in May?

I like Komaneka best. Also, Uma and Ketut's. These are all three very different. Komaneka is refined and serene. Uma is upscale and chic. Ketut's is old-style Bali: less formal, but very friendly.

Keep me posted on your dates and I'll try to arrange my schedule. We have a nice new branch in Seminyak, BTW.

The Komaneka is about as close to the middle of town as you can get. I've been curious about the Tjampuan, but it's across the river. The Warwick looks very nice, and claims it's only five minutes walk from the center of town.

My associates are upgrading their place in Payangan, but that is WAY out of town.

Kajane Mua on Monkey Forest Road fits the bill .

It has a range of rooms but its 2 bed / bath pool villas might suit you nicely .

The rooms on each level are equivalent in fit out etc.with large dressing and bathrooms .The Villas are at the rear of the property .Lovely grounds and you feel quite remote but are not of course. Not for anyone that is infirm eg our friend badly sprained her ankle en route to the airport when leaving for Bali and it was hard despite them sending a car to the rear of the hotel to collect her and pick us up from restaurants etc .

We stayed there June last year and in one of the villas and I cannot say we loved it ( despite the trip advisor reviews universally praising it to high heaven ). My review is there .

Basically the reason we did not love it was that whilst it reads very well imho the lack of attention to detail , quality of the food , and housekeeping was not up to the 4 star rating and hype. I am critical as whilst I know how hard it is to maintain places in the tropics etc their price ( around 350 for the 2 bed villa per night )was not far below The Legian or other high end places .

That said however I must give them their due in that they have since contacted on of our party and offered some free accomodation as recompense .

But the setting is lovely and the staff very charming .It is quiet and you look out on rice paddies . Oppposite was a fabulous cafe where we ate from breakfast to dinner unless going elsewhere and whose staff were also charming and helpful .Same people as own Terrazo ?? down from the main Temple .

Out the front are all the quality antique stores ( some real and some very good fakes ), fashion , jewellery etc .I rated it pretty highly for that as it was so much easier than Seminyak etc .as it showcases a lot of what you might otherwise have to trek about to see .

So by all means I would say to put it in the mix to consider for what you want . And maybe we were unlucky given the raves it gets.

John

bob, we are more than in. i'll know exact dates for may 2010 once we purchase our tickets (which'll probably happen in june of this year.)

already exploring options for our 15 day trip, which will most likely be bali/lombok/java.

you know i'll talk your ear off at the LA GTG about all this though. :)

Nice article in the IHT about Mosaic restaurant in Ubud. Not my favorite place, but an interesting perspective on how Bali is becoming more sophisticated.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/03/04/travel/bali.php

I have no idea where I'll be in May 2010 (or May 2009 for that matter) but I'm hoping it's Bali.

thanks for all these great suggestions...i will check each one of them out...

film...just no nibbling on my ear...haha

"film...just no nibbling on my ear...haha"

Bob, this is LA baby!......its the whole slobbering tongue jam, lol

Aloha!

ok peter....you go first...

john---KM has not jumped to the front of the pack....thanks for suggesting it...

john...that should be HAS jumped to the front....beth likes it a lot and it seems just what we might like...

i am concerned about the climbing and steps as i am sooooo lazy and unfit...??

rhkkmk- I've stayed at Kajane Mua twice in late 2006 and 2007. I thought it was great, because we had a free standing little villa and a quite large private horozon pool (approx. 12' x 24', I think) for a price much less than any other hotels I checked. Mind you, we showed up on the doorstep brought there by Putu, who gave us the suggestion, and they gave us a nice deal, as they were not full. The staff was gracious and gave us rides to performances and dinner when needed. My only complaint was that the lighting and seating was not good for reading in the room. Our villa Toya Uma was not one of the ones that required any stair walking :). Beware, as many do have lots of steps!

Well as I said most people love Kajane Mua as susncrg exemplifies .I am well and truly the exception .

But in case my criticism concerns you all or anyone else let me be more specific so you can see what it was .

Breakfast in your room / villa was of a standard not much better in terms of its quality than The Kumala Pantai in Seminyak ( a 2 star tourist place at US$45 p.night that we spent 2 nights at prior to KM ) .The breakfast fruit was poor quality and tasteless , cold eggs delivered and coffee ordinairy . The shower had ingrained black mould in it which I made them clean as best they could with bleach and when I lowered a sunblind on the balcony birds nests fell out .

I agree with sunscrg about lighting .The large bed is freestanding and pillows kept falling off the end .

These are not major items but as you well know it is the attention to these things that set a hotel apart when done well .I can live with them at US$45 a night but not US$350 .It was a pity because with great fruit and labour so cheap ( it is a Balinese owned hotel ) there is little excuse .

But the position was perfect and I am now an Ubud convert having always been a coastal person save on one trip in 1987 .

TTT

Not Ubud, but still worth considering for you planning a trip to Bali: Alila opens their Uluwatu Villas in June 2009. Concept drawings look soooo nice.

thanks michael but too remote i think for us...

Hey Bob-this place may be a bit too "budget" for you, however it comes VERY highly recommended by a family member. Will be in Ubud sometime April so could check out some places for you. Have fun! http://www.casalunabali.com/guesthouse/index.html

I'll be staying at Kajane Mua starting Friday... will let you know my thoughts in a few days.

Keep us posted on your trip planning, Bob. We loved Ubud (the hotel where we stayed was authentic and local (and relatively inexpensive), but lots of steps to get around the place. If you need that, I'll dig it up. Hope you're having fun in LA
j and d

chris 813...we will be interested in your comments about the Kajane Mua. We are interested in the 2 bedroom villas. Where are they located in the property, living room area, pool situation, cleanliness etc. Anything you can see either pro or con. Maybe a few pix of how it looks now vs the publicity ones from their site. Thanks

Chris813..If you have any comments you don't want to be put out pubically you can email us at [email protected] for more private thoughts..thanks

I've been at Kajane Mua a day and a half, and so far I have rave reviews. The staff is indeed wonderful. The room is great, very clean, no issues. I'm staying in the Danu cluster (4 rooms share a pool) which is very economical since I'm here on my own. It's $108 tax incl. I had a swim in the pool today and it's also very clean. I do agree that there's a lack of seating in the room. The lighting doesn't seem bad to me. The property is very centrally located, and the staff are happy to take you to locations in Ubud in one of their 5 vehicles (I've already done this twice). I agree that breakfast was just okay. Btw, there is free wi-fi on the property which was another selling point for me when I was looking at hotels.

kmkrnn, I asked to see a 2-bed villa but they are all full until Weds, so I will try to see one then, take photos, and email them to your msn address.

I have to say I'm amazed that I had a 90-min massage today for 10 bucks!

chris...karen wants to know where exactly the property is....we have seen it on two different maps in two slightly different areas.....is it at the bottom of the hill on monkey forrest rd? is it slightly further away...

how hilly is the property?

anxious to see the pictures... thanks a bunch....the rooms we have been promised are: danu--2 bedroom or loji 2 bedroom....if you can see either of these it would be helpful and pics would be appreciated...

karen and bob

Kajane is on Monkey Forest Rd about an 8-minute walk to the Monkey forest at the bottom of the hill, or going the other direction it's about a 15-min walk to the Ubud market.

The back side of the property, beyond the reception desk, is hilly. There are a fair amount of steps and it's around 5 mins walking leisurely to get to the back of the property where the 2-bd villas are. I took photos of the route, steps and the 2-bedroom villa and am sending them to your msn address. They also have a long winding ramp that's for a buggy and said that will be in service very soon to transport people who don't want to do the stairs.

My final thoughts after 6 nights at Kajane:
- I enjoyed staying there and got good value for the money.
- Having Internet wi-fi free in the room was awesome.
- Continuous great service by the staff. They went above and beyond to help me.
- I'd rate it as a 3.5 star hotel rather than a 4 star. Things like towels and ammenities are adequate but not fancy.
- Breakfast is boring, but they are aware of this and working on it. They asked for my ideas/suggestions.
- Their shuttle service is fantastic. I used it many times and never had to wait.
- I wanted to stay in 1 location in Bali as I'd been traveling all over Asia and needed to chill out. However, if I was just going to Bali for vacation, I think 3 or 4 days in Ubud is plenty and I'd move to a second location.

I strongly suggest contacting Putu Arnawa if you need a driver. He's the best - truly a nice guy, safe driver, congenial, full of good info.

Lastly, I really enjoyed Cafe Wayan (next door to Kajane) for dinner. Three Monkeys across the street was also very good.

Happy planning!

Chris thanks as you have confirmed my assessment of it .One always wonders , especially given the rave reviews on Trip Advisor , that I was being harsh . It would be so easy for them to rectify those things which in the overall are small but nonetheless important details in a place that claims to be 4 star .

By the way how did you make your booking as it is a very good price ?

I emailed Kajane directly via the email address provided on their website. In addition to the good rate, they included 1 60-minute massage, 1 pizza lunch, and a tailormade cotton blazer (the blazer wasn't an item I'd wear so they swapped it for a cotton bathrobe instead and I got to pick the colors). Everyplace is struggling in this economy, but Kajane was between 70 and 90% full during my stay.

chris thanks for this additional info....i will look for the pics. on our other site...

bob and karen

chris....i did not receive any photos....if you have already sent them would you mind doing it again please...

[email protected]


thanks

thanks chris....those pics are perfect and now we know that we will be very happy at kajane.....

Sure, he'll be happy and I will be miserable. I didn't see any escape hatches in the pictures. Trapped in Ubud!

with any luck, he will take a walk into the rice paddies, never to be seen again, except by the spiders who will bite him to death....

You'll be happy to know I didn't see a lone spider in Ubud! And I must've been lucky because I also didn't see many mosquitos and escaped without a single bite.

One other thing I forgot to tell you about Kajane - they are in the process of building more villas, and there are two one bedrooms next to each other that would have zero hills/steps to get to. It's not the 2-bedroom you were looking for, but might be another option to consider. (on second thought, it would probably be more expensive to go that route...)

No, we can't take two separate buildings. The most fun I have is waking up at 5:30 a.m. and banging the front door on my way out for a run. Then, I bang it again when I get back. Run the shower, making the pipes clatter and wish everyone a "Good Morning!".

and nothing starts our day any better than a barash of swears at him when he tries to annoy us....its part of his overall 'meism'.....it starts the day on the right note....

we have made our reservations for a 2 bedroom suite at kajane for may, 2010....

so the trip on bali will be 4 nites at sanur at tanjung sari, 6 nites at kajane mua in ubud and finally 6 nites at villa kipis in seminyak... many people get templed out...is there any chance i won't get gpanda'ed out? someone has to do it or he would not have one single friend on this earth...

now we need to get our airfares straightened out but with FF tickets that must wait a few months... and i have to decide how much time i will add on for bangkok and hua hin....

Chris thanks for that information . I am going back in late May / early June and was not going to stay but at that price and on the strength of your excellent review I may give it another go and stay where you did etc as I do like the position .

john, KM also gave us some special pricing for our 6 day stay and it included the same items as chris listed....

Hmm... I stayed near Villa Kipis on my last stay in Bali. Chances are at least one of you (my money is on Bob) will not be able to find their way back there after setting off on foot.