Ubud hotels
 

Hi everyone, one question... In the 8 days we are staying in Ubud we wanted to split our time in 2-3 hotels. We are thinking of starting at the Alam Shanti (cheap option), then going to Uma Ubud and ending with 3 days at the Four Seasons Sayan. Are these hotels located in locations that are different enough from each other? Want to make sure we are not just staying at the same area so we can explore all of it. Also want to make sure we can relax but have access to restaurants/nightlife by car.

Thanks!

All of those hotels are within maybe 10-15 minutes of each other in ubud. Sounds like a lot of moving around over 9 days. Are you staying elsewhere in Bali as well?

Yes, we are staying in Bali for 12 days. I had just posted something else asking for other ideas besides Ubud. Any suggestions of 1 more place we could visit?

As for the moving around is pretty much a consequence of going during the peak season and not wanting to spend so much for nicer hotel. so by splitting into 3 we can do it. maybe we should stick to 2... What 2 hotels would you recommend? A cheap option to balance out a more expensive option for the last 3 days? I'm really tempted to go to the FS Sayan, but have been reading about other options, including the Amankila (where is that located)? Besides those, what is the best top hotel in Bali that we could splurge?
Thx

If you'd like to even out the hotel expenses and also stay at some different places:

you could go north to Lovina and stay at the Damai, a very lovely place that gets great reviews ,<$200

or go to southeast Bali, off the beaten track and stay at the Alila for around $150

another nice looking option that is in another area are the villas of Tamu Seseh www.tamuseseh.com in Canggu on the coast north of Seminyak....not sure of the pricing in peak season, but the rest of the year the price is around $150 for the 1 bedroom private pool villa

Poliana, I haven't been to Alam Shanti. Did you read JohnH's excellent trip report "Back from Bali.." in which he comments on the Alam Jiwa, which is in the same group? He said the location was the a drawback: not close enough to benefit from Ubud, not far enough to get the beauty of the countryside.

Staying in the town of Ubud and along the Ayung River ridge are definitely two different experiences. You can actually see everything in the area by staying in either place but the ambience and surroundings are quite different.

The good thing about staying in the town of Ubud is that you can walk to restaurants, shops, some dance venues. The good thing about staying out of town is that you're not in Ubud. You get the beautiful scenery and magical, mystery feeling of Balinese culture.

If I had to pick two places? Hmmm...
I guess I'd go with one inland with a river valley view and one on the beach.

Outside of Ubud Kayumanis, Alila, Alam Sari would be my top choices in different cost levels. In the town of Ubud I like Ketut's Place and Komeneka.

Amankila is on the east coast. It's on a cliff overlooking the sea and has access to a nice sandy beach (black sand though). Personally, I think it's a spectacular property -- in setting, architecture, design -- though it's VERY quiet and somewhat of a drive to get to the other (considerable) attractions of east Bali.

As suggested in my reply to your other post, I'd suggest your second location be the Borobudur area (Magelang) in Java just an hour flight away from Bali. I'd save my splurge for the Amanjiwo which is the best resort experience we've had in our many years of travel worldwide.
Reviews on this board:
http://tinyurl.com/2wv4qb
http://tinyurl.com/35okmw
http://tinyurl.com/2ocfto

For two "reasonably priced" suggestions in different Ubud locations that seem to get consistently great reviews on several boards are the Komaneka in town center(where John H stayed this month - see his review) and the Ulun Ubud outskirts of town but can walk to some nearby art galleries and restaurants (Full disclosure- have not stayed at either).
ulunubud.com
komaneka.com

Alam Shanti is just down the street from Alam Jiwa (where I stayed a few weeks ago). Haven't been inside but I can comment on the area - it's a bit like staying in a small village. In fact, it IS a small village, I believe it's called Nyuhkuning or something similar...there's a school, soccer field, a temple, and just a few shops (both local and tourist-oriented). The south entrance to the Monkey Forest is 5 minutes away.

It's too far to walk into the center of Ubud on a regular basis (once or twice would be fine). I forgot to mention in my earlier report that all three of these 'Alam' hotels do have free transportation into Ubud on request (about 15 minute drive).

It's a quiet, peaceful area, and pretty but not stunning. And also slightly inconvenient if you're like me and want to be able to step outside your hotel and start exploring/wandering around.

The Four Seasons Sayan is beautiful, you will be very happy with it. It is a very special place. I have more info on my site http://www.bombasticlife.com
There is another high end, boutique hotel near the Four Seasons. It is part of the Aman Resorts. You may wan to look into that one too. I have more info and pictures for the four resorts that I stayed at in Bali. You can find them at http://www.bombasticlife.com

Ubud is so small that it's entirely pointless to change hotels. We stayed at the Ubud Village Hotel, which is very central on Monkey Forest Road, offers excellent accommodation and charged about US$70 (tax and service included) including breakfast. We walked just about everywhere in no more than 15 minutes and could have easily hired a car for a few dollars had we wanted to go a bit further, like Naughty Nuri's bar.

There is a reason FS-Sayan in Ubad is rated among the top 10 resorts in the world by Conte Nast, Travel & Leisure. We stayed in a deluxe room, not a suite, with the river running behind us, and it was heaven on earth. We have stayed at 6-7 FS's, 3 Aman's, 2 Ritz resorts/hotels and many other 4+ and 5 star resorts and would have to rank FS-Sayan 1 or 2 of our best choices in 2001 and 2006. You get what you pa for in most cases.