Alila Villas Uluwatu

This was our first stop on our honeymoon and honestly nothing compares to this hotel. The design is amazing, staff is perfection, they are incredibly nice and take such great care of you. Even the gardeners seem genuinely interested in how your stay is. They offer you a 24/7 butler who watches your every move which seemed great but a bit too much for us. So instead we opted to just have the regular level of service which meant that the whole hotel staff helped you out whenever you had a question - both options are nice but we were happy without having someone wait on us hand and foot (and don't get me wrong, you are definitely still waited on and taken care of!) Yoga is phenomenal. The teacher (I forgot his name) is awesome. I am more advanced and my husband is a beginner, he taught to both levels - probably one of the best teachers in a while. We also tried arial yoga which was really cool especially with a view of the ocean. Food was fantastic too. There are not a lot of pool chairs but you really don't need them because each room has its own private pool. And the room...I've stayed in many nice hotels but nothing like this. The view, the bed, the bathroom supplies (his and hers get their own!) it was all the little details that make this hotel so special. Definitely check this hotel out! It's awesome and I can not wait to return. And there is no filter on the pictures I posted :) it really is just amazing.

We rented a private 4 bedroom villa with a small group of friends, and could not have stayed anywhere better on the Bali waterfront. If you're looking for a relaxing, secluded and private environment in the middle of nature, consider Alila Uluwatu. We had some amazing Indonesian breakfasts and lunches, and excellent service throughout our experience. Our personal butler, Kadek, was incredibly helpful at the villa, and went out of his way to serve us in the best way possible, assisting us from finding the best restaurants to shopping local artisans, and much more. He was with us a full week and we wish we could have packed him in our suitcase. If you're booking a villa, ask for him! We also loved the resort's radically refreshing focus on ecology and respect for nature, rooted in local culture. This in combination with its location on Uluwatu's beautiful cliffs, will never want to make you leave.

A magnificent long weekend holiday. Wonderful services, exquisite food, and beautiful scenery. It can be a little bit pricy - but trust me worth every cent of it. Will come back to stay in AVU in the short future.

Location/Rooms/Resort: - Uluwatu doesn't have a whole lot going on which is great if you want to relax and 'get away from it all.' Would not recommend going here if you're looking for the Bali party scene - There's no beach here so if you're looking for a dip in the ocean, this is NOT the place for you. The villas have a nice view and there is a beautiful infinity edge pool but just no beach (fine for me, but hubby prefers more beach access). - All the rooms are the same size and include a private plunge pool. The rooms are very spacious and very well appointed with a lounger, indoor/outdoor showers, super comfy bed. - Higher rooms offer a slightly better view, but all the rooms are good Service: - Overall good but I am spoiled and used to 5 star service and there were a few hiccups, for example having to wait several minutes for a buggy, room service forgetting something small, etc. (nothing huge, but just not perfect service) Food: - Breakfast is included with most rates. It's a-la-carte and the portions are TINY, but you can order as many things as you want so it's kind of fun - Lunch- 2 choices- one traditional Indonesian place (Warung) and the other is more Western style. We were disappointed with Warung- the flavors just didn't agree with us. The Western restaurant is ok, but not spectacular. - Dinner- again 2, choices (are you sensing a theme here?) The food is just ok. We actually chartered a driver to go off site for dinner on multiple nights because the food selection here just wasn't up to par. Spa: - The spa here is top notch- the therapists are excellent and the booking agents are really knowledgeable about the services and made excellent recommendations. We spent 3 hours getting pampered and it was heavenly. - The spa also offers private yoga lessons (including aerial) in a private villa overlooking the ocean- definitely recommend if you are into yoga. Overall: - A nice place to stay with no overt problems but lacked the extra *omph* of service and food choices not very good. Definitely geared toward travelers that want to relax and do nothing.

I suppose this review should be prefaced in the context of very high expectations, given that this was the most we have ever spent on a nightly rate (A$1000+, which included a 20% pre-purchase discount). I really wanted to love this property, but..... I had visions of independent villas perched upon the cliff top at Uluwatu, with a backdrop of ocean and crashing waves - maybe with a view of a surfer - but it's actually a very modern hotel with row upon row of villas adjacent to each other. From our villa, we could mainly see the roofs of other villas, with a tiny rim of blue in the distance if you really looked hard. Check-in was good, very welcoming. A glass of water as a welcome drink. We were asked whether we preferred nuts, fruit or cookies as a snack - our preference was nuts - but these failed to materialise over the 3 days. The actual villa is spacious and comfortable. The majority of staff are faultless in face to face dealings and go out of their way to fix issues. There was a wedding in the grounds on our first night, with live music blaring across the resort (not our idea of peace and tranquility), and after complaining were offered a 90min massage for 2 which was very much appreciated - and spectacular. We usually asked for housekeeping while we were at breakfast or dinner. We were underwhelmed with housekeeping. A dead fly remained on the bathroom vanity for at least 24 hrs. A bath had been used with soaps, used shampoos etc over the edge - and this wasn't touched during turndown service. Most high level hotels tidy makeup on vanity and place neatly on a towel - here the vanity remained a mess for 3 days. We loved dinner at the Warung. The staff were knowledgable and pleasant, the food delicious and good value. The breakfasts on the other hand were not in the same league. Most "hot" choices appeared as though they had been prepared hours earlier and had been sitting in a warmer. My poached egg was almost cold and inedible. This trip also included Kokomo Villas on Gili Trawangan, The Lombok Lodge, The Kunja Villas in Seminyak, and The Legian Hotel in Seminyak - and the quality of the breakfast was the worst by far. So would we go back? Definitely not at that price for what was delivered.