Alila Ubud Bali

My favourite Balinese Retreat!

by digivixen about Alila Ubud

I absolutely adore staying here every time I pop over to Bali at least for a few days to truly 'get away from it all'. The hotel is surrounded by endless ricepaddies and is a true Indonesian oasis!

You can be as busy or as relaxed as you like, the hotel can organise you treks and cycling trips or just laze by the incredible infinity pool (voted one of the best in the world in Travel+Leisure!).

The hotel has locally created toiletries in the rooms which are just to-die-for (and don't worry you can buy them in the Alila boutique!) and even the standard lead-in rooms have incredible views of the mountains with incredible fixtures... deep red-brown wooden feature flooring and amazingly comfortable bedding.

A true retreat! Perfect for couples or just someone wanting to get away from it all! Amazing infinity pool overlooking the mountains, sensational food and lovely staff!

UN BALCON SOBRE LOS ARROZALES

by Rodriguezmoreno about ALILA UBUD

DESPUES DE NUESTRA ESTANCIA EN EL JIMBARAN RITZ-CARLTON HOTEL A PIE DE PLAYA DICIDIMOS ESTAR OTROS 4 DIAS EN EL INTERIOR DE LA ISLA Y POR SUPUESTO DECIDIMOS UBUD.ELIGIMOS ALILA AL SER UN HOTEL DE LA CADENA DESING-HOTEL, QUE SON HOTELES DE DISEÑO, LO CUAL VA CON NUESTRO ESTILO.EL HOTEL ES ESTUPENDO PERO CON MENOS INSTALACIONES Y SERVICIOS QUE EL RITZ-CARLTON.ES INTIMO Y PERSONAL.LAS HABITACIONES STANDAR SON ESTUPENDAS, DE DISEÑO, DISTRIBUIDAS EN ADOSADOS DE DOS PLANTAS, LAS INFERIORES TIENEN LA DUCHA EN UN PATIO EXTERIOR, LAS DE ARRIBA NO, PERO MEJOR VISTAS DESDE LA TERRAZA.TIENEN MUCHOS DETALLES EN EL BAÑO, GALLETAS, FLORES, INFORMACION...SI VAS EN VIAJE DE NOVIO (O DICES QUE LO VAS) TE REGALARAN UNA BOTELLA DE CHAMPAN Y TARTA DE CHOCOLATE. EL HOTEL ESTA BASTANTE BIEN, EL EMPLAZAMIENTO ES MAGNIFICO, LA PISCINA ES RECONOCIDA ENTRE UNA DE LAS MEJORES DE LOS HOTELES DEL MUNDO, Y NO DEFRAUDA.EL SPA ES TAN SOLO DE MASAJES Y NO TIENE INSTALACIONES ACUATICAS.DISPONEN DE UN SERVICIO DE TRASPORTE GRATUITO AL CENTRO DE UBUD, AUNQUE EL HORARIO ES BASTANTE RESTRINGIDO.EL SERVICIO DEL DESAYUNO ES DESESPERANTEMENTE LENTO Y DESDE LUEGO NO A LA ALTURA QUE ES DE ESPERAR EN UN HOTEL CON ESTA CATEGORIA.LAS COMIDAS Y CENAS MEJORAN EN SERVICIO.PERO INSISTO SI TIENES ALGUNA EXCURSION O TIENES QUE ATENERTE A UN HORARIO, RESERVA MUCHO TIEMPO PARA EL DESAYUNO.TAMBIEN SOLICITAMOS UN SERVICIO DE DESPERTADOR EN RECEPCION Y NO LO ATENDIERON.-LLEVA TU PROPIO DESPERTADOR.

everything good except geckos and lizards

by TripAdvisor Member ShanghaiJazz

I enjoyed Alila Ubud because of the beautiful view of the countryside, impeccable service, delicious food and the familiar pampering at mandara spa. I appreciated the crisp fresh air which gave a respite from the haze caused by fires from Indonesia that shrouded all of Singapore (where I came from). It was surprisngly that Bali being part of Indonesia was not affected by the haze. I do not complain of not having a TV in the room but some of my family members felt a TV was necessary. The balcony would have been a good place to be, for candle light dinner or reading a book in the day but the frequent sighting of geckos and lizards kept me in the room most of the time. The room was rustic, charming and comfortable and I would have enjoyed it more if there was a possibility of riding geckos and lizards that were crawling on the overhead beams in the evenings and night (thatched roof attracts creepy crawlies) and their droppings were often found on the bed and floor.

I will definitely want a second trip to Alila Ubud if the geckos and lizards can stay outdoors.

A joyous find in the bush

by TripAdvisor Member travelmadame

Alila Ubud is further north of the the town center of Ubud and therefore you get a more mountainous and valley view of Ubud than the small shops you see in Ubud. The hotel's staff has been wonderful in all their offering and they were there anytime required. The room is a little small (and sans TV) but a really nice and quiet sanctuary for city people. Food was excellent at the restaurant and sitting by the pool gives you the serenity of Ubud and Bali. The hotel spa also offered a variety of treatments and they have their home brand skin/body care products.

There are lots of classes being offered from Alila but you will find them better value for money elsewhere.

Perfect hotel for honeymoon

by TripAdvisor Member mdkate1657

We have just returned from a three week honeymoon in Singapore and Bali. We stayed at the Alila Ubud for three nights in the middle of our holiday. Had we known how perfect it was we would have stayed longer!

On arrival we were shown to our room, we had been upgraded to their best suite which was the Pool Villa. This was on stilts over overlooking the valley an dthe infinity pool. I have bever seen a room like it - it was amazing! As it was our honeymoon we were immediately brought champagne and a chocolate honeymoon cake.

The bedroom had long windows to three sides overlooking the valley and a huge 4 poster bed in the middle of the room. There were double doors to an outdoor room which was a pond filled with koi carp and a pathway over the middle. There was a sunken bath in the pond. Each evening staff came and lit candles around the bath, it was so romantic. There were further double doors to a huge bathroom with two wash basins, really powerful shower etc.

Each morning and evening about 20 monkeys walked across our verandah and we were able to take fabulous photographs of them.

The pool was amazing as described by others. Service was impeccable, iced water brought to you every 30 minutes, cold flannels and even your sunglasses were cleaned for you!

Breakfast was the best we had whilst away. Lunch and evening meals, although more expensive than other places we stayed were top quality. On our last evening we arranged the gourmet food and wine tasting menu. This is usually served in a cabana by the pool. As we loved our suite so much we arranged for it to be served on the balcony. They set up a romantic table with flowers and candles everywhere. It was not overlooked by any other guests and we had candle lit views over the valley. We had our own personal butler who was very discreet and not intmidating. It was perfect.

We did not want to leave this hotel and go to our next one. I know this is a long review but I can't begin to recommend this hotel enough. We do not usually visit the same country twice as there is so much of the world to see but we will be definately be returning to this hotel in the future. Although we were upgraded, I would definately book the Pool Villa again at extra cost, it just added the finishing touch to what would already have been a perfect stay!

Great stay but detail needs improving

by TripAdvisor Member Bunyola

I am in the luxury travel business in Europe and believe it is better to deliver more than you promise. The Alila web site is very good and suggests 5 star luxury of the highest quality. In that context, the hotels underdeliver. Do not go thinking you will get Aman level service.

I think if you judge it as a 5 star hotel it would come out badly but these comments need to be taken into context with a knowledge of the price. We paid under 200 dollars a night whereas some 5 star hotels in Ubud are over 600 dollars. We thought the hotel was good value for money and although there are a few annoyances, these would not stop us going again.

My wife and I stayed 7 nights during October 2007. We had a deluxe room which is the ground floor room with the outside shower.

The setting is amazing. You can tell it is an older hotel but this did not worry us unduly.

Our first impression of the room was that it was small. We asked to see a villa room and it was very nice but it turned out only to be available for one night so we did not bother. On that note, although these villa rooms are very nice and (mostly) have good views - in our opinion, they put the price up too much in relation to the quality of the rest of the hotel and take it out of the "good value" category. Have a deluxe room and save the money for a good meal at the Four Seaons Hotel one evening!

In the end we came to like our room. Yes it was small but with a good bed and nice linen. Cleanliness was first class and housekeeping generally would stand up against any other hotel in Bali. It is true that the deluxe rooms do not have the best view but the outside shower was lovely and there are plenty of other opportunities to admire the view. The outside shower by the way is very private and not at all rustic as it implies.

It is well documented that the pool is amazing but the area around the pool is too small and so there are not enough beds. This lead to certain people going to the pool and putting their towels down at 7 in the morning to reserve their places not to return until mid morning. This is very annoying and the hotel should discourage it.

Service is generally very attentive and friendly. The Balinese have a natural openess and happiness which is very welcome. However, we did find too many of the staff would want to pass the time of day with quite long conversations and when the fifth person at Breakfast engages you with the same questions you think enough is enough! This has an impact on service as so many of the staff are otherwise engaged and breakfast especially can be a little erratic. We stayed at the Alila Manggis the following week and found the same problem. It must be the managements policy to encouage the staff to engage with the clients but this needs some care in its application.

The food was very good although we did find it quite expensive. There are plenty of options for eating out though which is worth the effort of getting to town.

The hotel is a long way out (about 20 minutes to Ubud) but in reality any of the bigger hotels are a car ride from Ubud so an extra 10 minutes really is nothing. The last free shuttle is at 6pm which does mean you cannot catch a free ride back if you want to eat out but we just got the last shuttle to town and arranged for the hotel to pick us up later at a cost of just 6 dollars - you could do it for less if you caught a local taxi.

Our price included some spa treatments and the whole spa experience was very good.

On some occasions the service was so good you thought you had arrived in a Aman Hotel but on others it would drop. Perhaps that was our lasting impression of the hotel - that they could do it but not consistently and when a hotel sets its standards high and then falls down a bit, there is a litlle dissapointment. Again I say though that you have to think that they are not charging 5 star prices so in conclusion, we would recommend this hotel.

A rustic and very pleasant experience

by TripAdvisor Member Forrader

We stayed at the Valley Villa on a 3D2N couple celebration package. 1) The villas though more expensive than the rooms are worth it. These villas afford privacy as they are standalone. If you go for a standard room, take the second floor as an open deck with a view is more enjoyable than one with an outdoor shower. The garden villas have a large garden with a larger outdoor tub and standing shower instead of a deck with valley view. However, the valley villas have better views. If you are afraid of frogs, you may not venture out onto the garden area of the garden villa. The villas are equipped with music filled ipods, there are no TVs - but that promotes restful stillness and of course quality conversation. The hotel takes great pride in promoting wonderfully scented soaps and towels. The room decor is well maintained. Some reviews state that it is too 'hotel standard' but our view is that they have struck a good balance between hotel cleanliness and natural rustic decor. The tub that is 'submerged' into the ponds creates a truly natural sensation. The ponds have large fishes and are well maintained. 2) Service is efficient and prompt. All rustic hotels in Bali are plagued by lizards and frogs. We sighted a truly giant lizard post midnight. Alila provides 24/7 prompt removal service at any time without animal cruelty of course. The management takes feedback very seriously, and you can be sure of a quiet getaway. 3) Friday free cocktails by the pool are excellent, a hotel manager is assigned to each group, warm hospitality. Daily afternoon cookies coffee and tea is a nice comfort. 4) The new Australian chef does an excellent job with both local and western food. The best hotel food ever. 5) Spa experience tho' not cheap was great - professional and pleasant. A new spa centre is now ready 6) The famous most photographed swimming pool is impressive. The grounds are beautiful. 7) The hotel drivers are most polite and helpful. 8) Small thoughtful gestures such as umbrellas at each room/villa, book on birds with binoculars, welcome champagne, and one complimentary dinner. 9) Alila provides a library of books and TV and internet (also wireless at central) for its guests. 10) Staff are polite and discreet, tipping is included as part of service charge in the bill. They also recognise us and address us by our names. They provide great advice on food and shopping in Ubud, Kuta and other areas. 11) There are complimentary activities such as cycling and walks. Also, reasonably priced activities like river rafting, padi / rice planting, trekking, mini tours. 12) Ubud town is 15 min drive away. The hotel provides daily shuttle service (free). It is inexpensive to take the local taxi if one misses the shuttle timing. For those who would like to explore Bali, we recommend hiring any hotel driver - they usually offer their services in personal capacity. They charge 10-15% more than a taxi in town (but negotiable especially if you use them for longer hours), but they are more professional and safe/trustworthy. 13) Post terrorist attacks, the beach towns such as Kuta are quieter, the clubs and night scenes are not so happening. So, enjoy the rustic environment and activities of Ubud and other parts of the island, a day trip to Kuta should suffice.

Ultimte Place to Relex

by polartraveller

"I love Bali for the mixture of fun and peace"

You can seat by yourself and watch the sunset or party it up at one of he local clubs / restaurants along the many beaches.

"Sunset"

If you have not seen the Bali sunset then you better go back.

"Pool side"

Alila Ubud Hotel - infinity plunge pool set high in the ricefields