If you are expecting a travel blog like the other destinations, then skip this blog and log onto Tripadvisor about Bali. This is not a typical travel blog about this city of wonderful people , its more about the experience of staying putt for 6 nights in one place & enjoying Balinese warm hospitality.
Unlike other travel tales, this was a huge group reunion of cousins. After spending hundreds of collective hours researching, over-abusing the Whatsapp Group with thousands of redundant messages, we finally narrowed the destination down to Bali & then multiplied the whole process by a factor of three to lock our amazing Villa Ombak Laut for the accommodation. Whew ....
Bali is more like a province rather than a city with various interesting & diverse precincts making up its composition. Every precinct has its own characteristic, but travelling between these precincts back & forth is a nightmare. Single access narrow roads, herds of tourists are valid reasons of congestion.
Talking about the precincts, there is hi-end Nusa Dua in the south, City-Chic Kuta & Seminyak near the airport , Laid back Canggu , Mountainous Ubud in the north, and various more. People choose their preferences, and stay in their chosen characteristic for 2-3 days and move on to the next one. Even a 10 day stay is not enough to explore Bali properly.
Bali is more like a province rather than a city with various interesting & diverse precincts making up its composition. Every precinct has its own characteristic, but travelling between these precincts back & forth is a nightmare. Single access narrow roads, herds of tourists are valid reasons of congestion.
Talking about the precincts, there is hi-end Nusa Dua in the south, City-Chic Kuta & Seminyak near the airport , Laid back Canggu , Mountainous Ubud in the north, and various more. People choose their preferences, and stay in their chosen characteristic for 2-3 days and move on to the next one. Even a 10 day stay is not enough to explore Bali properly.
But we stayed for 6 nights in a huge Villa Ombak Laut in an area called Cemagi north of Canggu, resembling Cangguu’s laid back characteristic, among paddy fields, and approximately 60-90 minutes drive from the Denpasar Bali Airport.
The villa had a total of six bedrooms with all having en-suite bathroom. Out of these 6 , one was an exclusive Joglo wooden house in one corner of the property with a small pool and a tennis court in its front yard.
The other bedrooms/cottages were in the center of the property with pathways linking them together through the gardens. The kitchen was in the other corner with an open dining area adjoining it.
Then there was an open living room facing a nice sized swimming pool with a huge garden beyond it and then the roaring sea. At the edge of the humongous garden, there is a small shelter to sit and enjoy the sunset over the horizon.
The villa had a total of six bedrooms with all having en-suite bathroom. Out of these 6 , one was an exclusive Joglo wooden house in one corner of the property with a small pool and a tennis court in its front yard.
The other bedrooms/cottages were in the center of the property with pathways linking them together through the gardens. The kitchen was in the other corner with an open dining area adjoining it.
Then there was an open living room facing a nice sized swimming pool with a huge garden beyond it and then the roaring sea. At the edge of the humongous garden, there is a small shelter to sit and enjoy the sunset over the horizon.
Near the entrance of the house, there is an indoor entertainment room on top of the first two cottages. The entertainment room has 9 Ball Pool table and a cozy sitting area for your group to enjoy in the mosquito infested nights.
There is a rocky beach in front of the villa, which is not suitable for swimming, but makes for a great sight from the villa of waves crashing on the big rocks. There is a temple in the property , while there is another temple in distance perched on top of these sea rocks.
Taking care of the property and the squad of a guests inhabiting it, they had 3 guards, 1 cook, 4-6 helpers, 1 manager, 4 gardeners and an 8 hour car with driver for the pampering.
You can select from the menu which the cook can prepare, and you can also preset menus for the meals so that the team can arrange groceries. They charge you for the groceries plus 25% service charge for cooking.
There is a rocky beach in front of the villa, which is not suitable for swimming, but makes for a great sight from the villa of waves crashing on the big rocks. There is a temple in the property , while there is another temple in distance perched on top of these sea rocks.
Taking care of the property and the squad of a guests inhabiting it, they had 3 guards, 1 cook, 4-6 helpers, 1 manager, 4 gardeners and an 8 hour car with driver for the pampering.
You can select from the menu which the cook can prepare, and you can also preset menus for the meals so that the team can arrange groceries. They charge you for the groceries plus 25% service charge for cooking.
Our routine was to have breakfast & lunch by the pool, inside the pool, dozens of shakes, juices served at our whim. The staff used to continuously be at our side for any of our requirements. They literally make you feel like a royalty, and you will be spoilt by the end of the trip.
After two-three days, the whole staff felt like family, and the villa stated feeling like home.
Everyone has a friend or a relative who has been to Bali, wo do the regular touristy stuff and give their set of recommended things to do. So even we fell prey to other people's recommendations by visiting Ku De Ta, Potato Heads & the W Hotel for 3 different nights in the Seminyak area which was around 1 hours drive from the Villa.
After two-three days, the whole staff felt like family, and the villa stated feeling like home.
Everyone has a friend or a relative who has been to Bali, wo do the regular touristy stuff and give their set of recommended things to do. So even we fell prey to other people's recommendations by visiting Ku De Ta, Potato Heads & the W Hotel for 3 different nights in the Seminyak area which was around 1 hours drive from the Villa.
Add to that we went Nusa Dua to a very average beach, where none of us swam, since it took us 2 hours to get there, and the thought of 2 hours to get back exhausted all of us.
Nothing against the chic restaurants whose variations you can find in a lot of places worldwide, it was just the time wasted in travelling and the lost time at the magnificent Villa.
Kuta & Seminyak are extremely famous tourist areas, because they have international hotels, with great sunset and nice beaches, and beautiful restaurants by the sea. So if you want to enjoy all of these you should just head to Goa or the nearest beach destination from your home.
The essence of Bali is its culture rooted in hospitality. To experience this, staying in a boutique hotel amongst the nature is a must.
Nothing against the chic restaurants whose variations you can find in a lot of places worldwide, it was just the time wasted in travelling and the lost time at the magnificent Villa.
Kuta & Seminyak are extremely famous tourist areas, because they have international hotels, with great sunset and nice beaches, and beautiful restaurants by the sea. So if you want to enjoy all of these you should just head to Goa or the nearest beach destination from your home.
The essence of Bali is its culture rooted in hospitality. To experience this, staying in a boutique hotel amongst the nature is a must.
Flying to Bali might not be cheap but all other things are extremely reasonable & super value for the money. There were various instances, where we tried to guess a restaurant bill, or an activity rate or the grocery bill, our estimates were way higher.
Coming back to our highlight of the trip – Villa Ombak Laut, at first it was the excellent eye candy for all of us but by the end of the trip it was the warmth of the manager Putu & his smiling staff which left us with fond memories.
Coming back to our highlight of the trip – Villa Ombak Laut, at first it was the excellent eye candy for all of us but by the end of the trip it was the warmth of the manager Putu & his smiling staff which left us with fond memories.
Its easy to say it was their duty & job to take care of us, and mind you these people were not a product of some hospitality schools, They were just plain , simple local people proud of their culture, where guests comfort is an utmost priority. There were so many small experiences to realize after coming back home about their heartfelt hospitality.
After a two-three days stay, we started expecting a lot more, which in hindsight you would not even expect out of a Four Seasons & a St. Regis.
Villa Ombak Laut is a private property , managed by a hospitality group called Elite Havens who have similar great properties around Bali in different sizes. In fact, Bali has a lot of different sized villas catering to every budget and size.
Experiencing Bali would be incomplete if you do not interact with these simple & one of the most beautiful people.
After a two-three days stay, we started expecting a lot more, which in hindsight you would not even expect out of a Four Seasons & a St. Regis.
Villa Ombak Laut is a private property , managed by a hospitality group called Elite Havens who have similar great properties around Bali in different sizes. In fact, Bali has a lot of different sized villas catering to every budget and size.
Experiencing Bali would be incomplete if you do not interact with these simple & one of the most beautiful people.
