My wife & I continued our honeymoon moving from our Seminyak hotel to the central cultural capital residence of the Maya Ubud & Spa. Having seen many pictures of the hotel, read many a hotel review, I have to say this hotel had us excited for our final 3 days in Bali.
En route to Ubud, there is plenty to see, upon reaching the hotel, the drive up to the resort reception is lush with green trees/ bushes. The reception staff greet you with a warm welcome. But a small negative to start, check-in was 2pm, we arrived 1 hour early but had to wait around whilst our room was ready. I understand the check in policy but for the number 1 rated hotel in Bali (read it in a magazine) I just expected better. The hotel itself is immaculate, the grounds & setting down along the river are just beautiful.
Our room was a Garden Villa with Pool, a little thatched roof home for our stay. There was a huge bathroom with big tub, shower & the bonus of an outside shower too. The bed is comfortable, not on the big side. There was a TV, an old sound system & of course the mini-bar. The room has wifi which always comes in handy. It can be a little noisy in the morning, the birds & dogs across the valley begin their morning chorus so expect to be woken if you sleep light. I did manage to make it into the villa pool. It was a little cold as our garden (North facing – ask for a South facing) didn’t see too much sun. It is a plunge pool, so take a dip to freshen up! Once in it is quite refreshing. It can be a little dark at night when walking back to your villa, so mind your step.
Breakfast was included, it was buffet selection. Coffee & Tea served at your request. As it was a buffet some of the food selection is on wrong side of ‘warm’ but there is a chef serving 2 eggs as you like at your request. We ate twice in the restaurant during the evening, both times were buffet, once at the Traditional Balinese evening for which a number of tables were outside in front of the stage where the performance took place. Nice setting. Again, there is a number of buffet options, but there needs to be an improvement in the food temperature. I’ll add also that the restaurant service needs some improvement. On a couple of occasions the staff took our drinks orders but forgot to bring them. I got the feeling from some of the staff, (not all – the young chap in the Bar is very polite & also welcoming), not just the restaurant staff that they were going from the motions during services. For me, service is paramount when you are paying the price per night this hotel charges & great service makes a good hotel a great one. There is some improvement needed.
We also visited the Spa whilst staying here taking advantage of the $20 deduction per person. Certainly a positive, the treatment is fantastic & the location is amazing. My wife & I were led to the private rooms along the river. You can hear the water powering down the river, the birds singing in the trees, it truly was a memorable experience for us both.
There is free shuttle bus from the Hotel to Ubud, take advantage to visit during the allocated times. We ate out one night in Ubud, so paid for the Hotel car to take us & bring us back – 50,000 IDR. There is free yoga sessions every morning, if you are up at 7am. A small 2 hole golf course (actually 1 green with 2 holes).
All in all, the hotel is in a fantastic setting. Don’t expect to go here looking for an all action, people watching, sun-bathing break. It is a relaxed quite resort where service could be improved to keep it’s no.1 status!
