Green Garden Hotel & Spa, Mar 2016

After staying at Murni's House in Ubud, we moved to Kuta and stayed at Green Garden.  It is a wonderful hotel located along Jalan Kartika and you wont missed it as it is painted in lime green with orange in color on everything. One thing to note is that the moment I made my reservations through Expedia, the hotel Manager replied to me asking for my flight details.  Later, I discovered that they have a free return transfers to/from airport/hotel.  The hotel is a 3 storey building.  I asked for the top floor, later i discovered that they have no lift in the building, I told her that I would prefer to have the ground floor.  As the hotel was fully booked (most of the time) she can only try to guarantee the 1st floor.  When we actually check-in, we got the ground floor.  Kudos to the manager.

Our room is really big and clean which we loved.  A lot of Australians with families there which I later found out that 80% of them are regular guests.

We were told that the Spa is one of the best and checked on Trip Advisor and it mentioned the same.  So we booked it daily at 11. We were not disappointed.  It was sooo.... gooooodd!!!!!

Murni's Place, Mar 2016

Muni's Place is one of the best place we have stayed in Bali.  The best of the best!! When I did the booking, Jonathan (later we discovered is Ibu Murni's business partner) arranged for our check-in and transport. He was very professional giving us information with pictures as from how to clear our baggage and to meet his driver who later became our good friend.

The moment we met Wayan, his driver, we knew we are going to enjoy our stay.  We arrived at Murni's house, welcomed by Ibu Murni herself and Jonathan.  She also introduced her daughter-in-law who happens to be there to put the prayer's flowers at the reception. 

Murni's house is a traditional Balinese compound where the houses are built among the beautiful gardens.  There are Balinese art everywhere as Ibu Murni collects them from all over the world.

We were given a welcome treat, pulut  and ginger tea.  Ibu Murni spend about more than half hour with us as if we were her long lost friend.  It was that comfortable.

We booked The Studio through Expedia but later we discovered she had few properties in the area.  The Studio is the newest property.  Later, we discovered that it was by pure luck that we managed to get the booking through Expedia.  It is so clean and spacious built with a bambo roof as a Balinese house should be.  There is no aircon but the ventilation is good.  Instead of having glass wall or bricks, they installed a mosquito net like so there is no small flies coming into the house.

Her staff are exceptionally helpful and friendly.  You can have breakfast at their dining area or in your room.  As The Studio is on the 2nd floor, we preorder our breakfast.  Everyday, you be greeted by the staff on time setting the table..  One time my wife chose Bubur Pulut Hitam.  Oh!! so heavenly.  Every morning, we looked forward to our breakfast.

Park Regis, Jan 2016

We were supposed to be in Bali for this visit on November 2015 but because of the volcano eruptions in Lombok, our flight was cancelled.  Luckily, Expedia did refund us our hotel bookings but Jetstar gave vouchers instead so we used the vouchers for this particular visit.

We stayed at Park Regis located along Jalan Raya Kuta. It is one of the newer hotels in the area. Our room is called the Regis room with a balcony overlooking their in-house cafe.  Quite big, about 31 sq. m. It has a kitchenette  but no plates or cutlery.

Our overall stay was great, the room, the food, staff were great.  Only negative side that they should offer a free transfer to the shopping mall for the guests as it is quite a walking distance.  

While we were having breakfast, their Manager introduced himself and asked if everything was okay.  So my wife told him about the transfer. He wrote it down on his palm with his fingers. I find that quite weird.  My wife asked him if that is his imaginary pen and can he remembers that after taking down from few guests. He said its all in there... pointing to his head.  Oh well!!

Kuta Paradiso, Sep 2015

We chose Kuta Paradiso because of its location.  It is a five star hotel and centrally located right in the heart of Kuta. Few minutes walk to shopping centre, art market, restaurants, warungs, and the famous Waterboom park.

We stayed at the Deluxe room on the 4th floor, area about 32 sq. m.  Ours has a balcony overlooking the frontal of the hotel. Very breezy.  We love the super friendly staff and the overall ambience.  The breakfast has a lot of selections.  It has few live stations for eggs, pancakes, banana fritters and local delicacies.

The best part we love staying at Kuta Paradiso is that it has the Kura Kura service in front of the hotel.  This service goes to all around Kuta and seminyak area.  it also has a service going to Sanur and Ubud too for a nominal fee.

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Devi's Place, Jun 2015

We stayed at Devi's place in Penestanan. It is located at Jalan Penestanan Kelod Sayan in Ubud which is a very popular village for expats. 

The place is owned by a New Zealander lady, Janny who retires in Bali.  There were few cottages, bungalows and private villas in the big property that she owned.  We booked "Lotus cottage" 3 months ahead with payment and transport arrangement made but a week before our arrival,  we were told by Janny that if it is alright for us to stay at "Jaracanda" instead & she kept telling us that it is bigger and it has been used for family only, bla..bla..bla without even mentioning why we cannot take the Lotus cottage.   How do you say no to that?

On our arrival at the airport, we could not find the driver.  We waited for about half hour, even make announcement on the speaker at the information counter.  Later he approached us and gave all the grandmother excuses that he couldn't find us and my wife flatly told him that he was actually late because if not, we would have seen him loitering around the area as he was wearing a bright red shirt!! He sheepishly smiled. That was not a good sign.  We later learned that he was the son-in-law of the guy who was in charge running Devi's Place.

Devi's Place is at the end of Penestanan Village.  Simply beautiful. All the negativity happened hours before all gone.  Janny, a lady in her mid 60s greeted us & gave us a brief explanation of the area, giving us maps etc.

The property is taken care of by a Balinese family who lived in the vicinity. The father, wife, the daughter and his son-in-law, the driver.

Jacaranda Cottage is situated at end of Devi's Place so we actually have this amazing view of the rice field. You have to pass to a lush green garden nicely kept by the workers to reach our cottage. Ours is a one bedroom with an outdoor shower in a big garden. The outdoor living/dining area with kitchenette faced a luxurious full view of the rice fields. Simply breathtaking especially during the early morning when we were having our breakfast or having tea/coffee during the evening.  A few steps from our cottage is a beautiful infinity pool also with a view of the rice field too.

It is great if you can drive a scooter but if you dont, its quite a hassle as the road going down to Ubud Centre is very uneven with highs and low very steep hills. But you can have a lovely morning walk around the Penestanan area towards Sayan.  Theres a lot to see.. art and craft, warungs and the view of the famous ridge where tourists go for their water rafting.

Breakfast was preordered. It's eggs however you want it or Nasi Goring.  The staff will set up the breakfast area and clean it up later.

This visit was quite sombre.  The first night we arrived, my sister-in-law sent a message to my wife that her brother's wife had passed away at the hospital.