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The Elysian Villas, Seminyak
I've been advised that Bali is a huge island, and hence location was my top priority - I was keen to be as close to party central as possible. After some research on SQTalk and elsewhere, I was convinced that Seminyak was the way to go. This ruled out every single SPG property as they were in rather quiet locations, according to the reviews I've seen.
The next most important deciding factor was decor. It seemed like most luxury Bali hotels feature a pretty rustic and quaint look with lots of wooden features - which I was most keen to avoid. Hence I was most pleasantly surprised to find The Elysian on the designhotels.com site - the v minimalist (by Bali standards) decor was a welcome relief and I also liked the idea of staying in a boutique villa-style property (there are only 30 or so villas at the hotel).
Without much further hesitation, I'd booked a one bedroom villa at The Elysian for USD200/night. This rate includes complimentary airport transfers and daily breakfast. For what I was getting I thought it was a top deal.
I was met at the door of the aircraft by my driver and whisked through immigration. Baggage took a while to arrive - we were waiting at the belt where baggage from the Cathay flight was meant to appear, only to find that they popped out at a totally different belt which was designated for another flight. Got some Indonesian rupiah from one of many money changers. Before too long I was sitting in a nicely air conditioned vehicle; my driver presented me with a bottle of cold water and a refreshingly ice cold towel. The ride to the hotel took about 45 minutes. Traffic in Bali was surprisingly civilised, though some of the roads we drove on were perilously narrow.
I was greeted by name as I arrived, ushered to one of the comfy couches and handed a welcome drink - some lemonade and lemongrass cocktail. The Guest Experience Manager, Annie came around to have a chat and we planned the tour around Bali that I was going to do the next day which I'd booked with the hotel. Annie also made some great suggestions as to where to party in Seminyak, and Kuta - she was a bit reluctant about me going to Kuta, and I was about to find out when I actually got there why that was so. The lobby was v homely, with nice big couches and laptops for guests. There was also free wifi throughout the entire property.
I was then ushered to my villa. It had its own private pool (1.4m in depth), though I preferred the public pool just so I could people-watch. The decor was exactly as presented on the website pictures - smooth, clean lines with just a slight touch of Balinese chic. There was certainly LOTS of space for lil old moi - I could literally host a pool party there or something. There was also an ipod dock - I'd not been reunited with my ipod at that point but was pleasantly surprised to discover that I could borrow one from the hotel. I was also advised that I could have breakfast at my villa, but thought it would be more social to have it at the restaurant (which was next to the hotel pool).
Private pool
Living room
Bedroom
The bathroom was simply sensational. Both well-equiped and well-designed - I loved the v funky bath/shower thingy. Great toiletries to boot - try the apple flavoured shampoo!
I love how they seem to anticipate all your needs in advance. Umbrellas, beach towels, flip flops, even picnic baskets - they all came with the villa.
Location-wise, this hotel is in the middle of it all. It was just next to Ku de Ta, and only a short taxi ride to Seminyak's trendiest restaurants, clubs and shops.
Throughout my stay, Annie and the rest of her team were most eager to provide advice and assist wherever they could. Everyone remembered my name, and always had time to ask how I was doing whenever they saw me in the lobby - in a v pleasant, non-overbearing, down to earth kind of way. The guide I had for my day tour was extremely knowledgeable and worked with me to customise my tour.
I can't believe I was only paying USD200 for all that, when I'd compared it to what a similar level of accomodation would be charged in places like Tahiti, Fiji or the Maldives. The Elysian Villas Seminyak - highly recommended! Definitely my 'home' in Bali for future visits - truly a slice of heaven on earth.
I've been advised that Bali is a huge island, and hence location was my top priority - I was keen to be as close to party central as possible. After some research on SQTalk and elsewhere, I was convinced that Seminyak was the way to go. This ruled out every single SPG property as they were in rather quiet locations, according to the reviews I've seen.
The next most important deciding factor was decor. It seemed like most luxury Bali hotels feature a pretty rustic and quaint look with lots of wooden features - which I was most keen to avoid. Hence I was most pleasantly surprised to find The Elysian on the designhotels.com site - the v minimalist (by Bali standards) decor was a welcome relief and I also liked the idea of staying in a boutique villa-style property (there are only 30 or so villas at the hotel).
Without much further hesitation, I'd booked a one bedroom villa at The Elysian for USD200/night. This rate includes complimentary airport transfers and daily breakfast. For what I was getting I thought it was a top deal.
I was met at the door of the aircraft by my driver and whisked through immigration. Baggage took a while to arrive - we were waiting at the belt where baggage from the Cathay flight was meant to appear, only to find that they popped out at a totally different belt which was designated for another flight. Got some Indonesian rupiah from one of many money changers. Before too long I was sitting in a nicely air conditioned vehicle; my driver presented me with a bottle of cold water and a refreshingly ice cold towel. The ride to the hotel took about 45 minutes. Traffic in Bali was surprisingly civilised, though some of the roads we drove on were perilously narrow.
I was greeted by name as I arrived, ushered to one of the comfy couches and handed a welcome drink - some lemonade and lemongrass cocktail. The Guest Experience Manager, Annie came around to have a chat and we planned the tour around Bali that I was going to do the next day which I'd booked with the hotel. Annie also made some great suggestions as to where to party in Seminyak, and Kuta - she was a bit reluctant about me going to Kuta, and I was about to find out when I actually got there why that was so. The lobby was v homely, with nice big couches and laptops for guests. There was also free wifi throughout the entire property.
I was then ushered to my villa. It had its own private pool (1.4m in depth), though I preferred the public pool just so I could people-watch. The decor was exactly as presented on the website pictures - smooth, clean lines with just a slight touch of Balinese chic. There was certainly LOTS of space for lil old moi - I could literally host a pool party there or something. There was also an ipod dock - I'd not been reunited with my ipod at that point but was pleasantly surprised to discover that I could borrow one from the hotel. I was also advised that I could have breakfast at my villa, but thought it would be more social to have it at the restaurant (which was next to the hotel pool).
Private pool
Living room
Bedroom
The bathroom was simply sensational. Both well-equiped and well-designed - I loved the v funky bath/shower thingy. Great toiletries to boot - try the apple flavoured shampoo!
I love how they seem to anticipate all your needs in advance. Umbrellas, beach towels, flip flops, even picnic baskets - they all came with the villa.
Location-wise, this hotel is in the middle of it all. It was just next to Ku de Ta, and only a short taxi ride to Seminyak's trendiest restaurants, clubs and shops.
Throughout my stay, Annie and the rest of her team were most eager to provide advice and assist wherever they could. Everyone remembered my name, and always had time to ask how I was doing whenever they saw me in the lobby - in a v pleasant, non-overbearing, down to earth kind of way. The guide I had for my day tour was extremely knowledgeable and worked with me to customise my tour.
I can't believe I was only paying USD200 for all that, when I'd compared it to what a similar level of accomodation would be charged in places like Tahiti, Fiji or the Maldives. The Elysian Villas Seminyak - highly recommended! Definitely my 'home' in Bali for future visits - truly a slice of heaven on earth.
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