Alila Villas Uluwatu Bali
After traveling all over Indonesia, we stayed an extra couple nights in Bali to relax.
A wonderful highlight of our visit was our stay at Alila Villas Uluwatu. This luxury hotel in Bali is truly one of a kind.
From it’s dramatic position atop Uluwatu’s lime stone cliffs high above the ocean to its modern eco-friendly design, Alila Uluwatu is a luxury resort perfect for relaxation.
Keep reading for our hotel review of Alila Villas Uluwatu in Bali, including our villa, private pool, dining experience and more!
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Услуги отеля
| Деловой Центр (Business Center) | Обслуживание номеров (Room Service) |
| Высокоскоростной интернет (High-speed Internet) | Гимнастический зал (Fitness Room/Gym) |
| Ресторан (Restaurant) | Парковка (Parking) |
| Плавательный бассейн (Swimming pool) | Трансфер из аэропорта (Airport shuttle) |
| Оборудование для инвалидов (Disabled Access) | Консьерж (Concierge) |
| Услуги по парковке машин (Valet Parking) | Экскурсионное бюро (Tour Desk) |
| Массаж / Салон красоты (Massage / Beauty Centre) | Круглосуточная работа рецепции (24 Hour Reception) |
| Химчистка (Dry Cleaning) | Няня / Услуги для детей (Babysitting / Child Services) |
| Кондиционер (Air Conditioned) | Комнаты для некурящих (Non-Smoking Rooms) |
| Поле для гольфа (Golf Course) | Уборка помещений (Housekeeping) |
| Банкетный зал (Banquet Facilities) | Конференц-центр (Conference Room(s)) |
| Обмен валют (Currency Exchange) | Медицинская помощь (Medical Assistance Available) |
| Многоязычный персонал (Multilingual Staff) | Сейф (Safe-Deposit Box) |
| Сауна (Sauna) | Мини-бар (Mini Bar) |
| Холодильник (Refrigerator) | Кабельное / Спутниковое ТВ (Cable / Satellite TV) |
| Ванна / Горячая ванна (Bath / Hot Tub) | Портье (Porters) |
| Утренний звонок, побудка (Wake-up Service) | Конференц-залы (Meeting Rooms) |
| Кофеварка / Чайник (Coffee / Tea Maker) | Фен для волос (Hair Dryer) |
| ТВ (TV) | CD-плейер (CD Player) |
| DVD-плейер (DVD Player) | Услуги прачечной (Laundry service) |
| Магазины (Shops) | Сад (Garden) |
| Ксерокс (Photocopier) | Письменный стол (Desk) |
| Прямой телефон (Direct dial phone) | Услуги по продаже билетов (Ticket Service) |
| Факсимиле (Facsimile) | Доступ для инвалидных колясок (Wheel Chair Access) |
| Тренажерный зал (Fitness Facilities) | Джакузи (Jacuzzi) |
| Массаж (Massage) | Спа и оздоровительный центр (Spa & Wellness Centre) |
| Беспроводное интернет соединение (Internet Connection (wireless)) | Халаты (Bathrobes) |
| Полотенца (Towels) | Душ (Shower) |
| Открытый бассейн (Pool Outdoor) | Детская кроватка (Cots) |
| Кофейня / Кафетерий (Coffee Shop/Cafeteria) | Сухой паек (Packed Lunches) |
| Завтрак в номер (Breakfast in the Room) | Камера хранения багажа (Luggage Storage) |
| Места для курения (Designated Smoking Area) | Сувениры / Магазин подарков (Souvenirs/Gift Shop) |
| Ускоренная регистрация (Express Check-In/Check-Out) | Прачечная самообслуживания (Self Laundry) |
| Бесплатная парковка (Free Parking) | Выбор постели / Подушки (Bedding/Pillow Choices) |
| Вызов врача (Doctor on call) |
Our Luxury Balinese Villa
Alila resort offers private 1, 2 and 3 bedroom villas.
Because the rooms are set into Uluwatu’s cliffs in tiered sections, Alila provides helpful staff and golf carts to zip guests around the property.
The hotel actually reminded me a lot of the Conrad Koh Samui in that aspect!
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After being ferried about to our room on the highest level, we gasped when we saw how stunning our villa was.
Our 1 bedroom was designed in a contemporary style, with traditional Balinese accents:
- gorgeous wooden doors
- soothing pools of running water
- weighty stone his & her bathrooms
… and the best part: our own private pool and ocean view cabana.
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The spacious villa came not only with an indoor rain shower with jets but also an outdoor shower, indoor bathtub and private cabana.
When we realized what a palatial villa we had (it’s over 3,000 sq feet!), we knew we had to invite our friends to visit for the day.
They didn’t need to be asked twice, ha!
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We had an amazing afternoon enjoying our private pool, playing music using the in-room docking station and ipod and just hanging out.
It was one of the nicest relaxing days of the entire trip to have the gang all together before we each went our separate ways.
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What’s In My Travel Makeup Bag
Lancome Teint Idole Cushion Compact / Rituals The Ritual of Hammam Black Soap / bareMinerals Correcting Concealer / SK-II Facial Treatment Essence / Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment / Julien Farel Detangling Comb
SiO Beauty Goodnight Wrinkles Toiletry Bag / Colleen Rothschild Sheer Renewal Cream / Amore Pacific Broad Spectrum Sunscreen / Aveda Smooth Infusion Naturally Straight / Lashfood Eyelash Extensions in a Bottle / Dior Diorshow Brow Styler / Lancome Artliner Precision Eyeliner / Burt’s Bees Moisturizing Lipstick
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The Beach
You can also access the beach from Alila Villas Uluwatu, but it’s about a 600 step descent down to the waves (and back up).
We meant to do this and simply forgot, as the gorgeous infinity pool and private in-room pool dominated our attention.
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Despite the property being completely booked during our stay, the layout of Alila Villas is a modernist jigsaw-like space of cool stone hallways and tranquil flowing water gardens.
So it felt like we were the only guests!
The property was designed by award winning Singapore architecture firm, WOHA architects, who are well versed in crafting innovative designs against tropical backdrops.
Perhaps the best part of seeing the incredible modernist design?
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Discovering that Alila Uluwatu was the first hotel in Indonesia to receive the highest certification by Green Globe for Environmentally Sustainable Design.
Finally, Alila Uluwatu resort seems to be quite popular with couples getting married.
We saw 2 different weddings during our stay and also a gorgeous series of wedding photos shot on the property in the villa magazine.
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Alila Villas
Next, we were treated to a surprise.
Each villa at Alila Uluwatu comes with a personal butler and guests have the option to select from 3 levels of service.
We opted for the standard daily cleaning but jumped at the offer to include cookies along with daily fresh fruit.
Come on… who can say no to cookies?!
Meanwhile, discreet staff helpfully whisked our bags away to our room and added personalized leather luggage tags to keep track of our suitcases.
Butler service, snacks and personalized accessories?
What a treat!
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Travel must have’s (top right)
a fan for that hot Balinese weather (just kidding, the hotel provided this along with instagrammable hats, a roomy beach tote and 2 sets of the comfiest robes I’ve ever worn)
Baublebar Jewelry, Finishing Touch Flawless (a discreet, painless hair remover), Chloe Love Story Perfume (obsessed with this scent), Lancome Absolue L’Extrait Eye Patch (instantly refreshing), Alila toiletries (there’s even deep sleep pillow spray)
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Overall
You won’t regret splurging at the Alila Villas Uluwatu. There are 5 star properties all across the world, but there aren’t many that exceed the star rating, and of those…how many can you use points for the experience? Alila Villas is just that, and if you’re looking for a special property to spend a honeymoon, anniversary, or treat yourselfication – the only regret you’ll have is not booking an extra night.
A few thoughts from the intro I wanted to address…
At the beginning of this review I declared the Alila Villas Uluwatu the best Hyatt in the world. I thought I’d show you around the resort to begin with before explaining why I came to this conclusion. The Alila Villas are a true experiential resort, something that even the best Park Hyatt’s in the world won’t compete with…even the Park Hyatt Maldives ( which many say is dated ). Maybe you could make a case for Miraval.
Sure, there are properties like the Park Hyatt New York, Paris, Tokyo that have been truly aspirational city hotels, but you can stay at other properties in those cities for far fewer dollars and get a similar experience. I’m not sure that’s really true in Bali – yes there is the St Regis in nearby Nusa Dua, but that is a massive resort comparatively speaking. Maybe the Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay compares, but it’s a grand as well. So is the Six Senses ( soon to be an IHG property btw ).
Also…aside from NY – the Park Hyatt city hotels are often pricing off reputation not their current state. Tokyo is in dire need of a reno, so is Paris. I don’t mean that you wouldn’t get a great experience at those properties, I just don’t think they warrant the price, nor would I pay 30k a night to stay at them vs other Hyatts or the competition. You’re also getting a base room, not a 3000 sq ft villa with a private pool.
I would happily pay 30k to stay at the Alila again.
There are many SLH of the world hotels that you could compare, and I surely haven’t stayed at many of those – I have eaten at quite a few to get a feel for what I’d get however. But they aren’t Hyatt properties. In fact, if the hotel decides to decouple with SLH, they also decouple with Hyatt, but Alila are now Hyatt properties. I’m looking forward to experiencing other Alila hotels to see if they compare from a service standpoint – I suspect they do.
Next up, I’m planning on visited the Alila in Jaipur India. I’ll report back when I do. Only 15k a night ( or a cat 4 cert)
Affiliate Disclosure
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Location
Located on a cliff overlooking Indian Ocean on the south coast of Bukit Peninsula
The hotel is located on the south coast of the Bukit Peninsula, situated on a clifftop in a fairly secluded location. Uluwatu is known for its beaches, and there are several a short drive away, including Padang Padang Beach (15-minute drive), Balangan Beach (30 minutes), and Dreamland Beach (20 minutes). There are some golf courses nearby as well, such as New Kuta Golf (about a 20-minute drive) and Bali National Golf Club (30 minutes). The Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park and the ancient Uluwatu Temple can be reached in about 20 minutes by car, while the Ngurah Rai International Airport can be reached in about 40 minutes.
Room Service
Cire offers an extensive breakfast menu and we tucked in to indulge.
I promise you, we did polish off all of that food and the absolute standouts were the fresh juices, bread basket and fresh granola!
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The next day, we each picked a different “breakfast in bed” spread: one healthy and one indulgent, and shared everything together by the pool.
Each Alila villa comes equipped with a handy tablet where you can order breakfast, room service and get updates to your villa inbox.
The custard was incredible and I loved that we got to each have fresh juice, coffee and tea. Yum!
If you’re in the mood for Asian food, the second restaurant on site Warung serves beautifully elevated Indonesian cuisine.
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Rooms
Modern villas with stylish, minimalist interiors and private pools
The 64 pool villas are beautiful, modern spaces with a pared down aesthetic, minimal furnishings, and an open-plan design that fuses the indoors with the outdoors. Large, comfortable beds are topped with plush linens, while bathrooms are partially outdoors, with luxurious rainfall showers and soaking tubs, plus the brand’s signature bath products. All units have private pools (two- and three-bedroom units have infinity pools) and cabanas, outdoor dining areas and indoor living spaces, as well as amenities that include large flat-screen TVs, iPod docks, tea/coffee facilities, minibars, and free Wi-Fi.
Booking:
The Alila Villas Uluwatu entry level rooms measure 3k sq ft, all have private pools, rates start at roughly $1k a night ( it says $830 but after fees and taxes…$1k+) Compare that to the 30k a night using points.
Our Strategy towards lowering cost
Hyatt and Chase are transfer partners and we had more than enough points to cover the 5 night stay between my fiancee and I; however, that’s a lot of Ultimate Rewards to burn on hotels.
Hyatt was running a promo ( and is again until 12/31/19 ) whereby you could purchase points for roughly 1.7c a piece, equating to $510 per night. As a result, we each transferred enough points for 3 nights, and then purchased 60k points for $1020 to shore up our combined accounts to 150k. That effectively meant paying a little over $200 a night.
Hyatt recently announced a variable priced award chart which will be introduced in March of 2020. The long and short is that the rate of this property will fluctuate from 25k-30k-35k depending on the season. You can do the math, but going off season/shoulder could be an incredible opportunity.
You should also be aware that you can merge points into a single reservation. We ultimately didn’t do this, and instead made two separate reservations, and notified the hotel, in advance, to combine the reservations. This was done seamlessly, and whomevers reservation is last will acru the points for the stay.
Bottom Line
From its cliffside location overlooking the Indian Ocean, to its minimalist, modern architecture that seamlessly melds with lush, green grounds, the luxurious Alila Villas Uluwatu provides a serene retreat with spectacular views at every corner. There’s a gorgeous and vast infinity pool, though each of the 65 villas on the property has its own private pools as well. The sleek, contemporary spaces offer a host of other comforts, from techy amenities like flat-screen TVs, iPod docks, and free Wi-Fi, to gorgeous bathrooms that provide indoor and outdoor showers and tubs. The remote location means that guests are limited to the two restaurants on-site, though these offer tasty fine dining and local cuisine. There’s also a beautiful spa providing sumptuous treatments and a modern fitness center, plus morning yoga classes offered daily. Reaching the beach requires a hike down the cliff via steep stairs, so travelers seeking a more accessible beach vacation might want to consider the nearby Bulgari resort instead, which has an elevator that goes to its gorgeous, private beach (though also an even heftier price tag).
