Alila Ubud

The beauty of this hotel is matched by the warmth and extraordinary service the staff are proud to deliver. We stayed for 7 nights half board and it was just perfect. The food is delicious and artfully presented. Our room looked over the beautiful forest and we had some inquisitive monkeys visit our balcony early in the mornings. The Bali dance and feast is a colourful and genuine delight with locals giving a top performance and insight in to their way of life. The hotel organised a bespoke tour; visit to local markets, temples, waterfalls, swings, coffee plantations and we joined a spicy masterclass in Bali cuisine (thank you Suesti). PIna colada's by the pool ensured everything was just so happy and relaxed. Massive thank you to the staff who delivered the best service I have ever known for their genuine, friendly, thoughtful attention. Read less

Time flies! I just had an amazing week at Alila Ubud. This is my second time here and I love the breakfast and morning classes, especially the yoga and qigong. The spa and facial are super relaxing, and the staff is really friendly. They even make my favorite drinks! If you love nature, you have to book this hotel. Oh, and watch out for the clever monkeys during afternoon tea, they’ll eye your cakes! 😆 Can‘t wait for the next time I come back! #solotrip #solotraveler #lovethisplace Read less

After the madness of the traffic upon leaving the airport and around the centre of Ubud, the Alila Ubud is a haven of peace and comfort, where the only thing that will disturb you is the local monkeys! All of the staff are incredibly welcoming and friendly and will do everything to make your stay pleasurable. Breakfast caters for every option and there are two different Indonesian dishes to try each day. The serving staff in particular Sri, Widi and Sukma were very kind and were helpful when one of our sons felt a little unwell. Restaurant manager Yuna also took time to explain the area and recommended the “Spice Market” evening where once again the variety and quality of the food was excellent. In the Cabana bar/restaurant the food was again fantastic and very good value and we were looked after by Suriya and the very funny Nita! Alila living has some very interesting souveniers and unique clothing, and whilst they may be a little more expensive than the local markets, the quality is definitely higher. Murniati is only too happy to help you choose and should have her own YouTube channel to show the numerous ways to tie a sarong! The setting of the hotel is in a deep lush valley and is so relaxing and peaceful with only the sounds of the forest providing a backdrop. You can sit on your terrace and watch the various birds, squirrels and numerous monkeys go about their days. All in all a fabulously relaxing experience and we would love to return one day soon Read less

Oh my word, where to start. The Alila Ubud is a spectacular hotel nestled in the jungle away from the hustle and bustle of Ubud. It took approximately two hours to get to the hotel from Denpasar airport, the traffic is horrendous, cars and scooters everywhere, but worth the journey. We had 5 days here and wished it was more as we were very sad to leave. The welcome is warm and friendly and absolutely everyone smiles and nothing is too much trouble. I was holidaying with my daughter and had booked a deluxe twin garden view, outside shower and bath, it was everything I hoped for and more. The room was spotlessly clean with toiletries, hairdryer, tea making facilities - yes, I love a cup of 🫖 and a well stocked fridge with snacks and drinks. There are two areas to eat, the main restaurant which has a different menu every day and the Cabana pool side restaurant, to be honest, the food was excellent in both. The infinity pool looks out into the jungle and if you’re lucky, the monkeys come to visit. Feeding the monkeys is discouraged and the staff are very good at moving then away. Spa treatments are reasonable and heavenly, we both had massages and felt really relaxed afterwards. Twice weekly yoga is free of charge. Shuttle bus takes you down into Ubud, full of hustle and bustle and lots of markets, great fun haggling, took a while to get used to the money. We were advised to half what the sellers were asking, worked sometimes others not. Tours wise, we chose a Balinese cooking class at Balikaru Experience Village, this is a family run affair and we thoroughly enjoyed cooking with a very talented Chef and yes, you eat what you cook. Definitely recommend this day. The rice fields and temples are also a must see as is a traditional Balinese village and spectacular waterfalls. We moved on to Candi Beach Resort and Spa for the next 9 days, journey time from Ubud was about 2 hours, again sheer volume of traffic is the issue as it’s absolute chaos. This resort is on the East side of the island and was a shock to the system after Alia. It’s a much bigger resort, a bit more impersonal and not really my ideal, however after a good nights sleep, things looked better in the morning. Again I had booked a deluxe twin room and we were upgraded to a junior suite which was very nice but only had a king size bed and not twin beds, they also had us down as Mr and Mrs!. Toiletries are provided though not the same quality as Alila, tea and coffee making facilities and a mini bar but no snacks. Dining here again, there are two areas with pretty much the same menu in both with little change in choice. We have yet to try the spa, we were given a complimentary voucher for a 15 minute massage, but were unable to use as they only had a male therapist available, when we declined, the receptionist replied, well he’s blind so that’s ok! Tours from Candi Beach - a definite must is the jeep safari with BJT , we had a Land Rover ( the old type) those of you who know - know 😂. Our driver was amazing, a bit of off-road driving was great fun. Again a visit to a waterfall and a blacksmith which wasn’t that interesting to us. We’ve a manta ray and snorkelling tour booked for this week and that takes us pretty much to the end of our holiday. Downsides to our trip - stock up on snacks for your hotel room. Be prepared for information overload with regards to the Balinese culture and religion, whilst I appreciate the information, it can become too much. Don’t expect to get anywhere quickly as traffic is horrendous and if you happen to hit a day when there are ceremonies held, it’ll take twice as long. After all that, would I come back to Bali- yes. I booked via Kuoni -excellent travel company and flew with Emirates. Read less

Enjoyed my stay at Alila. The hotel excels in many aspects from the stunning setting, the spa treatments, the food and the morning activities which are well catered for beginners. Nothing is ever too much for the reception staff, a special mention to Seni who takes pride in helping guests. Some feedback/suggestions where the hotel can improve to make it outstanding: 1) Although the food is excellent the food service is very slow. The staff could be more attentive. There are ocassionally mistakes with food orders and forgetful staff. 2) Consider pushing the morning activity to 7am. When arriving for breakfast at 7am, the food arrives too close to the activity due to the slow service and becomes a rush to eat with little time to digest. Alternatively, commence the breakfast 30 mins early. 3) Ensure rooms are replenished daily without requesting cleaning. 4) Deluxe rooms can be improved. For example, currently nowhere to hang clothes to dry and guests are advised not to leave items outside because of monkeys. 5) Received a lot of insect bites while sleeping despite the room being closed. Maybe install mosquito nets. Regardless of the above, I would stay at Alila again. Read less