It’s not a secret that Bali holds a special place in my heart. I have been visiting this island since I was a young girl – I still recall my first visit to Bali was when I was nine years old.
Part of what makes Bali so charming is the diversity of experience you can get here. From affordable travel to ultra luxurious accommodation, Bali has got it all.
Normally, I am firmly on one end of that spectrum – I love staying at affordable accommodations, especially since my partner and I are more of the “exploring traveler” type. We would be out and about first thing in the morning, only coming back to our accommodation after dinner.
However, sometimes special occasion calls for a more special accommodation, where you go to a place to relax, be away from everyone else, and don’t need to leave the resort at all. In this post, I will be covering Alila Villas in Uluwatu, a special accommodation located in the far south end of Bali.
Here are some topics I will be covering on this post.
- About Alila Villas Uluwatu
- Booking the resort
- Checking in to Alila Villas Uluwatu
- One Bedroom Villa Review at Alila Villas
- Food Options
- Facilities
- In Conclusion
About Alila Villas Uluwatu
Alila is not an unfamiliar name to the luxury accommodation scene, especially if you’re Indonesian (and I am Indonesian myself!). Started right in Bali, the hotel now has presence in seven countries, with three properties in Bali alone – in Alila Ubud, Alila Seminyak and Alila Villas Uluwatu.
The Uluwatu property is unique compared to the other Alila properties. In Alila Villas Uluwatu, the accommodations are all private villas with its own pool, completely detached from other villas. As the name implied, it is located in Uluwatu – in the far south end of the island, also away from most other attractions that Bali has to offer. The closest attraction is Pura Luhur Uluwatu which is still a good 20 minutes away by car.
Booking the resort
Alila Villas Uluwatu is available on booking.com. I always recommend booking.com since their prices are usually more competitive for non-refundable bookings, but you can still choose a flexible accommodation (where you can cancel within certain time frame).
Book Alila Villas Uluwatu on booking.com
Checking in to Alila Villas Uluwatu
As soon as you enter the property, you’re greeted with a beautiful lobby, overlooking the Indian ocean with nothing else in sight.
Upon check in, guests are provided with a cooling towel, face mist spray, iced lemongrass water, and some snacks. We were also informed about the resort amenities, and the butler service which can be reached via WhatsApp throughout the stay.
As we arrived a little early at 1PM for a 3PM check in, we had to wait a little for our villa to be ready. They set us up at the Sunset Cabana bar with a little welcome drink.
It was a little hot at midday in Bali, so we moved over to the restaurant, where they served us complimentary Kueh Pandan Lapis Legit (a local Indonesian delicacy!)
But we didn’t have to wait long – our villa was ready soon, at 2PM.
One Bedroom Villa Review at Alila Villas
Alila Villas Uluwatu offers a range of villas, one bedroom villa, panoramic one bedroom villa, two bedroom villa and three bedroom villa.
We booked the one bedroom villa – the standard one, not the panoramic. The difference between the standard villa and the panoramic villa simply just the panoramic villa is located higher up than the standard villa. Everything else – the size and layout, is the same.
I did not see a reason to splurge even more for the panoramic one because the standard villa is already amazing! Just check out these pictures below.
Let’s start with the room itself. Boasting a 290 square meter (that’s about 3,000 square feet for you americans), the villa is massive. It’s twice the size of my 3-bedroom apartment in Singapore! Although it’s not a fair comparison since Singapore is notorious for its price per square foot, but I still thought it was a cheeky comparison.
As soon as you enter the room, you’re greeted with the open living area:
There is a day bed overlooking the pool, perfect when it’s too hot outside and you want to lounge around with the comfort of air conditioning.
Upon check in, they placed complimentary cakes and rose syrup soda on the day bed, but I unfortunately did not get a good photo before demolishing it 🥲
Opposite from the living area is the king-size bed with plush bedding.
Immediately next to the living space is the toilet, with a luxurious double sink, a bath tub and outdoor shower.
A bubble bath with rose petal had been drawn for us upon arrival:
And the outdoor shower, which comes fitted with rain shower and beautiful decoration.
And finally, the star of the villa – the private pool! There is a large gazebo, two pool beds and a small table. The pool is surrounded by two Frangipani trees, which flowers are almost synonymous with Bali.
Unfortunately the trees were not flowering much at the time of our visit, but it was still beautiful.
As you can see, the bedroom is very bright and airy. So I should also mention the turn down service, where they will help you to draw all the curtains around the villa to help you get a good night sleep in.
Food & Drinks Options at Alila Villas
There are a few dining option in the resort, and I’ll go through each one of them:
1. Sunset Cabana Bar
The sunset cabana bar, as the name implies, is the place to be for sunset. You can’t reserve a table, but there seems to be plenty of seating during our stay, even though we were informed the resort was fully booked.
2. Breakfast Buffet at CIRE
As expected from a Bali resort experience, there is a breakfast buffet everyday. This may or may not be included in your stay depending on the package you booked, but if they’re not included, then the price is Rp 580,000++ per person.
Unlike a traditional buffet experience, the breakfast is made to order, but still unlimited. The menu changes everyday, so you will need to ask the butler service via WhatsApp for the menu.
3. Pasar Malam Friday Dinner Buffet at The Warung
On Fridays, there is a buffet of local Indonesian food at The Warung. You can order your food freshly made at the food stalls. This Friday buffet is priced at Rp 1,480,000++ per person (for food only).
Activities & Facilities at Alila Villas Uluwatu
Here are a few things you can do at the Alila Villas Uluwatu, aside from enjoying your private villa:
1. Early Morning Yoga
Every morning from 7:30 – 8:30 AM, there is a complimentary 1-hour yoga class at the pavilion. There is nothing more “Bali” than doing yoga by the beach overlooking the ocean, so if you’re an early bird, make sure not to miss this.
2. Main Pool
One of the main draw of Alila Villas Uluwatu is the beautiful architecture, which is mainly evident on the pool area. Just look at how beautiful the pool is!
There are a few beds around the pool:
Aside from the pool beds, there are four shaded cabana with very comfortable seating around the pool. They are first-come first-serve, though we had no issues finding an empty cabana every time we visited the pool.
You can barely see it in the photo above, but each cabana has a ceiling fan, which makes it a cooling place to lounge around the pool.
3. The Spa
Another Bali favorite activity of mine is to get a full body massage, so of course we had to try the spa. At Alila Uluwatu, a 1-hour Balinese massage costs Rp 1,750,000++.
You’ll get your own private treatment room. And of course, for couples, you can get your massage together in the same room.
4. Gym
I didn’t visit the gym during the stay, but I had a quick peek to show you what’s available. Looked like a pretty complete gym to me.
5. Kecak Performance
On Fridays at 6:30PM, there is a Kecak performance. This is not to be missed, as Kecak dance is a must-see when you are in Bali. Normally, you have to book a ticket to see the dance at a temple in Bali, but at Alila Uluwatu, it’s performed right at the hotel.
6. Free Shuttle to Savaya Beach Club
If you want a change of scenery, you can take a shuttle to Savaya Beach Club, right next door to the resort. I did not leave the resort premise at all during the stay, so you’ll have to inquire the butler about the shuttle schedule.
7. Private Dinner at Floating Cabana
We also did not do this, but you can book the floating cabana for a private dinner. This costs Rp 5,000,000 per person.
In Conclusion
Clearly, Alila Villas Uluwatu is not an accommodation for a regular Bali vacation. It’s a luxurious accommodation one would choose for special occasions when you want to set yourself apart from others. Most guests may not leave the premise throughout their stay. And there is really no reason to – everything you need can be found in the resort. Simply put, the resort itself is the destination!
Service at Alila Uluwatu was simply marvelous. The butler WhatsApp service was very responsive throughout our stay. We always requested a buggy service to take us to and from the villa, and they were always quick to send us one. We also ordered in some food from outside via Gojek (if you don’t have this app, install it!), and they were good about delivering the food straight to the villa.
Lastly, one of the partition doors in our villa were difficult to close. We mentioned it to the butler and they immediately sent maintenance to fix it. Later on, they dropped off complimentary dessert for the trouble.
For a resort first opened in 2009, Alila Villas does not show its age. Everyday there is someone maintaining the villas, whether cleaning, gardening, or repairs.
The only gripe we had about our stay is that for the price, the food at the restaurant was not mind blowing, just decent. However, you can get food delivered very easily in Bali via Gojek, and that’s what we ended up doing for most of our meals.
Book Alila Villas Uluwatu on booking.com
And that was our experience staying at Alila Uluwatu. Please let me know if you have any comments below!
Note: This review at Alila Villas Uluwatu was not compensated. It was paid by a relative of mine who is not related to Alila and wishes to remain anonymous.