Alila Villas Uluwatu
- Location: Bali, Indonesia
- Loyalty Program: GHA Discovery / World of Hyatt
- Room Type: One Bed Villa (4th tier)
- Cost: £370 per night
- Priority Booking: Hyatt Privé
Arrival
The drive from Ubud to Uluwatu took around 1.5 hours, passing the airport and continuing to the far southern cliffs of Bali. Alila Villas Uluwatu is quite well hidden, seeing the sign from the road you’d have no idea that a resort of this calibre was hidden at the end of the narrow, twisting lane.
Before we could enter the resort we were stopped at a fortified guard post where we were asked for the details of our reservation. Once we were given the all clear we began to wind through the magnificent resort grounds.
Alila Villas Uluwatu is extremely proud of its green credentials. Natural, locally sourced materials are used throughout
Waiting area by the main lobby, for use in the highly unlikely event that you should have to wait for a buggyWe were greeted as we stepped out of the vehicle and our bags were taken from us. A host then guided us through a very impressive atrium…
….and into the most spectacular hotel lobby I’ve ever seen. Nothing can quite prepare you for how absolutely incredible the view is.
As we sat listening to our hosts explanation of the facilities we began to notice some of the small details that were going to set this stay apart.
Ice cold drinks, the glasses thick with condensation and endless scented moist towels… ahhh Asia.
Throughout the resort small plinths and trays are set up with a selection of amenities on them. These include mosquito repellent, sun cream, moisturiser and a facial mist spray.
These are also available in the villas and even at the restaurant tables. Alila has obviously noticed that guests use these items a lot and decided to ready them for us, so that we wouldn’t even need to ask. After the intro we were escorted to a buggy, waiting to take us to our villa.
One Bed Villa
A week or so before our stay I contacted the reservations department to request a villa on the fourth “floor”. I had done some research online and had seen a couple of places mention that since we would be taking buggies down to the main resort anyway, we should aim for the most privacy and best view. Our villa : 408, did not disappoint.
The villa came with an iPad for accessing resort and activity info as well as ordering room, service, browsing the web and streaming movies to the TV
Beats the hell out of a Nespresso machine!
As part of the ecological ethos of the resort, Alila water was replenished in reusable bottles rather than disposable plastic
How’s that for a view? The roofs of the villas below can be seen, covered in volcanic rock and plants. All very eco-friendly.
The cage was a great place to seek shade from the midday sun, whilst reading a book
I love how all of the lounging areas at Alila Uluwatu are thick
and waterproof. You could just casually move from one to another, drifting to sleep without worrying about wet swimwear
An amazing, deep soaking tub
The leather drawer under the tub was filled with the same amenities found in the lobby and restaurants
The indoor shower
An expansive area for make up, hair drying etc. between the two sinks.
A huge selection of Alila Living branded amenities were supplied in both ‘his’ and ‘hers’ versions. The fragrance and consistency was amazing, you really get the impression that Alila are adding value here by not just using the same old branded toiletries as other hotels.
When I went to unpack I noticed that my suitcase now had a beautiful Alila Villas Uluwatu luggage tag attached.
They think of everything! Fans, a mat and a woven beach bag
There are even two different types of dressing gown per person! A towel one for when you come out of the pool or bath and a warmer woven one for sitting outside in the evening.
The small pool and windows sit directly behind the bed
In a word the Villas at Alila Uluwatu are magnificent. There is an abundance of space and every whim and desire is catered to. The furniture is robust and heavy. The layout of the villas puts you directly in touch with the elements. During the day the windows and doors can all be fully opened to effectively turn the villa into an open air space, allowing the cliffside breeze to gently cool you.
Sunset
Bali is an island famed for its magical sunsets and Alila in particular is renowned for its spectacular Sunset Cabana. After spending a couple of hours enjoying the villa, that’s exactly where we headed.
The Sunset Cabana was being prepared for evening service after hosting a wedding
The best view of the sunset is obtained by sitting right at the end of the Sunset Cabana. We headed down early to make sure we got a great spot. Seriously, can you imagine having anywhere better to be?
I absolutely love that giant illuminated sculpture in the centre of the frame
Night falls…
As the deep amber sun plotted its inevitable course into the Indian Ocean, darkness descended over Alila Villas Uluwatu. All of a sudden we were in an enchanting illuminated world, recessed lighting and candles casting mysterious shadows through the cracks of wooden cages. The pool was resplendent with turquoise light and all the while the ocean roared gently below.
The Library
One of my favourite places in the resort was the library. I believe this room was planned from the very beginning, a nod to Alila’s roots in Aman hotels.
The design of the room makes it completely relaxing and inspirational. There are so many juxtaposing elements all complementing each other phenomenally. Light/ dark, soft/ hard, natural, man-made, smooth/ rough ; every element works perfectly. During the daytime the pool was more compelling but at night the library really came into its own.
Dinner at Warung Restaurant
Alila Uluwatu has two restaurants. A European establishment named Cire and the more casual, locally flavoured, Warung (Indonesian for restaurant). In my pre-stay reading I kept hearing that Warung offered better food and better prices. After trying it on the first night we were never tempted to veer “across the pool”! Service was very personal, all of our preferences were noted on the first evening and then subsequently remembered by the servers throughout our stay. For our first dinner we took a seat by the magnificent driftwood sculpture and enjoyed one of the tasting menus.
The amenities
This wondrous monstrosity is the ‘bread’. Two different types of prawn cracker with a huge variety of pickles, chillies, kecap manis, coconut and shallots.
A tabletop grill to keep our satay warm
I still frequently reminisce about the grilled duck. At once entirely crispy and perfectly moist, as spectacular a piece of meat as I’ve ever had. We ordered it at every meal and fully intend to do so when we return!
(Note: in the years since this review was written I’ve returned to Warung on no less than four occasions, just to eat the crispy duck. Alila Uluwatu is less than 30 minutes drive from the airport. If you have time before a flight you will 100% not regret coming here to eat)
The Gym
We visited the gym on our second night and in our entire time at Alila we never saw another guest use it. For me it had become a necessary tool to stimulate hunger after almost 10 solid days of overeating !
The showers were open walled and faced a high walled moat/lake replete with reeds. Showering here was a unique experience, bested only by….
The loo with a view.
The gym had an impressive selection of LifeFitness cable machines as well as a treadmill, recumbent bike and elliptical.
Fresh water and towels
Your intrepid explorer.
The gym had absolutely everything you need except for one thing. After our workout, Kamara came out with her hair dripping wet.
“They don’t have a hairdryer”, she said. I told her not to worry, I had an idea. We headed next door to the spa and mentioned our surprise at the fact that there was no hairdryer. The spa staff were massively apologetic (despite this probably being completely out of their control) and immediately ushered K through to a treatment pavilion where she could dry her hair. Meanwhile I sat in the beautifully appointed waiting area.
I would have happily sat there minding my own business but the staff went above and beyond, they wanted to make sure that my five minute wait was comfortable. I was immediately offered a delicious iced ginger and lemon tea, which I enjoyed sipping on listening to the spa music and watching the reeds gently blowing back and forth.
The Villa at Night
We tried to walk as much as possible, rather than taking a buggy. At night the illuminated stairs made for a secluded and romantic wander back to our villa.
At night the interior of the villa is reconfigured by the darkness, just as the common areas of the resort are.
With the nightly turndown service came bookmarks, lip balm and a lavender pillow spray as well as fresh bottles of Alila water.
One of my favourite activities, sitting outside and reading a book on a warm evening, periodically looking up to see the sparkling stars above.
Sunrise
One of my favourite things about travelling far away is that there are always going to be residual elements of jetlag. You may wake up thirsty at 5am, have a sip of water and suddenly feel like you can’t get back to sleep.
“What’s good about that”? You may well ask yourself. Sunrises in bed. That’s what.
Breakfast
Once the sun had gotten reasonably high into the sky I leapt onto the sofa, slid the glass doors open and jumped straight into the pool. This was followed by a delicious Illy double espresso.
A note on the fantastic Alila service: The staff caught on within the first few hours of our stay that I drink loads of coffee. When they came to do turndown on the first evening they left a fresh set of Illy capsules for us. Similarly when K requested a tea after lunch that we didn’t have in the room, we found 4 extra tea bags of that flavour waiting for us back in the room upon our return. Given the beauty and privacy of the villas we felt that it would be a shame to leave our little citadel of luxury for breakfast. Thankfully we were able to order our morning meal using a very intuitive ordering system on the Galaxy tablet.
The breakfast arrived within 30 mins and it was exceptional.This time they saw my request for coffee and did one better. They brought me an entire fresh can of Illy capsules, as well as my freshly made cappuccino!
A word of advice, one breakfast is more than enough for two people, especially if you plan on having tasting menus for dinner and pitchers of frozen margaritas by the pool during the day! On the first day we had our breakfast by the pool. We had two waiters setting up our table and refreshing our tea and coffee making facilities in expert fashion whilst making pleasant small talk and ensuring to ask if we needed anything else at all.
After finishing our food, the weather was looking absolutely perfect. We took a quick dip at the villa before heading down to investigate the main resort pool.
The resort has a firm focus on sustainability. All water is purified on site and heated using the volcanic rocks topping each villa.
The Main Pool
The main pool at Alila Villas Uluwatu almost needs no introduction. The image of the sunset cabana extending over the cliff’s edge next to the infinity pool is iconic in the travel industry. Any top pools or luxury resort list is positively anaemic if it lacks a shot of this spectacular piece of design.
Kamara enjoying the view.
Beyond the aesthetics, the service at the main pool is also incredibly detailed and thoughtful. As we approached the loungers we were immediately asked whether we preferred sun or shade or perhaps we could take two sets of loungers and have both. Whilst our loungers were being prepared another member of staff appeared with a large wicker basket.
Inside it were a selection of ice cold amenities: Water, sunscreen, cooling mist, moisturiser, mosquito spray and scented towels as well as some food and drinks menus.
Everything you need to relax for a few hours by the pool, swimming and sunbathing.
Lunch at Warung Restaurant
Warung restaurant
On the left is the sunset cabana. For our final lunch the staff suggested that we sit in the private bale on the right, overlooking the cliff’s edge.
The private bale and cliffside shrine
Sometimes the shrine’s offerings attract monkeys (FYI the turtle is a statue)
This was one of the most memorable meals of my life. Kamara and I both agreed that it was one of those moments that we’d keep revisiting in the future, our memories never quite capable of re-capturing the taste of the food, the sound of the ocean and wildlife or the sight of two endless blues- above and below, meeting in the horizon. The combination of all these elements was perfect. Reason alone for us to return one day, for one more meal if nothing else.
Departure
As soon as we finished our meal we headed to the lobby area to check out. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. My only consolation? The knowledge that Bali is only ever one mistake fare, or sweet spot miles redemption away…
We took an Alila car for the short 35 minute ride to the airport.
A vanity mirror and controller for the radio. (please excuse the blurry pic, the roads are a little bumpy!)
The ubiquitous Alila Living amenities even made it to the car
Even now, months later, this image is heart wrenching
We were met kerbside by a very courteous and friendly Alila employee who (rather unnecessarily) assisted us with check-in, made sure we had prepared money for the exit fee and carried our hand luggage for us, all the way to immigration. At which point he told us which direction our gate was and bid us farewell.
Great service from Alila, from start to finish. Probably the best hotel I’ve ever had the pleasure of staying in.
Book Alila Villas Uluwatu with Hyatt Privé benefits
Hyatt Privé Partner Booking
Click the image to get the best available, flexible rate and also receive:
- $100 Hotel Credit.
- VIP Airport Fast track arrival.
- Full breakfast for up to two in-room guests.
- Alila Villas Uluwatu Welcome Package.
- Complimentary scheduled Alila Experience.
- Complimentary morning yoga session, from 7.30am – 8.30am.
- Early check-in/late check-out, subject to availability.
Note: You will still earn stay credit and ALL elite benefits, exactly like a direct booking with Hyatt.com.</em >
Alila Uluwatu can be booked directly online by clicking the “BOOK NOW” image.
First time booking with us? Here’s how to quickly get set up:
- Part 1:
- LHR Terminal 2 Lounges
- Part 2:
- EVA Air: Royal Laurel – London to Bangkok
- Part 3:
- Peninsula Bangkok
- Part 4:
- Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines: Business Class Lounges – Bangkok Airport
- Part 5:
- Thai Air: Business Class – Bangkok to Denpasar
- Part 6:
- Bali – An Overview
- Part 7:
- Villa Shamballa Ubud
- Part 8:
- Monkey Forest Ubud
- Part 9:
- Alila Villas Uluwatu I (Arrival to Nightfall)
- Part 10:
- Alila Villas Uluwatu II (Sunrise to Departure)
- Part 11:
- Denpasar Premier Lounge – Denpasar Airport
- Part 12:
- EVA Air: Premium Laurel – Denpasar to Taipei
- Part 13:
- Taipei Sights and a Weird French Style Asian Art Deco Hotel
- Part 14:
- EVA Air: Business Class Lounges – Taipei Airport Lounges
- Part 15:
- EVA Air: Royal Laurel – Taipei to Bangkok
- Part 16:
- EVA Air and Thai Airways: Business Class Lounges – Bangkok Airport
- Part 17:
- EVA Air: Royal Laurel – Bangkok to London
