The Samaya Ubud

During our honeymoon in Bali, we stayed in two different villas ... My wife booked The Samaya while I booked a different one so I really wanted the one I chose to be better... but The Samaya was undeniably better. It really boils down to service and how they can pick up on every details politely and without intrusion. Every employee there gave us a warm and welcoming feeling from the breakfast, cleanup (no random doorbells, they cater to your schedule), and the very convenient local shuttle.

We arrived at The Samaya in Ubud after spending 3 really great days in Singapore. After the hustle and bustle of Singapore it was a great way to relax for our 4 nights we had booked here. On arrival it was very dark so never got to see everything properly. The greeting on arrival was very warm and welcoming. We had a villa upgrade to a 2 bedroom one although we didn’t need the second bedroom but it meant we had loads more outside space in a beautifully maintained garden. The swimming pool was huge compared to other villas with pools we had stayed in before in other holiday destinations. The first morning we opened the curtains we were greeted by the lovely garden and deep blue coloured pool. After our first breakfast, which was in the Scene restaurant one of the two restaurants, we were greeted by the manager who was so keen on making sure we were happy with our Villa and everything else during our stay. Subsequently each member of staff we got to meet were equally keen to make our stay a memorable one. They were not over the top but just right and very genuine in making sure we were looked after really well. The view on our first morning at breakfast was amazing. Our breakfast table overlooked the rice fields and a small village in the distance. Being high it up it gave the most impressive views. You can request a buggy to take you to the other restaurant called Swept Away which is down by the river Ayung. It is quite steep in parts so that’s why they offer this service. We had lunch on our first full day there and it was so nice and relaxing with the river running right beside us. We also had our first evening dinner there and was blown away by the quality of the food and service. There are so many dishes to choose from and the menu never grew tired each night we ate there. The wait for a buggy back to our room was literally a couple of minutes at most and each driver we had was really polite and liked to chat with us. You can walk from your villa to the Swept Away restaurant but at night it is best to take the buggy as it is warm in the evenings so you don’t want to turn up bring too hot! We took the walk down a couple of lunchtimes and it only takes a few minutes. I learnt some Indonesian and also the local Balinese language and the staff loved it when I tried to converse in their language! At the end of our time there I had picked up quite a few words. After our 4 nights we said our goodbyes and were genuinely touched by all the staff we got to know especially Wayan the general manager and Hendra who was one of the restaurant managers. Off we now went to The Elysian in Seminyak for our last 7 nights in Bali but we only lasted 3! Despite good reviews on here about our new destination we were not very happy with the hotel or the resort. It was so busy and the roads were so narrow with cars and mopeds within inches of us when out walking. The villa we had was so much smaller and everything felt so confined with not much space around us at all. We tried to go for a walk to check Seminyak out but after a short while we arrived back at our room and contacted The Samaya to say “Please can we come back”! We did however enjoy watching the sunsets in Seminyak with cocktails at The Legian hotel which was far nicer and also had a fantastic meal at a restaurant called “Bambu” so all was not lost. The Samaya picked us up after our brief stay there and took us back to our last 4 days in what we called paradise. This time we had the hill view villa which actually had similar views to what you see at breakfast. Villa 105 is probably the best if you want views to die for. You will not regret choosing The Samaya I promise you. We have taken many holidays over the years but the Samaya stands out as one of the best places we have stayed yet. Thank you so much for all the great hospitality to each and every member of staff we met during our time with you. They all love working there and it shows. Special thanks go to Wayan and Hendra for looking after us so well. (For some reason I cannot select the ratings after I wrote this review for service, rooms and cleanliness but I was going to select excellent for each of them anyway)