Imagine a place that’s absolutely perfect.. perfect for chill out, for lying down on a folding bed with the only problem being the decisions that have to be made: should I turn over on the folding bed, what should I eat for lunch and the main problem: should I go swimming or read a book? A place where you can enjoy doing nothing and forget about the rest of the world. These are the kinds of places we’re always looking for on our journeys. Ever since we started going somewhere together we liked the following agenda: first eat a lot of delicious food and see everything, than chill out, eat some more food and don’t stress out. That’s what we did in India, on The Canary Islands, during our Euro trip, in Mexico and Thailand. This time we planned some blissful relaxation on BALI.
The place seemed perfect from the very beginning – no wonder Bali is one of the most popular destinations for honeymoons and one of the most romantic places on earth according to many lists! There’s plenty of charming places there, that’s for sure. What we were concerned a little bit about was the weather since February is the rain season, completely off-season since it can rain for as much as half a day every day. The best time o go to Bali is between half June and the end of September. We decided to give it a try anyway.
On Bali, we’re looking for magical places, regardless of the location. We don’t care about sightseeing that much anymore. After 30 days on the road, comes a time when you get tired with the temples, bazaars and traffic jams on Indonesian roads. Time when you’re not missing night buses in Burma or streets where you can sense all the smells of Asia. You’re dreaming about a moment of peace, relax, time for yourself, a place where they will care about you 200%. We found such place in UBUD.
Ubud is a tourist little town, located not that far from Denpasar (capital of Bali where the airport is). What’s interesting, Ubud has no access to the sea and instead is surrounded by green rice fields. As you can imagine the area is beautiful and very picturesque, no beach though. The city itself looks quite crowded even now, off-season (traffic jam!!!), there’s still plenty of tourists, lots of souvenir and clothes shops, any restaurants with some looking really nice, sometimes with prices not corresponding with the quality. Ubud is known for being the art centre of Bali – there’s plenty of galleries here, paintings, sculptures and other works of art. Great deal of hindu temples – contrary to Muslim Java, Bali is into Hinduism and Muslims form a few percent minority. There’s two great attractions for kids in Ubud: Bali Bird Park and Monkey Forest – I’ll write about those soon 🙂
In beautiful surroundings of Ubud, far from the sound of horns, you will find magical Amori Villa, a hotel (a tiny one) with a soul.
Amori Villa is truly a place we’ve been looking for. Hidden in the green, a few kilometres from the centre of Ubud. When you approach it from the side of the city you may be asking yourself: ‘Is it really here? Is that where this small luxury hotel is supposed to be?’. The entrance looks quite inconspicuous. But as soon as you cross the gate, you’ll see refined little houses, a tiny restaurant with a swimming pool and nature view and an open kitchen that looks like at home and is not a common thing in Asia. You’ll start with a healthy, green cocktail with ginger, lime and mint served with a small snack. It’s a place where you feel great from the very beginning. It’s not overwhelming or intimidating like some of the big hotels. You feel like you’re visiting an old friend – we’re drinking our cocktails, Maks produces his board games, it’s peaceful and quiet.
Amori Villa is a magical and soulful place. So much different from huge behemoth-hotels. Instead of a huge lobby and 30 floors, you get just 7 houses (!!!), an intimate swimming pool and even more intimate ‘restaurant’ (or more a home dining room). Each part of Amori is well-though-of, each works great and fits the general idea. There’s also an imagination-spinning story. The hotel is owned by an Australian couple who decided to open a place of their own after years of travelling. Walking around Ubud, they fell in love with the area – in 2005 they found a piece of land and in 2009 – welcomed first guests. Now they spend their time in Perth and Ubud. They often visit Amori and know best what their customers need – and they treat the hotel like their child – with love and devotion. I don’t know about you, but I love such stories!!! They give me more to think than a regular chain-hotel, even the most luxurious one. They make me wonder – maybe one day, after years on the road, we will open a place of our own in some beautiful part of Poland or world too?
Days in Amori Villa passed lazily. A healthy breakfast in no rush and with a view of the swimming pool: freshly squeezed juice, great omelettes or granola with fruits and then a short break before hitting the swimming pool, sunbathing and getting lazy in the folding beds. Maks was incredibly happy! Even though it’s not a hotel designed for kids, rather for couples and romantic trips for two, anniversaries, honeymoons etc. But a huge swimming pool did the job! Maks didn’t want to leave it at all and finished his last bath at 10 pm!
Whenever we got hungry, we relocated from the swimming pool to the charming restaurant for lunch. Occasionally, members of the staff came to the pool and asked us whether we would like to have lunch and when and so after swimming the food was already waiting for us. That’s A++ client service!
Menu was diverse with both Asian and European meals and a big advantage for us: a kids’ menu. Fantastic fresh cocktails with two favourites: Banana Lassi and Amori Sensation (mint, ginger, lime, honey). Fried calamari, spring rolls or fish cakes with a salad for starters, then either a typically Indonesian nasi goreng, mie goreng or ayam rica rica (chicken in spicy sauce) or a delicious (and huge) tuna steak for like PLN 30! And one of the few genuinely interesting desserts on our Asian trip – black rice pudding with coconut milk and vanilla ice cream. Amazing! But mango sticky rice is still unbeatable when it comes to best Asian desserts! 🙂
And all these prepared just for you, in a kitchen that looks like at home. After various weird places we’ve eaten in Asia this one seems like a genuine treasure!
After lunch we usually came back to the pool or had a siesta. In the evening we went to have dinner or some of the amazing cocktails. And we enjoyed the view since Amori looks even better at night! A true gem! Remember about it when planning your next special occasion. It’s worth it 🙂
I have to admit that we didn’t leave Amori that much. Once we went to Bali Bird Park but the weather made us change or plans (yes, it sometimes pours in February!), we had an early lunch in Lamak in Ubud (nothing special) and paid a visit to the macaques in the Monkey Forest on our way to Seminyak 🙂 I might be including them in the next entry since they were really charming!
PRACTICAL INFORMATION:
More info at Amori Villa’s website.
you can find them on Booking.com.
* the entry was written in cooperation with Amori Villa
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