Guest Reviews

Mathis Retreat: "Excellent Boutique Hotel"

"Me and my girlfriend (both 25 y/o from London) stayed at the Mathis Retreat for 5 nights. We thought it was fantastic and was everything we were looking for from our first visit to Bali. Room: We stayed in room 1, this was one of the bungalows and it was beautiful. (As in, we got that tingly feeling of excitement when we walked in!). The decor was tasteful, the room was cool and spacious and amenities such as shampoo and tea were provided. Food: The restaurant on site was fantastic. Breakfast is from a menu where you choose the things that you want, then they are cooked and brought to you. There is a good range of food and as we tried everything (more than once) we can confidently say it was all delicious. However, breakfast paled in comparison to just how great dinner was - arguably some of the nicest food we had during our 3 week stay. It is more expensive than most other places but is worth it particularly considering the environment and setting (see below). There is a great range of Indonesian and westernized food. Setting/Environment: If rice fields and nature is your jam then this place will certainly deliver. Sitting at the restaurant/in the pool and overlooking the fields is spectacular and on arrival will certainly give that wow factor. Truly the photos on TA do not do it justice. Staff: Everyone is lovely, it really is as simple as that. Even when waking the receptionist at 2:15 am (climbing Batur) he came out with a smile and did everything he could to help. Special shout out goes to Karen the manager who clearly makes an effort to talk to all the guests and provide insight into what can be done in Ubud and how to do everything you want to. Tours/Guides: We tried to do as much as we could for our stay in Ubud and think 5 days was the perfect amount of time. However, this was utilizing the guides provided by Karen who were superb and we would highly recommend using them as oppose to navigating the place yourself. In particular, we were very humbled by an opportunity to visit one of the guides homes and see how him, his family and their community live (they had a blacksmith, weaver and fighting chickens!). This was an eye opener into just how different life is for most locals in Bali and how tourism has changed things. Our guides name was 'Susa Wayan' get him if you can! Conclusion: Mathis Retreat was great and we can't really fault it. Staff made it clear they were there to help for any issue and would definitely go back if in that part of the world again. One final point - we paid 350k for the journey to the airport in kuta. Don't pay anymore than that (and you can probably get it cheaper!)"

tugu bali: "Special Place"

"We recently enjoyed an exceptional stay at the Tugu Bali with our family. Every element of our stay was outstanding starting with the most friendly staff. Always with a smile, going beyond to ensure our total satisfaction and understanding of this unique cultural hotel. We highly recommend the Tugu Bali, a very special place to stay ! "

Locavore: "Experience of a lifetime"

"First of all: YOU MUST BOOK AHEAD if you want to go to dinner; lunch is less in demand and somewhat easier. We had the most amazing evening with friendly and efficient staff, an elegant and comfortable dining room - with plenty of space between tables, such a luxury - and then the food. Our party of three included one who is violently allergic to shellfish/seafood so with great care and input from the chefs, an alternative menu was chosen for her that included dishes from the vegetarian menu as well as safe dishes from the meat/fish menu. Then we sat back and the dishes started coming. Not only is the food exquisite, but the dishes (or rocks!) on and in which it's served and beautiful too. We settled for the seven courses and even though each is little more than one or two mouthfuls, it was more than enough and every dish was a surprise and beyond delicious. My favourite (apparently I'm not alone) was the quenelle of Bloody Mary sorbet on a slice of frozen tomato that then had a little jug of hot and clear tomato broth poured over it. More like essence of tomato than broth: absolutely marvellous! Didn't have the matching drinks as I felt a puritan need to walk out under my own steam, but wine is an easy alternative and uniformly and reasonably priced. The chef-owners are passionate about local and fresh produce and experimenting – and it shows. Altogether a memorable evening."

The Hue House: "Customer"

First time when i come to the hue House , at first i has left deep impression is the espace with Huế imperial palace 's style , either the space outside , the service is enthusiasm , agile. Specially is the foods, they are delicous . There r too many kinds of great food so i couldn't try it all in 1 time . Honestly thats great. And for sure i will come back again to try another Hue foods very soon

Glenburn Tea Estate: "“Magical Shangri-La up in the clouds”"

"The views from all around both properties were breath-taking and we enjoyed some of the recommended walks you can do around the grounds, especially being treated to a delicious lunch down at the river. The food was great throughout the 4 days, sitting outside for breakfast and lunches is a treat (as long as the flies are not out in force) and dinners were similarly a great experience where you get to chat with other guests in a relaxed, communial manner, though private dining is always available, which we did take advantage of one night, when we were too fatigued to make small talk. Great variation of food also - with a different food 'theme' given for different nights - i.e. Indian, Tibetan, etc. The room we had (Singuella Suite - spelt incorrectly I'm sure) was huge, had some lovely period furniture and was decorated to a high, if a little mumsy, standard. Great bathroom and loads of hot water too. Sadly our visit to Darjeeling town was not the best due to it being really overcast, so I would suggest anyone stays here at least 3 nights to make the most of their time here. The road is what everyone else has written about it - bumpy and nerve jangling, but it is what it is - certainly we felt it seemed worse on the way down than up....also it seemed to get slightly more tolerable the more you did that journey, but it's no deciding factor over whether you should go to this place - it is really special, the views are simply stunning and the bonus of getting all your laundry done here for free was a great boon for us as we had 4 weeks worth of laundry to give them from our previous travels in India. The manager Jemima was lovely too - friendly, welcoming, easy to talk to with a great convivial manner. The shop was a nice, unexpected visit, but needed a bit more diversity in merchandise....again it got all a bit mumsy and twee after a while. The only other small criticism would be some of the employees English is very, very limited, which resulted in some wrong orders and misunderstandings - nothing major, but this is a pricey place to stay at and some guests might expect the service to be highly sharpened to reflect the fee. Still, if you can do go, I felt 4 nights was just the right amount of time to spend here....had a beautiful time which I will not forget. Room Tip: The newer bunglaow - for sure"

Villa Song Saigon: "Elegant throughout"

We stayed at the villa song hotel for two nights. It's a beautiful boutique hotel with tasteful decorations and outfits. We enjoyed the pool area very much. Service was excellent and staff were attentive. Breakfast was okay. The pho we had was too soft though but the food quality is still pretty nice overall. The only thing is we won't recommend it if you travel with elderly and young children. We got in at 3am with two young kids; they cried for bath and people next door were banging on the divided door complaining about our noise which we had hard time to control. One other minor complaint is the smell of the hotel. The sewage system of the pool area isn't designed well enough that from time to time there's off putting smell coming from the fence area. If they could fix that, the place is really a gem for couples!

Inle Princess Resort: "Eine Institution"

"Zitat eines Hotel Managers am Nahgpali Beach im Westen Myanmar. Besser lässt sich dieser Traum nicht umschreiben. Alles erscheint hier selbstverständlich, obwohl unglaubhaft: Herzlichkeit, Professionalität, hervorragende Massagen, asiatische/myanmar aber auch europäische Küche auf Sterne Niveau, alles ist sicherlich auch in den großen asiatischen Metropolen zu finden. Einen offenen Kaminofen, der einem die kalten Nächte am Inle See vergessen lässt, kann man allenfalls in einem schweizerischen 5 Sterne Chalet Resort erwarten, das ist in Südostasien einmalig wie so einiges andere hier am Inle See. Stayed February 2017, traveled as a couple"

MesaStila: "Java at its best"

"MesaStila is one of those places that blows you away. So many things about our trip far exceeded our expectations. The food was awesome. The rooms are beautiful. A highlight was the Easter Egg painting hunt that the staff ran for our two little boys. Yokyo (maybe not correct spelling) was sweet and made sure our little ones felt special. Thank you. We hope to be back. "

CABOCHON: "Excellent"

"Love this hotel. I had My Valentine at this hotel. Great service , friendly staff. Big swimming pool, Very intimitet place. Travel back to 1920 en enjoy. When You walk away from the hotel youre back in the crazy city Bamgkok . "

Satri House: "Marvellous holidays"

"Satri House, a Prince's house with style, elegance and charm. Delightful garden. Spacious room with private terrace and garden. The fresh mandarine juice, the croissants and the jams made by the "" Satri's Mother "" are unforgettable. The service is irreproachable. Simply marvellous. Simply Lao. Philippe from belgium"