Steve W Beijing, China
“Fantastic Get-away / Amazing Staff”
Just came back from a full week at Samaya Bali. We stayed in an Ayung Villa just 3 meters from the river! Everything was exactly as a get-away in Bali should be. Wayan (Hotel Manager) has built a team of guest-focused, caring, attentive, cheerful people who make you feel like family from the moment you arrive at reception. In addition to the amazing view sitting above the river at Swept Away Restaurant, the food was amazing and a highlight of the trip. We ate 2 nights in Ubud City and both times vowed to go right back to Swept Away for our next meal. Interesting, spicy, flavorful and unique – with cold beer, a great view and a secluded feeling tucked into the river’s bend.
I had a chance to meet with the hotel’s HR Manager, Dewa, before I left and was so impressed with the way he views developing the team, from hiring and training to supporting daily. Most of the staff comes right there from Desa Sayan - Village where the hotel is located – so what you are getting is happy local people who have been trained in a family manner – not as being waited on by corporate staff who went to a guest-focused seminar and are focused on tips. What a treat!
The hotel is close enough to Ubud (10 minutes on the 24-hour shuttle), but still far enough away that you are not feeling crowded in by tourist shops and college-bars.
Take the ½-day cooking class and visit to the market as well – great local experience and you even get a CD with all of the menus and instructions on it. The hotel will also arrange any kind of tour you want from bicycle adventures and white-water rafting to temple tours and walks in the nearby rice terraces.
Finish off your stay with a romantic dinner by the river, on the lawn or in your own gazebo (as we did) – again, fantastic food and intimacy.
If you want to be cared about, tucked in and tucked away, enjoying great food and lots of smiles – Samaya can’t be beat.
Singapore
“Yes, Certainly!”
Had thought of staying at the more beautiful Maya Ubud but was bought over by the Samaya's 5D4N COMBO package which included two nights here and two nights in Samaya Seminyak, along with free dinner in Ubud, 2 hours spa for 2 pax in Seminyak and 3 way airport/hotel transfers.
Upon arrival at the Denpasar Airport, the Samaya driver was waiting with a Samaya Card, however, the card used was very small, so look carefully otherwise you might miss the driver. While in the car, we were given strawberries, nuts, cold drinks to nimble on and we relaxed during the one hour journey to the Samaya Ubud.
I had requested to have either Hillside Villa 105 or 106 in order to have great rice filed views, and was very happy indeed to have gotten Villa 105. But the rice field views was nothing to write home about, as it is only evident near the Gazebo/Pool area and was partially blocked by trees and foliage. However, the whole villa was very spacious, garden very well tended to with extremely high walls - impressed! 100% total privacy!
Though the whole Villa was not in top notch condition, we thought it was very well kept, and we felt very comfortable and slept pretty well during our first night. But on the second day, after returning from a day trip, discovered that the air-con could not cool the room and so we did not sleep well the second night. So we requested for them to turn on the aircon at 1pm daily so we could immediately catch a nap after a day trip.
Due to last minute addition of a 3rd night in Ubud, we had no choice but to shift down to a Agung River Villa, no. 205. Though you could see and hear the River from the Villa's balcony (with chairs and a table), the pool was narrower and garden smaller here. There are also concerns of privacy (lower walls and neighbors could see you if all of you were at the balcony at the same time) and security (anyone could have climb up to the villa from the River). Thus, if I were you, would certainly go for a higher up Hillside Villa.
The free included dinner at its Swept Away restaurant was indeed, WOW and very yummy. Husband had the seafood BBQ (too much food for 1 person) while I chose the Beef with foie gras from the Ala-carte menu. We had also ordered room service on arrival - signature Crispy Duck and 3 Satays were good, but not blown over, and with very small portions for S$40 (Singapore dollars), very expensive indeed for Bali.
Daily breakfasts at its Scene restaurant, easily walk-able from Villa 105, was also a feast! Like the idea of ordering from the menu so as not to waste food, kudos! Dishes were not only well presented, but also very tasty, again impressed! Drivers to send or collect us from Central Ubud were all courteous and prompt, very good service indeed.
And the title of this posting, 'Yes, Certainly', was what we used to get in response from the very well-trained staff here. No matter what your requests are, they are happy to oblige, and do it with a 100% willingness and are very humble (you could see from their faces that they are very sincere and genuine). This is, however, in great contrast with staff at their Seminyak property (see my other review).
Though we are really happy to be staying at the Samaya Ubud, the Hotel and its staff are almost perfect, there are some design faults with the Villas as no Hotel is 100% perfect -
1. while sitting in the 3 seater sofa watching TV (about 20 channels with Channel NewsAsia for Singaporeans!), you could not read because there is simply no overhead lighting in that area - very dim and dark! By dropping a crystal Chandelier from the ceiling might add much needed light and glamour to the whole room.
2. the front top facade of the villa was covered in blinds in a triangular shape. This is fine for us as we are early risers but not so for people who might want to wake up late as light would shine through those blinds, lighting up the whole room.
3. there is no extractor in the WC. So, after finishing business, the whole place stinks a little ....
4. the private Pool is 8m x 4m, however, there is a huge concrete block near the aluminium staircase where you would descend into the pool. Do be careful when you are doing laps as you might accidentally 'bumped' into this huge concrete block. We thought this concrete block unnecessary ...
Overall, this is a good Hotel that offers a real 5 star experience. If you do not mind taking shuttle transfers (10-15 minutes) to/from Ubud Central, you would not go wrong staying here. But if you want a Hotel that allows you to constantly drop in and deposit your shopping bags, and then go out again, then you will be sorely disappointed. Had a great 3 nights stay here, many thanks to the well trained and dedicated staff, Terima Kasih!
Melbourne, Australia
“Absolute magic, one of my best hotel/resort experiences”
I had a week away in Bali, and chose to spend all planned seven nights in Ubud. I hate packing/unpacking, and the purpose of this trip was to relax and recharge. All I can say is that I am so glad that I booked The Samaya Ubud. I've never felt so absolutely detached and relaxed in an extremely long time.
The staff are amazing, and whilst they don't seem to pry into what you're looking to do, after having a casual conversation about plans for the day the next thing you know they have it organised. Really great experience.
I stayed in a Hillside Villa and just loved how lush and green all the plants around my villa were, and everything else was in exceptional condition.
I thought it would be interesting to comment that my flight home was cancelled the day I was meant to be flying out. At the time, I was down at Potato Head in Seminyak chilling out, so I was in a bit of a pickle. I contacted the hotel manager (Wayan) and he was able to help me organise a room at The Samaya Seminyak for the night (which was lovely too, but totally different experience to Ubud, if you want to relax, go to Ubud!).
Rijeka, Croatia
“Soul of Bali”
Recently I was staying at the Samaya Ubud with my wife for seven nights. What can I say then it is a perfect, relaxing and what is most important a place with the greatest people (complete staff and manager) I ever met. The Villas are great with beautiful pool, excellent bath and complete privacy.
We were staying at the Hill side villa, but I don't think that there is some difference between the villas. Food in the resort is excellent, dinner is quite expensive but the quality is very good. Have to mention breakfast which was perfect. Been traveling all around the world, and always had to wake up for buffet breakfast, but here it was all a-la-cart and when ever you want it and where ever you want, just perfect. As we were staying for seven nights, we had a complete freedom to create our own menu if we want to, but that was completely unnecessary as all was perfect.
If you want some activity all can be arranged from the main desk, with simple call, which we used for arranging several tours. There is also a free shuttle to Ubud and it is fantastic. Have to mention that we took the culinary class at the resort with the visit to the Ubud market together with the Chef Loka. He was so friendly and helpful and gave us several information about the Balinese spice, of course beside that he introduce us to the "secrets" of the Balinese cuisine through the class, what was a great experience for both of us. As we were staying for more days we also went couple of times to the SPA.
The staff was excellent, very good massage and treatment and nicely decorated SPA by the Ayung river. And finally the most important about this resort are the people. I cannot find the words to express my emotions about them. They were treating us like a family, calling us by name, always with open smile,sharing with us their pure soul, what really is something special. That is something what you cannot get anywhere else. Once when we again visit Bali, for sure we will go to Samaya Ubud, simply returning back "home".
