Staycation at Alila Villas Uluwatu, a well-deserved escape from the hustle and bustle to find peace and get closer to nature.
Hi… welcome back to my journal, weekend getaway at Alila Villas Uluwatu, a luxury hidden gem, a romantic hideaway in Bali. I’m sharing with you my latest experience stays at Alila Villas Uluwatu. I can say this is the best weekend I ever had, and we also celebrated our wedding anniversary during our stay. The resort was secluded yet brings comfort and luxury inside. It’s located in Uluwatu, a stunning destination for those seeking a perfect sunset.
For me, Uluwatu offers the best beaches in Bali. It’s like a perfect combo, you will get the view, the adventure, the white sand, and crystal clear water. In my previous blog, I shared one of Uluwatu’s beaches that is secretly situated yet secluded by the cliff and hardly to be reached. But after your journey, you will discover a beautiful white sandy beach surrounded by the natural landscape. Yes, indeed… Uluwatu is still my favorite area to visit anyway. Back to the topic, you can continue reading my blog about how I enjoyed and spoilt myself during our stay at Alila Villas Uluwatu.
ALILA ULUWATU – THE HIDDEN GEM
It’s a well-deserved escape from the hustle and bustle to find peace and get closer to nature. Make sure your device is perfectly connected to the internet since you need a GPS as a navigator. I suggest departing early to avoid any traffic since the crowd in Bali is back to normal. Once you stepped into the resort you will be greeted by super friendly staff from guest service. They will escort you to the lobby for the check-in process. Trust me you’ll be impressed by the stunning lobby. My first impression was “wow… there’s a floating cabana”.
At first, you will think that the cabana does really float and there’s an endless pool connected to the ocean. Well, actually the pool is not connected to the ocean. It’s just a magical reflection from the bright blue sky and the crystal clear water of the pool so it looks like there’s an endless breathtaking infinity pool. The use of the mask is still mandatory, and the signature Alila amenities are available in all public areas so you don’t need to worry to find a hand sanitizer.
We enjoyed the ocean breeze and the tropical feeling from the coconut palms surrounding the pool. The architecture is unique yet stylish, it perfectly tells and shows its brand identity. I mean when you just take a look at the lobby you will notice that this is Alila Uluwatu, with the sunset cabana as the hallmark of this property. We’ll be heading to our room escorted by a personalized Buttler. It’s quite far to reach the room so we got our buggy to deliver our luggage. You can hop on a buggy to drop you for breakfast or lunch, but you can also make your way to explore the resort by walking.
The villa layout reminds me of Desa Panglipuran, the neatest Balinese traditional village when you are visiting Bangli. You can check the floor plan of every villa from Alila’s official website to learn the illustration about the property before you arrive. For your information, the check-in time is started at 2.00 pm, while the check-out time is at 12.00 pm. You may contact the reservation team should you request an early check-in or early check-out. And don’t forget to dial 0 from your in-house phone to request a buggy service to get your luggage to be delivered to the lobby.
THE ROOM – ONE BEDROOM VILLA
When you meticulously view it, the uniqueness of the room is the bamboo ceiling. They use the bamboo rows for the ceiling to allow the gentle sea breeze circulates throughout all areas of the villa for a truly relaxing tropical feel. Let the door that connects the living room area and the outdoor terrace open should you wish to relax on a sofa lounge and feel the glorious morning sunrise. Still exploring the living room area, you will be surprised by the welcome amenities. There is a bowl full of tropical fruits, a jar full of coconut macarons, local banana chips, and fresh juices that can be enjoyed with my husband. Minibar is available should you wish to enjoy another beverage or snacks.
Alila Uluwatu has 4 room categories in total, The One Bedroom Villa, The Two Bedroom Villa, The Three Bedroom Villa Hillside and the last one is the Three Bedroom Villa Cliffside. Each room and building is specifically designed to follow the environmentally sustainable framework. We had our stay at One Bedroom Villa. It’s a comfort of 290 m2 room. Once you stepped into the villa, there will be a touch of local Balinese artistry perfectly blended with the modern style reflected in the wood, rattan, and stone.
Each villa features an intimate tropical garden containing a private pool, terrace, and cabana lounge for a perfect afternoon. All pools have 1.20m depth and are equipped with stepping stairs to avoid slipping accidents. Alila uses a slip-resistant flooring type on all outdoor areas including the indoor pool since we cannot avoid a variety of situations that may cause slips and falls on rainy days.
The floor becomes wet and slippery. The good news is, the sunlight doesn’t impact the floor so you still can enjoy a barely walk without irritating your feet. Since it’s an outdoor pool, don’t forget to apply sunscreen. Alila provides its signature sunscreen so don’t worry if you’re probably forgetting to bring your own. You can easily find the box under the bathtub in the bathroom area to get the signature Alila sunscreen and insect repellant. We got our villa on the first level, so it was hard to capture the captivating ocean from our room. You may request the highest level should you wish to delight in a stunning view.
THE RESTAURANT – THE WARUNG
Alila Uluwatu has two restaurants available at the resort. The Warung brings Indonesian cuisine as its specialty. It’s alfresco dining, which means that you can choose to enjoy your dining moment indoor or outdoor overlooking the astonishing view of the ocean.
We had our lunch with the special menu suggested by the F&B team, and it’s the best-selling menu at the restaurant. We enjoyed our tantalizing pork ribs. All dish menus are designed for sharing, so when you make your order 1 portion of pork ribs it’s big enough for two people. We also had “Plecing Kangkung” an Indonesian traditional dish originating from Lombok Island, made from blanched water spinach leaves served with sambal.
It’s also a shareable menu, served in a medium plate, and can be enjoyed amongst a group of people. While waiting for our meals ready, one of the F&B team served Indonesian favorite sambal and “krupuk” on “congklak board” a traditional playing board made from wood with many holes on each side, usually 7 or 9 holes.
BREAKFAST AT ALILA – THE CIRE
It’s time for breakfast. Introducing Cire Restaurant, this restaurant features a classic international and also local tastes. You’ll be experiencing breakfast with a view since the restaurant is perfectly located overlooking the panoramic ocean view. It presents different menus every day, so you can have a wide variety of menus you can savor when you stay any longer. I tried “Sweet Corn Benny” during my first breakfast, while my husband had “Soto Ayam”, an Indonesian dish of Chicken soup served with rice noodles, boiled egg, and cabbage.
The breakfast menu is served a la carte, which means that you need to order according to the menu on a limited selection. Yes, it’s quite different from other hotels when you can have your own breakfast buffet style. I think the breakfast procedure was changed since the pandemic, to prevent any possibilities of the virus that can be transferred through any media (cutleries, napkins, etc)
On our second day of stay, we start our morning routine by having breakfast “again” with a different menu. My husband had a simple”scrambled egg” served with bacon. I had a “Katsu Sando” a Japanese milk toast made from Panko fried egg omelet, Hokkaido milk toast, tonkatsu sauce, bonito flakes, and nori. We used to enjoy coffee at home.
A wide variety of coffee and latte are available on the menus, so we just ordered an americano for my husband and a pink latte for me. They have a unique latte selection, in two days I ordered my favorite latte which is made from beetroot. Yes, I believe you’ll be thinking how does it taste? It tastes almost like a Taro latte (in my opinion). I like the unique taste. And I’m the kind of person who loves to explore any local and international culinary. It takes risk actually, especially if you tried something new that you’ve never experienced before. This is my first time trying a beetroot latte. Tastes good, I like it. I’ll make sure will reorder when I visit Alila Uluwatu again. We also ordered the bread selection, and what I loved the best was the croissant.
INSTAGRAMMABLE SPOTS
Here are some instagrammable spots you might love to explore on your visit to Alila Uluwatu :
Lobby Area
The lobby is truly amazing! especially when you have a picture with umbrellas opened. You’ll see the clear and bright blue sky, with sparkling water as the reflection creates an endless pool connected to the ocean. Strike a pose in the lobby is a must!
Stairway to Heaven – The staircase lovers rejoice!
I’d love to call it “a stairway to heaven” since I cannot remember how many steps I had while I spent myself exploring the resort. It’s beautifully designed to every guest when they wish to explore the resort as it’s a connection that leads you to the higher level of villas. This property is set over 2 levels. The first level still can simply be reached by steps or buggy, when you are luggage free. While to reach the higher level you need a buggy since you need to reach many steps on stairs especially when you bring a piece of big luggage with you.
PATHWAY – VILLA
Take a stroll on the pathway and enjoy the glorious sunlight. And don’t forget to strike a pose before leaving the resort.
RESTAURANT – DINE IN STYLE
It’s time to dine in style. Set in an alfresco style, CIRE brings a casual yet luxury style for your breakfast. You can make amazing food photography since the culinary team takes meticulous art of plating and presentation and the natural light makes the photo looks aesthetic without editing.
Sunset Cabana
Sunset Cabana is located on the first level, close to the restaurant “The Warung”. You can dine, relax, and lounge with your loved ones, family, or friends. You need to inform and reserve should you need to use the Sunset Cabana.
Our honest review about Alila Villas Uluwatu :
- Great hospitality service, even from the first you stepped into the villa All staff and team at Alila Villas Uluwatu were friendly and helpful
- The room of each villa is spacious, even the One Bedroom Villa is big enough for two, We’ll bring our kids to stay here again someday.
- The dish from every restaurant was great, we love it!
- Many instagrammable spots you can explore
- Our 2 days stay at Alila Villas Uluwatu was memorable and unforgettable. We love the design and architecture of this property, we enjoyed the facilities given during our stay, especially the personalized “Buttler” that will always be ready for you every time we need it. Just simply dial “0” from your in-house phone and they will be ready to assist.
I also have the complete video on my YOUTUBE channel should you wish to watch the virtual journey exploring the resort. Also available on the REELS version should you wish to get connected with me on my Instagram account @maria_febronia Follow my journey should you wish to view another staycation at Alila Seminyak
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