A final look back at Jimbaran, Bail: Ayana Resort Review

Now that I'm firmly planted in Ubud after a total of nine nights on the lower peninsula (the airport runway effectively separates the main island from the lower peninsula), I've had time to think back on our experience at the Ayana. We chose it originally because it looked beautiful, luxurious, and received pretty good reviews on trip advisor.

Blessed with such beautiful weather (at times)

My first impressions were positive. Although we were dropped off by our transport (because we have so much luggage, we need to take extra steps to ensure we hire mini-vans that can accommodate us and our baggage) at the wrong lobby (we should have been taken to the villa lobby), check-in was quick and efficient. After a quick and warm welcome from the GM (or, he could have been an executive underling of the GM - I can't honestly remember. And with properties of this size, you don't see GMs wandering around greeting guests).

We met a man whom we were told was our butler, however, over the course of the stay, the assigned butler was constantly changing. Granted, these guys work shifts, but even day to day they seemed to change. He loaded us onto a buggy (an absolute requirement for a property that has dozens of villas, bars, restaurants and main structures stretched over 190 acres), and gave us an extended tour of the property, helpfully pointing out various attractions and amenities. One very cool feature was the cell phone that our butler gave us with his number, and the overnight butler staff number preprogrammed into it. Need a buggy ride back to the room from the Rock Bar? Just hit send on the phone, and the butler will grab a buggy and meet us to take us back to the villa.



The direct line to our butler

The villa itself was gorgeous. It's probably ranks in our top five favorite accommodations. Beautifully appointed, incredibly spacious with two bedrooms, two full bathrooms, two outdoor showers (one per bathroom), a living room area, an private pool and bale, and an entry courtyard with a water feature). Wifi was terrific, and free (as opposed to the Westin, which charged for its use).



Bathtub in master bath with water feature outside window

Master bedroom (with our exploded bags spread everywhere

Private villa pool

Living area

Another view of bathroom

View from villa...the airport is far in the distance, with planes making their final approaches past our field of view

The villa was expensive, in fact, it was the costliest accommodation for a hotel on our entire trip. Fortunately, I was required to prepay the accommodation cost in order to gain an additional discount, so with the pain of paying that cost well in the past, it was a weight off my shoulders knowing that we'd only have to pay for 'incidental' costs (of course, this is an irrational joy - the cost was paid in any case).

Pathway from pools to lobby

We spent a lot of time at the pool, which was very comfortable with plenty of chairs (for some reason, the lower, deeper and less crowded pool had the thicker, more comfortable mattresses on its lounge chairs). There were plenty of pool attendants (who bring by small bottles of water and set up the towels) as well as waiters to take drink and food orders.


Playing in the lower pool



View of lower pool, looking up to infinity edge of upper pool

 

View from upper pool

Upper pool

Liam leaping, Leslie lounging (in background)

Detail of decorations at wedding reception. There were destination weddings held every day at the resort. With two wedding chapel and facilities, plenty of room for big receptions.

The Rock Bar was spectacular, and was one of the main reasons that Leslie wanted to go to Ayana. Being a hotel guest really provided a privileged experience (from expedited access to the inclinator down the cliff to better seating high above the crowds with direct views of the Indian Ocean and its sunsets.



The Rock Bar - that top area is reserved only for hotel guests

Another attraction of Jimbaran is something that may bother some travelers, but I loved watching the planes approach the airport and make their gentle landings. This plane spotting was much more exciting from the Jimbaran beach in front of the Puri Bali resort where we stayed last year, and the runway itself was a short 25 minute from the hotel where I got a close up view of takeoffs and landings.

The fact that the view of the planes' final approaches were so distant and impersonal (I couldn't make out liveries on the vertical stabilizers, for example) was a good metaphor for the feel of the Ayana. It is a huge resort. It's an expensive resort. The Four Seasons at Sayan in Ubud (and likely similar on its Jimbaran property) is a much smaller property with a more intimate feel. Granted, it's expensive, but everyone knows your name. At the Ayana, it was just too large to feel like someone special.



Besides the couple of descents to the Rock Bar, our family meal at the Padi restaurant, and the romantic dinner for Leslie and I, we also arrange for a picnic on the resort's private, and extremely isolated and difficult to access beach. Grabbing a buggy, we were taken to the far end of the resort, and descended to the beach via a very, very long staircase, zig-zagging down the cliff side. The view from the top was stunning, but the beach itself was disappointing, as was the picnic lunch itself. Not swimmable due to widespread rocks and waves crashing on the beach (not too mention the warnings of jellyfish), there wasn't really anything to do there. Another experience I wouldn't recommend and wouldn't repeat.

Vie

Shot of family part ways down the long stair case to Ayana's private beach

Liam and Leslie with the cliff spa in the background (I was told that treatments there were EXTRA expensive)

View of private beach from top of cliff...a long walk down



Liam exploring the rocks on the bech

The worst aspect of the stay, and the biggest pain point was the costs of everything. We went nowhere near the minibar, scared that its contents would snap at us if we attempted to consume anything. Breakfast wasn't included in our room rate, so I skipped it all but one morning. The buffet they offered was ok, nothing spectacular; nothing memorable. Drinks were very expensive - at least twice the price of anywhere else we've been. We stayed well clear of the spa, knowing we would be heading to Ubud where the prices were extremely inexpensive.

Also annoying to us was the quality of the housekeeping; we tip generously for the housekeepers. Upon arrival to a hotel room, the immaculately cleanliness becomes a complete mess as our suitcases explode open, with clothes hanging everywhere. Basically, we're slobs, and as such, we like to take care of the housekeepers. However, at the Ayana, they didn't go the extra mile. It was disappointing for such a high end resort.



Our departure left a sour taste in my mouth. At the check out time of noon, we headed out of our room, and were taken to the villa lobby area. Unlike the main lobby with many front desk personnel, the (admittedly beautiful - a covered round pavilion surrounded on all sides by a Koi pond) villa lobby was understaffed. Many people were waiting to check out. It was hot, humid, and I just wanted to leave. I had to wait for the current guests checking out went over their itemized bill with fine tooth combs, questioned every damned charge, and asked to see the original slips they had signed (it reminded me of a scene from Honeymoon in Vegas when, while impatiently waiting in line at the airport to check-in, some guy at the front - the teacher from Ferris Bueller, I believe - was asking questions ad infinitum regarding some future booking. In the movie, Cage's character loses patient, and yells at him that there's a line waiting to actually get on flights leaving right then. When the airline agent warns him to get back in line, Cage retorts with the classic "what are you going to do, throw me in airport jail?!!). I felt like yelling at those people to hurry the hell up and sign your goddamned credit card bill. When it was my turn, I quickly glanced at my itemized bill (having looked at it more closely when left in my room the night before our departure), handed my visa over, signed the chit, and got the hell out of there.

It turned out to be a great day for a 90 minute transfer to Ubud. The skies opened wide, and a good old tropical downpour followed us most of the way into rice paddy country. But that's another story.

Caught napping on a balmy afternoon in our villa's bure