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

The most expensive entree I've ever eaten

After enduring enjoying time with our children for most of the daytime hours, and during evenings out for dinner, it was high time for Leslie and I to have a romantic dinner, just the two of us. Before dumping off sending the kids back to the room, we headed down to the inclinator, the small box that can take eight guests down to the Rock Bar during a 40 second ride. Even though as guests, we're entitled to cut the line priority boarding, there were enough hotel guests ahead of us to create quite a wait.

Just a reminder as to what the inclinator looks like

Here's a little insider info for those of you planning to stay at the Ayana. There is a staircase a short walk away, with its own security guard and velvet rope. Only open to hotel guests, it leads to the lower level adult pool, the Kisik bar and grill, and most importantly, via a circuitous route around both the places, to the Rock Bar. As a hotel guest, by showing your key, instant access.

Luckily, the line was all up on top, waiting for the inclinator, and we were shown to a 'temporary' table, one without the spectacular views of the ocean and the bar. That area is the sole domain of hotel guests, but at the moment it was full. After 15 minutes, we were moved up there, and seated next to this young American couple. Leslie had her back to them, but was close enough to eavesdrop. Apparently, they were really douchy, according to what Leslie picked up from their conversation.



Leslie deep in eavesdropping mode as she listens in on the douchy couple seated behind her



Lily with her orange peel dental grill

Leslie and I - smiles on our face knowing that our kids will be gone back to the room in just moments

Liam with his usual non-toothy smile

After an hour, we sent the kids back to the room, where they ordered from room service, and we retraced our route back past the adult pool to the Kisik seafood restaurant, situation on a bed of sand, with just a few tables, the best of which were just on the edge of the drop down to the ocean lapping at the rocky shore. It was one of those restaurants, one with which we've had an negative experience while staying at the Capella Pedregal resort in Cabo and dining at its signature restaurant, El Farallon.



From the archives - a photo of the El Farallon restaurant in Cabo

You choose your seafood, caught fresh earlier in the day, and pay in 100 gram increments. At El Farallon, the seafood looked kind of nasty and was terrifically over priced. We ended up a large tab, but left with a bad taste in our mouth.

At the Kisik, the experience was a very positive one. Though horribly overpriced compared to probably any other restaurant in the country of Indonesia, the service was so wonderful, the atmosphere was very casual, that while we paid as much (or more) than in Cabo, we left satisfied

Nice touch - if they spelled our name correctly (they did apologize profusely even before we sat down)

.

Now, you may wonder, from the title of this post, what did I have as an entrée that has set my personal record for the most expensive one I've ever eaten? Well, while looking over the fresh seafood selection, and being American, never really having grasped the concept of connecting costs per 100 grams, I saw nice Rainbow lobster that was crawling around in a large barrel. Sold on its succulence (over another, less expensive type of lobster), I was suddenly in the mood for lobster. Why the hell not? I'm on vacation!

Diners blow into the conch to summon the servers. Ok, I made that up.

My always stunning wife

After a few drinks, some yummy soups and salads, our entrees arrived. Leslie choose a very reasonably priced beef tenderloin, bypassing even the more expensive Wagyu option (the 'caviar of beef'; As the myth goes, farmers of the Japanese sourced Wagyu add beer to the coddled cows' food and massage them with sake to prevent muscle cramps). My lobster was prepared in a couple of different ways, with lots of easily accessible meat (no ripping, tearing or cracking required), and a variety of sauces. It was delicious. It was also 1,300,000 rp. Sound expensive? A mind numbing $130 for my lobster entrée.



This is it. Yep. $130 worth of lobster. Yep. I'm an idiot

Though a wonderful experience for the two of us, this highlights how expensive this resort is, across the board. It's so large, and so isolated from any highly trafficked tourist areas, they can get away with the high prices. Just for comparison, a few days later in Ubud, our entire family enjoyed five hours of spa treatments (massage, facial, mani, pedi, some milk hair wash situation, and some medieval candle ear wax removal ritual) for the same price as that damned lobster.

Local smooth jazz band playing the Rock Bar as we made our way back up the inclinator

We're finishing up our five night stay in Ubud as I write this, and my wife and I both wish we bypassed the Ayana for more time here. More on the magic of Ubud in future posts.

Rafting in Ubud

Yes...I'm Drunk

First off, a confession. I'm drunk. I'm really, really drunk. My wife and I left the kids behind at the hotel, and left them to order (very reasonably priced) room service. We took a taxi into central Ubud (a 20 minute walk, but worth the taxi fare to avoid the inevitable humidity hit), and hoped to find someplace to eat. After passing several empty restaurants (without any guidance, who wants to eat at an empty restaurant), and walking over a mile through central Ubud, we caught another taxi to take us to a spot we know offers good food and drink. Oops.

Yep, that's the name of the restaurant. Home to delicious Laksa, and 2 for 1 happy hour mojitos. We had a wonderful dinner, and I literally drank 10 of those mojitos (for the price of five). Leslie drank her share of wine, had a wonderful coconut curry, and we were off back to our hotel...almost. We decided to stop at a bar for a nightcap (wine for Leslie, Caipiroska for me), where a guy was playing some classic jazz tunes on the piano. After that, we started the 10 minute walk home, and decided to have yet another nightcap (yep, another caipiroska and a wine), before making the final stretch back to the hotel.

The walk was wonderful. The air was balmy, the frogs and cicadas were playing a symphony in full blown stereo all around us, motor scooters were passing us by, we waved to passers-by and took in the beautiful night sky - clear above us, but flashes of heat lightning on the distant horizon.

It's almost 2am local time, and I'm only awake because in order to avoid a hangover in the morning, I need to drink lots of water and pop some Advil before I eventually pass out.

Rafting on the Ayung River

Now that I've got my drunken story behind me, I'd love to share the absolute beauty of the raft trip the family and I took today. Having rafted this river twice before just with the two of us, I thought it would be something of a letdown. Boy, was I wrong.

The day started out with heavy rain. We had an 8:45am pick up, and at 8am, the sky had opened up, and the rice paddies that stretch out before us from our hotel room were being pounded by the cloud burst. We ordered a breakfast 'en chambre,' and scarfed it down in order to make it to the lobby for our car that would take us to the rafting starting point.

Wouldn't you know it, the skies miraculously cleared as we drove off towards our destination. Once there, we stored some extra clothes in a locker, met our raft guide, and jumped back in our car for the final stretch to our starting point. During our drive, our guide told us that a ceremony in the village through which we were passing was in full swing. Sure enough, men and women in full Balinese regalia were walking what little room there was on the sides of the road, and given the traffic, there were many times where our car had wait several minutes for traffic coming the opposite way (with the ubiquitous exception of scooters - they squeeze through any available gap) before we could continue our journey.

Once at the final destination, we still had to make our way down to the river. Leslie and I knew what to expect, but for the kids, this was something completely new. The Ayung river flows through an extremely deep gorge, which required descending over 1000 (easily, no exaggeration) steep steps down to the river's edge. Lily was complaining the whole way, worried about the mud (please...we were about to go into a raft on the river; who cares about a little mud...teenagers...sheesh), and there was a group of Koreans ahead of us which held back a more rapid descent because two of the women were wearing wedges and heels. For a rafting trip. Astounding.



The endless steps down to the river's edge

Once in our raft (with life vest and helmet, for safety), our guide gave us some basic instructions: paddle forward, paddle reverse, stop, and brace for 'bump bump' - we learned soon enough that involved a collision with anything that we would bounce off.

The family before the start of the rafting trip (Lily clearly exhausted and perturbed at her 1000 step descent)

As opposed to the former two times Leslie and I took this trip, this new rafting outfit started further upriver, which meant an immediate introduction to some fairly exciting rapids. Liam was freaked out at first, but I was able to hold on to him as we both held on to the 'oh shit' ropes that allowed us to grip onto the raft in the rough waters. After a few encounters with rough waters, Liam was loving it.

Sure, the rapids were fun, but the real enjoyment, the experience that I didn't recall was the amazing scenery throughout the journey. Jungle hugged the towering limestone cliffs that rose 300 feet above the flowing Ayung. The sun was out, and I've never seen a more spectacular variety of the color green in my life. Due to recent rains, waterfalls of all volumes poured down from the heights above, and more than once did our guide intentionally navigate our raft directly into the cascading water...you know, just for fun.

We passed several small huts, drifted under a couple of very "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" suspension bridges, and admired more than a few fantastically situated resorts and villas overlooking the Ayung gorge.

We stopped about halfway for a short rest. Some locals had set up a shack offering soft drinks and beer. Of course, we bought some cokes for the family. Clearly the saleswoman, the vendor asked if we wanted to buy a beer for our guide. What were we going to say at that point? No? Right in front of the guide. In any case he deserved it. I asked for the bill - $14!! Highway robbery, and I expressed as much. She made some (very reasonable and market driven) excuse that she had to bring all these drinks and ice in from somewhere else to the remote riverside location. Ok. I'll buy that. Take my 140,000 Rupiah.



A photo strategically cropped to hide my protruding belly 

Liam and I standing mid-river for a nice shot of the gorge

The trip was a total of 11km, and lasted two hours, but it seemed to go by in a flash. When the end came, I was really disappointed. I would have loved to continue drifting down the river, passing the overhanging vines and tree limbs extending over the river for a couple of more hours.

The purloined photo (a photo of a photo...like those cheapskates do at Disneyland when they don't want to buy a photo of their terrified roller coaster rides, and just take a photo of the monitors previewing the photos).

Once we alighted from the raft, it was time to ascend another 1000 steps. Fortunately, the steps leading upwards were newly constructed in 2010, and were very stable, as opposed to the very slippery and uneven steps we took down to the river.

Covered in river water, we showered in the very basic facilities at the tour company's HQ, and headed upstairs for 'lunch.' It was more of a snack, and in fact, we went out a few hours later for a more substantial lunch down the road from our hotel. We ditched Lily, who was relaxing by the pool, and whose earlier argument with Liam changed plans from just Leslie and I going to lunch, to include Liam as well. As we departed the lobby, we yelled down to Lily - "We're off to lunch...see ya," and left the room key with the front desk specifically for her. She is always dawdling, and causing us much consternation. We thought it might force a more punctual attitude. We'll see.

It was a fantastic excursion, and I enjoyed it much more than the other times I made the trip. I don't know why - this time, I felt immersed in the primeval and peaceful environment that surrounded and towered over us. I would love to do another rafting trip - but would love to go for a much longer period of time. My wife and I thought to our friend, Scott, who takes a 10 day rafting journey down the Colorado through the Grand Canyon on an annual (or at least, bi-annual) basis. Our trip down the Ayung made us think we might enjoy such a journey.

Gorgeous view on our 1000 step trip up from the river of rice paddies

Though tipping isn't really expected or customary in many parts of Asia - including Bali - I tipped our guide generously, and boarded our car back to the hotel, where I took a looooong, hot shower to wash away the smell of the Ayung river.

If you ever find yourself in Ubud, I highly recommend a rafting trip. The scenery is spectacular (my accompanying photos do it no justice whatsoever - given the (obvious) we nature of the trip, I used the camera on my phone for these photos - with the exception of the photo of the four of us in raft. We bought a hard copy for $5 (they wouldn't sell us the digital copy), and I simply took a photo of that print.

Upon returning to the hotel (and, as I mentioned, showered vigorously), we headed out for a lovely lunch at a restaurant called "Café des Artistes" just down the road (oh yes, on the way, we dropped off a small load of laundry. This followed a much larger load we dropped off the previous day: two full suitcases - probably 60lbs of dirty clothes accumulated over the first four weeks of our trip. The cost to clean, iron, wrap and deliver the clothes back to our hotel? Less than $50. The load we dropped off today - not insubstantial - cost only $6. Amazing).

Yes, I actually took a photo of our $6 load of laundry

Gratuitous rice-paddy-in-the-background shot

Lunching at Café des Artistes....though to be honest, we didn't see a single artist of any kind

Then, we checked out a spa and lounge that dripped cool and modern. All done in red, we ordered a couple of drinks, and checked out the spa (we ended up booking some more treatments for the four of us). Liam also surprised Leslie by showing her how to play chess (which he learned at school) on a super large chess board. Leslie had never played a single game of chess, so I took her place, and eventually checked-mated Liam. He wasn't too happy about it, even though I gave him every hint and chance to avoid it for as long as possible.

Giant chess set...Leslie wondering why it's different than checkers

Giant knight - don't they make the strangest move in chess

Capturing the red theme of the Red Lounge and Spa

Bellies full, walking back to the hotel

Now, it's well past 2am. Our next commitment isn't until 1pm (yet another spa appointment), so I can hopefully sleep in without my son barging into our room to wake us up. Wish me luck! Good night!

P.S. After adding all the photos, it's now 3am. I am so screwed tomorrow. Blah

Putt Putt Golf Time with Liam

When we arrived at the Ayana resort, our butler took the scenic route on our buggy in order to give us the grand tour of the massive property. One of the features that caught Liam's eye was the golf course - a full 18 holes...of putt-putt golf.



The rain is moving in across the spa and the course

After a morning by the pool, Liam and I changed, both of us in our travel hats - mine cheap panama, his stylish plaid hat - called for a buggy, and headed over to the course. Clubs (or sticks as the staff calls them) and balls were available at the spa, gratis. After finding the single left handed club for Liam, we hit the links.

So far, so rad!

First off, I suck at golf. I don't have the patience for the game, and hate how one mistake blows your score on the hole (unlike basketball where if you miss a shot, you get another chance just moments later).  Fortunately, Liam shares my talent when it comes to golf. I'm glad we were alone on the course, as our balls were going every which way but where it should have. Sand traps? Oh yes - landed in several. Bushes? Check. In the rough? Every other shot.

Surprise! In the rough.

Where else can you play in thongs?

Dad putting the flag back

Nonetheless, we had a good time. Sunny and hot when we started, after 20 minutes working our way around the pretty large course, a squall moved through, and as we were starting the 18th hole, the skies opened wide, as if God himself were punishing us for our lack of respect for the game.

"Daddy, you're in the sand trap again!"



If you look closely, we're both in the rough...yep, we suck

We ran, laughing the whole way, across the greens, up the steps and finally into the covered area of the spa. We had a great time - even if we both suck. :)

The Best Curry We've Had on this trip

So much of what we learn about these hotels and resorts in advance come from Trip Advisor. Leslie and I spent hours culling through traveler's reviews of various properties. Like judging in the Olympics, we tend to throw out the overly negative and breathlessly positive reviews, and look for overall trends in what folks commented on about these places. For the Ayana resort, one dude complained that he couldn't get into any of the restaurants once he arrived because they were all booked up. So, about a week ahead of our arrival, we made a slew of reservations covering our four nights here (in the end, we kept only two of them).

We had 7:30 reservations at a restaurant called Padi, so after washing off a day at the pool and getting ready for the evening, I had the family quickly pose for a photo in the camera friendly twilight, then boarded a golf buggy (oddly, they weren't electric like other places), and our butler drove us to the Demar lounge, adjacent to the Padi restaurant for drinks.

Family portrait at villa

View from back of our buggy zooming along the resort's paths

There, we chose a covered, spacious bure, with big comfy pillows upon which we plopped down. I ordered my usual Caiparoska, and Leslie ordered a bottle of wine that was moved over to dinner with us.

Fading Twilight

Demur Lounge

Lovely Leslie in the Twilight



Thank goodness Liam has his iPad mini...kept his complaining to a minimum

As twilight faded into a star draped night sky, we headed over to the restaurant. Ironically, it was maybe 25% occupied. I don't know what that trip advisor guy was complaining about. Strange.

Comprising four open-air, thatch-roofed pavilions, this traditional Bali restaurant features an open Asian heritage-style kitchen where guests can watch the native Indonesian, Indian and Thai chefs working alongside each other with fiery flair and fast-paced action, to prepare favorite dishes from their respective home countries.



Guarding the entrance to the restaurant

Padi Restaurant

One of the thatched pavilions of the restaurant

Lily, clearly being embarrassed.

I opted for the Thai fixed menu, while Leslie and Lily chose curry dishes, while Liam (tired from a day of pool time) chose something pathetically bland (hamburger, maybe?).

The Phad Thai and green beef and eggplant curry I enjoyed was better than anything I've tasted on our trip to Thailand. It was the bomb. Leslie, was simply ecstatic over the yellow curry she ordered. It was a fantastic meal. So much so, I walked over to the kitchen and thanked the chefs personally.

Unfortunately, the kids were so unappreciative of the whole experience. As a teenager, everything embarrasses Lily, even the most harmless comment or loud laugh. Anything that draws attention, in her mind, is embarrassing. Liam on the other hand, just isn't capable of staying out late. He is not a napper, and ends up getting grumpy and shuts down. His most frequent M.O. is to get mad, say he's not eating anything, then after we order, finally become hungry again. One night, we dragged him back to the room and he went without dinner (for all you older readers, remember that happening in our childhood?).