Review - Alila Villas Uluwatu

The last time I came to Bali was for my high school graduation, where my friends and I stayed at the Ritz-Carlton in Nusa Dua. Bali was famous when I came years ago, but somehow the popularity has only grown since then. I enjoyed my time there, as Bali has so much to offer. But I didn’t necessarily become obsessed with the island like every white girl who came here after watching that movie starring Julia Roberts. I figured I’d give it another shot, especially given my partner had never been there.

Picking a place to stay in Bali was far from being the most straight-forward task. The island is massive and has unique areas based on what you want to do. Travelers of all budgets are spoiled with endless options, ranging from the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Mandapa, to the OG luxury Bulgari, to Amankila. Oh wait, these are all high budget options…

Along those lines, one of the properties caught my eye - Alila Villas Uluwatu. I vaguely remembered Alila having Indonesian roots, and further research confirmed that. Alila is definitely an influencer hotel brand in Asia - there were days when Alila Yangshuo was the only thing on my Instagram. Alila has since expanded to other regions, though. We stayed at the Alila Napa Valley. However, that wasn’t a purebred Alila, as it was simply rebranded from a former Marriott property.

In the interest of writing about hotels other than the Ritz-Carlton😭, I made a reservation at the Alila.

Check-in:

I’ve never been anywhere in the world whose traffic was as bad as Bali’s. What was going on on this island? How do people live a normal life? It took us almost two hours to get to the Alila from the airport.

Getting to the Alila required ascending quite some elevation, as the property was built on top of a cliff. This is common for many properties in the southern part of the island. Once we arrived, we were worlds away from the pandemonium on the lower altitude. It was immediately clear to me that this resort was meant for people who likely would not leave the resort much.

The lobby of the Alila Uluwatu reminded me of the Park Hyatt St. Kitts, where you could see a sliver of the breathtaking ocean.

When we showed up, there was no one in the lobby. The porter took care of our luggage out on the driveway. I’m not sure if it was by accident or design, it appeared that the reception wasn’t constantly manned. This was the case whenever we passed through the lobby during our stay. The porter radioed the front office, and a friendly agent popped up within seconds. As I’m writing this review, it dawned on me how nice and casual it was to move about the hotel without being greeted all the time. It’s really as if you’re just coming and going at your own home.

We were invited to have a seat by the lobby courtyard, as the agent performed our check-in formalities in the back room.

C’mon, how visually pleasing is this place?! Some hotels will compel even boomers to snap a few pictures, and the Alila Uluwatu was one of them.

While waiting, we were offered a treasure box of amenities, including scented cold towels, lemongrass ginger water, a couple local treats and a facial mist.

We were introduced to the hotel’s rooms manager Maya, who was a gracious and hospitable host. She looked a bit like Ali Wong. We were then handed the key to our room, which in this case was a literal key. The hotel adopted a fun system, where each coin represented an incremental level of your villa location. For example, our key chain had 4 coins, corresponding our villa level of 4. Therefore our room number was 409.

Maya then sent us off to our room in a buggy. You could definitely walk on property, but I’d recommend doing it early or late in the day to avoid the midday Bali sun.

Unpack:

The reason why it’s called the Alila Villas Uluwatu was that the property only had villas. Our panoramic one bedroom pool villa was just one level above the standard one bedroom pool villa. The hotel did have a jaw-dropping three-bedroom cliff edge or hillside villa. But as long as double-occupancy goes, our villa was the highest category.

To get to the room you first walk on a short pathway.

Alila Villas Uluwatu Panoramic One Bedroom Pool Villa Entrance

The swiveling door was wide and substantial. I particularly loved the lawn lamp that projected our room number at night. How neat.

Upon entry, the layout of the room was quite simple, with the main room consisting of living and sleeping space. I probably would have preferred some sort of separation between the two, and a ceiling fan would have been appreciated as well.

Alila Villas Uluwatu Panoramic One Bedroom Pool Villa Living Room

Beside the wall by the entrance was an office desk, appointed with a beautiful orchid.

If you can’t tell already, the theme was casual island living. This came in the form of various lounging options.

The pièce de résistance was of course the pool and ocean view through your villa. I wish the vegetation would be a little less lush, so there was more of an ocean view.

The hotel prepared us some welcome amenities, such as fruits, juices and pastries.

Alila Villas Uluwatu Panoramic One Bedroom Pool Villa Welcome Amenity

Towards the back of the room was a plush king size bed. Behind the bedroom was actually a little garden attached to the outdoor shower. There was a water fountain in the garden, which I couldn’t figure out if it was automatic or connected to some switch. It would turn on every morning at around 9, and the water from the fountain would hit the pond, producing a rhythmic sound on loop similar to what you’d hear at a temple. The zen level was supercharged.

Alila Villas Uluwatu Panoramic One Bedroom Pool Villa Bedroom

A rather significant portion of the real estate was dedicated to the bathroom, which featured dual vanity, an open closet, a soaking tub, a toilet and one indoor and one outdoor shower.

Alila Villas Uluwatu Panoramic One Bedroom Pool Villa Bathroom

The hotel staff had quite the attention to detail, as housekeeping had placed “his” on both sides of the vanity.

The outdoor shower/garden was sublime. The plants, the pond, the wood, the rocks, even the shades - each element was instrumental in transforming this space into a true sanctuary. And I can’t believe I’m just now mentioning this, but lava rocks were ubiquitous at the Alila, such as the ones you see in the picture below. While it’s partially for the aesthetics, the lava rocks’ rich mineral content was also responsible for the property’s exuberant verdure. They even put them on all the roofs to keep the villas cool, while simultaneously enriching the rainwater that drained into the soil.

To complete an indoor/outdoor living ethos, one must possess an exquisite body of water. Alila had one of the more charming private pools I can recollect.

Alila Villas Uluwatu Panoramic One Bedroom Pool Villa Pool Deck

The pool deck was furnished with a dining area, two daybeds, as well as a gazebo. There were a few frangipanis surrounding the pool, and the flowers from these trees were so pretty.

The pool area was equally stunning after sundown.

We spent the majority of our time here and even had a cheeky McDelivery once.

Overall, I don’t have much to complain about the room. While it was certainly a bit dated, it was well maintained. My one criticism was I wished the ocean view would’ve been a bit more dramatic. But I’m not sure what could be done at this point.

Unwind:

The architecture of this resort was in a league of its own. If you told me this was an Aman, I probably wouldn’t think twice.

From the juxtaposition of trees along the stairs to the layout of outdoor furniture, everything seemed intentional yet flowy.

The library was located by the pick-up point for golf carts, which served as a rare, air-conditioned refuge while waiting for your ride. Most of the hotel facilities were open-air.

The palm-lined infinity pool was the ultimate influencer wet dream.

At night, the pool area radiated in effervescence, drawing energy from the full moon.

Adjacent to the pool area was the boutique.

And the spa was right next door. I’d note that there was no sauna or hot tub, and the steam room was an extra charge.

We had a lovely treatment during our stay. You can see the spa menu here.

Before our massage, we were offered the same lemongrass ginger tea we had at check-in.

We were then asked to choose our essential oil.

The spa receptionist escorted us to our treatment room.

Since our treatment involved a body scrub, we also used the shower in the treatment room.

The treatment was superb. You can’t go wrong with this kind of stuff in SE Asia.

As mentioned earlier, the Alila sat on top of a cliff, which meant there was really no direct beach access. However, the hotel built a path into the side of the hill with well-demarcated stairs, making the beach possible should you want to hike down there. We decided to check it out. We actually passed Maya on our way, and she insisted on packing us a backpack with bottled water and towels. The path wasn’t too challenging - anyone with normal mobility should be able to make the trek.

The reward was the absolutely magnificent ocean. The beach itself was on the narrow side, and the waves were quite powerful. Still, it was so worth it to be in the ocean for a quick dip.

We walked further down the beach and found some cool-looking caves that would be fully submerged during high tide.

Refuel:

One of the most impressive venues on property, or really one of the most impressive venue period, was the Sunset Cabana Bar. The structure was built on stilts that extended out from the cliff. The vista here was otherworldly. Keep in mind there’s nothing but vast ocean between where you’d stand and Western Australia.

We came here twice during our stay. As the name suggested, the move was to come here before sunset. While it’s not a direct over-the-horizon view, the cloud colors were magical.

The cherry on top was a violinist. This truly was one of those surreal moments in life where the line between heaven and earth was indiscernible.

Asian cities like Hong Kong and Singapore are home to some of the world’s most highly-regarded drinking institutions. Bali caters to many HK and SG tourists, so the art of mixology here was quite tremendous.

The cocktail menu here was innovative, as bars like to describe themselves these days. Each presentation incorporated multiple components and were so witty. For example, the Mt. Agung Volcanic consisted of burning incense in a miniature volcano, a piece of candy shaped like a volcano and the drink itself, which was oh-so-delicious. The concoction was made with whiskey, pomelo bitter, ginger beer and honey. It was one of the most intricately composed cocktails I’ve had.

Alila Villas Uluwatu Sunset Cabana Bar Cocktail

Being by the ocean always calls for a tiki drink, and the Alila did not disappoint with this Shiki Monki.

When we had drinks before dinner, we tried the two most preposterous-looking cocktails - Omakase and Sultan Aladdin. Omakase contained Japanese dry gin, umeshu, yuzu, matcha and Sichuan cordial. It was served in a swan glass and garnished with shiso leaf. The Sultan Aladdin lived up to its name with a miniature magic lamp and mixed gin with green tea spirit, vermouth, rose aperitivo and kohakutou candy.

What an utterly delightful experience.

Now, in order to be objective - I have to say the food at the Alila was slightly lacking. We had breakfast every morning at CIRE, the hotel’s Mediterranean restaurant. The menus here changed depending on the day of the week, so every day we had something different. I loved the concept of this, but I found the quality of the food to be less than stellar. And that’s accompanied by a striking ocean view.

We started the mornings with a variety of beverages, ranging from specialty coffee to various juices.

Alila Villas Uluwatu CIRE Restaurant Breakfast

The pandan latte was wonderful.

Then fruits and a pastry basket were brought out.

The pastry items and jams rotated daily as well, so you wouldn’t get tired of them even after staying here for a week. The rest of the dishes you could order as many as you’d like. There was no buffet setup whatsoever.

The thing is, while the dishes all sounded appealing on paper, the actual execution left quite a bit to be desired. During our stay we tried Jay-Fai’s crab omelet, paying tribute to the celebrated Bangkok stall, tortang talong, onsen egg, indomie, kimchi bowl, pistachio french toast and more, none of them tasted quite right. Like the onsen egg was extremely salty, while the tortang talong had no flavor. The indomie was a bit dry, and so was the french toast. It was such a shame, because any of these dishes had great potential to be something memorable. I still talk about the carrot juice I had at Amanjena any time a conversation remotely related to carrots comes up.

I was hoping that breakfast would be the only weak link in this entire operation, until we had dinner at the Warung on our last night.

Alila Villas Uluwatu The Warung Restaurant

Before delving into food, I want to commend the attention to detail again from the staff. We mentioned to Maya that we might want to try the Warung for dinner in passing. When we walked over from the Sunset Cabana after drinks, the maître d told us a table was kept for us for the past two hours, lol. The restaurant was full, given it was close to NYE.

Service started with an overwhelming amount of pickles, sambals and crackers.

Alila Villas Uluwatu The Warung Restaurant Dinner

Followed by more delicious cocktails from the Sunset Cabana.

For appetizers, we shared the tongkol gohu, which was raw tuna loin marinated in herbs, spices and kemangi oil, and lawar kuwir, which was described as Balinese spiced minced Muscovy duck salad with sate.

You couldn’t leave Indonesia without having sate, so we also ordered sate campur with a mix of lamb, beef and chicken.

For the main course, I really wanted to have the bebek goreng, which is Bali’s famous “dirty duck” dish. I loved it on my previous trip, but unfortunately the hotel had run out of it for the evening. Instead, we settled for the beef rendang and the sambal goreng santan udang dan petai - stir fried tiger prawn and twisted cluster beans in Sumatran spicy sauce.

Indonesian food is known for its liberal use of spices and herbs, and as a result its punchy and satisfying flavors. The dishes at the Alila all tasted muted. I’m not sure if the seasoning had been tweaked to be easier on the palette, but without its distinctive punchiness the flavors just fell flat for me.

The saving grace of the Warung was its seductive al fresco bathroom. I mean, how sick is this???

Depart:

We had a fantastic stay at the Alila Uluwatu, and sadly it was time to slowly make our way back to the US. I have rather mixed feelings about this property. Let’s start with the positives. Maya was a great host and really went above and beyond to take care of us. The property was an architectural gem, and the setting could not be beat. While we didn’t partake, the Alila Uluwatu had a partnership with Savaya, the famed day club that used to be the Omnia Bali. There was a shuttle service from the hotel to Savaya, and hotel guests didn’t need to pay for the cover charge.

On the other hand, I couldn’t help but question the competitiveness of this resort in this particular price range. Yes, the villas were great, but they weren’t all that private, and certainly not the most unobstructed ocean view from the villas. There were small things like the housekeeping would recycle 8 empty water bottles but only replace with 4 new bottles of water, or the slightly worn out towels and bathrobes. These weren’t capital offenses by any means, but it sure would be nice if the little details were delivered. If this hotel were in the Caribbean and charging the prices that it does, not only would I have no complaints, I’d be grateful that such option exists. Just read my review of the Kimpton Seafire. But we’re in Bali, and there’s plenty of fish in the Balinese sea.

Review - Alila Villas Uluwatu

Alila Villas Uluwatu

December 26th, 2023

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