AYANA RESORT AND SPA BALI

We travelled to try Ayana resort after spending 2 days in Singapore and 4 days in Ubud. This was part of our 25th Wedding Anniversary trip. We normally opt for small boutique hotels when we travel but we were wowed by the online portfolio of photographs of this resort hotel and the occasion of our anniversary made us opt for a luxury finish to our trip to relax and unwind. When we arrived we felt a little overwhelmed by the shear scale of the hotel and grounds but within a very short period of time we felt very much relaxed and settled in to the surroundings. This was helped by the wonderful team of staff. Never before have we encountered such incredible personalised customer care - this was outstanding from beginning to the end without exception. Every single member of staff from cleaners to waiters were outstandingly professional and friendly and truly couldn't do enough for us. Whilst we were waiting to be checked into our room we went for a drink to the pool bar. We were greeted by one of the pool area staff called Hendry. He was outstanding and quickly made us feel very welcome and was incredibly helpful to us throughout our stay. Hendry was the perfect example of the pride that everyone took in thier individual roles at the Ayana - he and all of the staff are credit to the hotel. The hotel grounds are stunning and despite the size of the hotel it did not feel crowded. The attention to detail of the layout of the grounds and pool areas created a peaceful and tranquil space to relax in. The pools were incredible with very comfy sunbeds and complementary towels that were changed frequently throughout the day with service always on hand. Another special thank you to Arik at the pool bar for making us so welcome and for always remembering conversations- his smily and sunny nature was amazing - another huge asset to the hotel. The restaurants were plentyful both at the Ayana and the sister hotel the Rimba. From traditional Balinese, Italian, Mexican and many more- all the food was of a very high standard with exceptional service. The breakfast has to be singled out as the best quality and variety of food I have ever seen. It was delicious and we looked forward to it every day with food to suit every single taste and nationality- stunning. The famous Rock Bar at the Ayana is not to be missed and the hotel makes sure that guests get priority. It is simply the most spectacular setting a bar could wish for with waves crashing into the rocks, stunning views of the sunset and quirky seating with the bar meandering around the rocks. It really has the wow factor and we enjoyed some lovely evenings there cuddled up on a circular sofa being served cocktails and munching delicious bar nibbles. Another gem in Ayana has to be the private Kubu beach. It is stunning and was very quiet during our stay. You get there via a cliff top lift that opens up spectacular views of the coast. Again you are looked after from the moment you arrive with life guards, waiting staff and a lovely beach bar and the best beach toilet I have ever had the pleasure of using. I cannot speak more highly of this hotel. Compete and utter luxury with a huge personal touch. It really is a paradise with the best customer service we have ever had. A very special place with a very special workforce. Ayana you have it absolutely spot on and thank you for a very special stay with you. Yofita Katherine is the guest recognition coordinator at the Ayana- we met her for the first time at a drinks reception at the Rimba- she was utterly outstanding. Beautiful on the inside and out. She oozed professionalism with such a warm and friendly approach. She too remembered our conversations and made us feel very special and welcome. A huge thank you to her and everyone that works at the Ayana. To have such well placed people in such roles as these really does add that extra touch and it's these things that make the Ayana so special.

From my wife's perspective: The resort is absolutely stunning. We came here on our honeymoon and it was the first stop of the trip. Very well kept and has some of the best views in Bali that we experienced. They have two pools. Our favorite was the Ocean Pool that was a little smaller and did not allow children, but had AMAZING views. Limited seating so we had to get there early to get a spot, but worth it! The drink and food service at the pool was very good. The only negative i would say is that the drinks aren't really strong at all (but we are from New Orleans so maybe our expectations are high for stiff drinks). They also have a private beach which was hidden away and unexpectedly beautiful. This was probably our favorite thing about the resort. They offer chairs and cover and a beautiful view of the ocean. The water was a bit rough to get in, but we enjoyed laying in the chairs and taking in the view. They also offered all the same services at the pool by the beach. The staff was beyond accommodating and friendly. They were at your service at all times. As far as food, we did try a few restaurants and enjoyed our meals, but our favorite place to eat was the Indonesian restaurant (can't remember name). We had a very helpful waitress that also gave us tips on things to do in the area. The buffet breakfast was very extensive. Pretty much had anything you could want. We also had drinks and an appetizer at the Rock Bar which was very cool to experience. We did mess up and not have reservations for some of the restaurants which we didn't think about so we didn't get to eat at all the restaurants. Everyone speaks English at the resort (which is great for us Americans). It is a little expensive on the resort compared to being off the resort, but that's pretty standard for most resorts of this caliber. We did venture off the resort a few times which we found always took a while. The resort is pretty secluded. Definitely can't walk anywhere off the resort. A car ride is required, but relatively cheap to get places. Security at the resort is also top notch. Felt very safe the entire time we were there. I regret not trying their spa while we were there, but if it's anything like the rest of the resort, i would say it's probably top notch too. We did enjoy the toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, etc) that they provided in the room. The entire resort smelled like plumeria (we had to ask what the scent was) which was amazing. I want to buy incense in that scent for our house when we get home! We did find there are a lot of people that come to this resort and take photo shoots by the pools and beach area (instagram models as we call them). It was a little much as some of them would be taking rather seductive photos, but we mostly just joked about it; however, i probably wouldn't want my small children experiencing it. Not sure that's the resorts fault though. Just something we noticed happening very frequently. Highly recommended resort!

We had our wedding early September at the Tresna Chapel, followed by an outdoor reception and after party at the rockbar. The experience from the time we first met the wedding organizers at Ayana till our big day was absolutely wonderful. Also just to point out that we are from Australia and we only seen the resort once before the big day. On the day of the wedding, everything went through smoothly and seamlessly. We were treated so well that we felt like we were superstars. The Ayana staff were extremely friendly and always willing to help out during the day. Even our guest told us that they were treated so well. We are glad to have created a memory at Ayana and we will be definitely back every year for our anniversary. Special thanks to our Wedding coordinator Puji and her staff for handling every request from us and for ensuring that the day was smooth. They were extra ordinary in their service. Our stay at Ayana was also a wonderful experience. Again with their extra ordinary service. We were very touched with their attention to detail in their service each day, we had flowers on arrival, each day we had special notes to wish us, on our wedding day we had 2 teddy bears (bride and groom). Overall it was an awesome experience and we will definitely be back in the near future.

I thought about my rating, and I am basing it on the experience I had. Not on what I think others would give. The setting of this place is amazing. The location on the cliff etc are stunning and the grounds and rooms are done to a lovely standard. Sadly what let this place down for me was the over crowding. It is completely over run with Chinese who are *obsessed* with taking photos. This means that when you want to relax in either pool, you have about 15 companions around you with dreadful selfie sticks or go pros, and the ambience of the whole place plummets. I do not want to offend anyone but I am being honest, as I hope that people who are looking to relax see this review and really consider whether it's worth it. Personally, I would stay somewhere else and come here for the brilliant Rock Bar just as a visit. We had just spent a week in the Oberoi, so were spoilt I suppose and had high standards. But we felt like we were just going through a factory, not a Five Star hotel. I felt more sorry for the honeymooners who obviously wanted a romantic getaway and were in the middle of this very very overcrowded place. This is not to say I didn't enjoy myself here. The hotel IS lovely, the breakfast is amazing, the pools are stunning. But it just is not worth being smothered by loud and photo obsessed people 24/7. Service could be improved upon in some areas, such as our room was not turned down on 2 out of our 3 nights here. Just little things that add up...

Our stay was wonderful, almost a second honeymoon! The hotel is perfect in every way: perfect restaurants, perfect ocean view (we loved the swimming pool just beside Rock Bar), perfect room (very clean and luxurious), perfect bar (loved Rock Bar!!) and of course perfect people (Balinese people are the best!). Food and drink: The only thing that really disappointed us was the prices. OMG, prices were unbelievable! If you want to get a drink get prepared to pay at least R$60,00 reais (or almost 20 USD!). What''' Is this something to encourage us not drinking' And besides that, the drinks were average and watered down! Not tasty at all. Food was also expensive (not as expensive as drinks), but was perfect and delicious! If you like ocean food, you should try Kisik Restaurant! Perfect and huge shrimps! Bars: The Rock Bar was perfect (get early, at 04:30pm, 05:00pm in order to get a good table). Perfect sunset! Room: clean, spacious and luxury (even for the standard ones!). Swimming pools: the most beautiful and better swimming pools I have ever been to! Breakfast: delicious and a lot of options! I would definitely go there again!