Ayodya Resort Bali — Hotel in Kuta Selatan

We stayed in the ayoda Palace section of the hotel, which is definitely the nicest area. This exclusive block has its own pool and a private lounge where breakfast, afternoon tea, and evening cocktails with canapés are served (included).

The Palace rooms are a little dated but charming, with traditional Balinese décor that adds character. Everything worked well, and the bed was comfortable, ensuring a good night’s sleep. Tea facilities/coffee machine and plenty of free minibar drinks which we did not even utilise but appreciated being available. Housekeeping was excellent, and the complimentary laundry service was impressively efficient - big thanks.

The Palace block is conveniently located near the beach and close to the pool bars. The Palace lounge has a lovely, relaxing atmosphere, apart from crying toddlers were around. Personally, I wouldn’t choose to stay outside the Palace section unless traveling with children, as the main resort area and waterpark are far busier/crowded and more family-oriented.

The Ayodya has one of the nicest stretches of beach in Nusa Dua, with plenty of loungers and beautiful sea views. The water can occasionally be a bit rough, but it wasn’t an issue for us as adults.

The frustrating part of our stay was the inconsistency in service. We arrived promptly at 14:35 for the 3:00 pm check-in, but our room wasn’t ready until 4:00 pm —and initially, someone else’s luggage and “Happy Honeymoon” decorations were inside. Thankfully, the mix-up was quickly resolved as only 2 couples were checking in that day, and the next day we were pleasantly surprised to find anniversary decorations in our room (well done).

Service around the Palace pool and lounge was nice but occasionally hit-and-miss. On arrival sitting on deck chair we were told tea couldn’t be served poolside due to “health and safety,” yet the next day glass drinks were freely offered there — including their water glass bottles, coffee, tea, even lunch plates. Similarly, while cocktail hour service was usually excellent, on our final evening the staff only offered us drinks once without even the usual offering of last orders (- we’d been quietly sitting (me sorting daughter's school aplication error online), my husband waiting. I realised at exactly 19:32 and asked if I could have a second cocktail but was told I can have one tomorrow evening, as they stopped serving them at 19:30. It was a small thing, but disappointing especially since the same staff member Lytvia/Lystia had asked us earlier to leave a positive review because we were leaving in the morning. Furthermore that evening the only one cocktail I ordered (mojito) was not available due to no mint but they did not even attempt to check with the resort's other bars.

We weren’t particularly drawn to the resort's dinner options (outside Ayodya Palace area) - seemed very crowded/not refined and we preferred dining at nearby resorts and restaurants, such as the Hyatt and Marriott and also Bali collection, which had better cocktails and atmosphere. The mosquito issue around the ponds made the hotel’s dinner show impractical for us but was something we originally planned to do and it looked very interesting.

Finally, although the Palace section seemed designed for couples, young children were allowed in this otherwise relaxing pool in swim nappies and in the lounge even during evening cocktail hours, making it less serene and noisy. There is no adult pool despite the many pools - children were also in armbands and nappies in infinity pool. It’s unclear whether the Palace is meant for adults or families, given that a kids’ club is included in this supposedly premium room offer, as I later learnt. I would recommend only children over 15 for this area.

Overall, we had a nice stay and appreciate being looked after, but the inconsistencies and unclear positioning slightly took away from the experience. Ayodya resort is definitely for families, the Palace side would be great for couples if children age...

To those considering Ayodya Resort, I write not merely as a dissatisfied guest, but as a lifelong traveler compelled to expose the disturbing reality behind its polished facade. My recent experience laid bare not just operational failures, but a culture of guest bullying that should give any discerning traveler pause. This review is not a review of the resort’s facilities, but rather a review of Ayodya Resort’s management.The fundamental understanding between hospitality provider and guest hinges on mutual respect - respect for one's comfort, dignity, and right to truthful discourse. Ayodya violated this principle when they denied what was honestly written about a recent stay by a family member. Where other resorts/hotels might view critical feedback as an opportunity for growth, Ayodya's management responds with lashing out at the guests rather than addressing issues.The particulars of my grievance reveal an establishment rotting from the head down:1. Room InvasionFour maintenance men banged on our room door at 11:45 PM and entered without permission while female guests stood vulnerable in nothing but a towel. Baseless accusations of smoking (later revealed to be electrical malfunctions), demonstrated unprofessionalism and safety for female guests. 2. The Bait-and-Switch "Upgrade"Initially presented as a gracious compensation for our distress over the malfunctioning fire alarm, revealed itself to be transactional hush money. The resort's ambush with a fake legal contract while my driver was waiting to take us to the airport - complete with planned luggage delays and public humiliation – doesn’t fit a five-star resort's standard operating procedures. (Maybe such conduct is from their damage control manual, or just plain misjudgment on management’s part.) Is the pressured signing of a "contract" normal?3. Review RetaliationAyodya's management has perfected the art of reputation laundering. Rather than addressing substantive complaints about: Hazardous electrical systems Predatory pricing in gift shops Gross invasion of privacy they instead attack the character of reviewers, weaponizing their platform to bully guests into silence.This pattern speaks to something more sinister than poor management - it reveals an institutional contempt for the very concept of accountability. When a business would rather litigate truth than improve service, when it invests more energy in suppressing criticism than addressing its causes, it ceases to be a hospitality provider and becomes something far uglier.To those of you considering the Ayodya Resort, I pose this: What value has paradise when management operates in such bad faith? The true measure of good management reveals itself not when things go right, but in how it responds when things go wrong. Their unsuspecting retaliation on my family giving an honest review onTrip.com reveals that Ayodya management condemned themselves by its own actions in their response to a guest review. My major concern is not about dusty rooms, poor English service, favored returning guest practices, pressured restaurant tip solicitations, but about the fundamental breach of trust that awaits those who dare expect better. In Bali's sea of hospitality options, weigh your options carefully.I don’t anxiously await Ayodya management to publicly defame or deny a truthful guest experience like they did with a family member, but rather invite management to once again, showcase their unprofessional business strategy of guest bullying and guest hushing. In contrast to their response to my family member's review, I refrain from giving personal information like an individual's name.The choice, as always, remains yours. Choose wisely. When my family member’s review was attacked and not other poor reviews by other guests, there’s a question of targeting. (I have a photo of the 'contract' but unsure if I can share in...

We chose to stay at the Ayodya due to the high rating and volume of good reviews unfortunately our experience at this resort did not meet our expectations.

To preface, we traveled without children and in hindsight, this type of resort is not suitable to our travel needs as a young couple and as such would avoid staying in a resort in the future.

The grounds and architecture of the resort is stunning. The check in experience was great, we were given a cold towel, drink and a bracelet. We were informed we’d been upgraded to a honeymoon suite room which we were understandably really happy about.

The room however was really outdated and needed a refresh. There was a mosquito net around the bed that was dirty or mouldy, as well as the sofa on the balcony. Based on this we requested to change rooms, to a room that we’d originally booked.

We were told we’d need to wait 1.5 hours for the new room to be ready, however after waiting for this time we were told we’d need to wait around another 45 minutes at least.

The room we changed to was even worse unfortunately. The bedsheets and pillow were dirty and stained with what looked to be vomit which turned my stomach and made me feel sick for hours afterwards. The bathroom had a shower over bath which leaked water all over the floor, and the bathroom sinked also leaked water all over the counter top, soaking all of our things.

Upon our request, a superior came to view the room and agreed it was unacceptable. We were moved to a suite room which was lovely and had much better standards of cleanliness. We were checked in the new suite room by Herry who was very apologetic of the issues we’d had showed us around the Palace areas.

We given access to the Palace dining area and pool which were nice however I wouldn’t choose to spend the money on this experience. We only ate breakfast once in the dining area which was buffet style but noticed that some guests were offered to order a bespoke breakfast. We didn’t get offered this and the buffet food was very average.

On our last day, we stayed by the beach which is nice but a little dirty with trash. We ate at the onsite beach bar and sadly had another bad experience. The meals we ordered were staggered to the point of one of us finishing our meal before the other two meal came. A pizza took over 30 minutes to be brought out and after waiting for a grilled meal the food was lukewarm. After waiting for so long the food was as average as the breakfast we’d had and cost significantly more than food we’d eaten in other areas of Bali.

Upon check out the door staff were friendly and helpful with our luggage and offered to get us a taxi to the airport.

The resort is catered to families therefore I wouldn’t recommend staying here a young couple. Nusa Dua is developed for tourists, with overpriced places to eat and other than gift shops, there’s not much to do if you aren’t a big drinker and like to explore the local area. It felt like we were in a generic tourist beach town than Bali compared to the great time we’d had in Seminyak and Ubud. On one of the days we took a day trip to Sanur which was great and I’d recommend staying there over Nusa Dua.

Overall, our experience wasn’t great but the staff tried to improve our experience however it wasn’t just the room that we had problems with. I wouldn’t stay in this resort or Nusa Dua again and hope this review is helpful to fellow travellers looking for an honest account of...