Adiwana Warnakali Resort - Nusa Penida — Hotel in Nusa Penida Subdistrict

TL:DR Props: +Breakfast +Staff hospitality +View +Location +Activities - but be prepared to pay 50% more

Cons: -reception staff's English and some miscommunications -less privacy and worse view for half-balcony room -room cleaning was minimal -room was not sound proof and connecting door to neighboring room was not locked -room & hotel exactly like the photos and no more (has style but lacks some substance)

Here's the review: The hotel's views are no joke - absolutely stunning from every room. You could see the sea, Nusa Lembongan and great sunsets from the comfort of your own air-conditioned room or balcony. The dining area was also stunning and had great atmosphere for the most part. There are many "Instagramable" moments at this hotel.

That said, I felt like it was lacking a bit in substance compared to other high end hotels. Here are a few things:

you don't have a lot of privacy if you opted for the cheaper half-balcony rooms. The dining and lobby area are on the 4th floor, while these slightly cheaper rooms are on the 5th floor. If you don't mind people being able to see you on your balcony or the front half of your room, then it shouldn't be a problem. But it was slightly uncomfortable for us to fully enjoy it due to this. So, if you want ultimate privacy, be sure to book the full balcony rooms.

the pool is extremely small and shallow and it's also sandwiched right between lobby and dining. Again, if you desire a bit more privacy during swimming that could be a problem.

the rooms itself are beautiful at first glance but the large bed is actually two beds put together, and the shower doesn't have a curtain and has a large window into the room. So, if you're not coming as a couple, things could get uncomfortable. Lucky for us, we were here on honey moon so it was ok

the reception staff's English is a bit limited, so we encountered a few misunderstandings. The staff is very nice so ultimately fixed these misunderstandings, but I feel like it could have been more professional. Be prepared to be super clear in expressing your wishes and repeating yourself. We felt like some of the restaurant servers had better English. room cleaning was very minimal. We just had our bed made and water refilled but didn't get towels refolded or changed

Some positives and improvements this hotel made from previous reviews I've come across: -it seems like they have expanded their pre-arranged activities, as they offer exclusive snorkel tours and private car tours of the island if you ask for it. Just be prepared to pay a premium but it's nice not to worry about arranging transportation to a specific meeting spot. the breakfast offering is huge. There's a ton of food. In addition to your main course , there's croissants with very tasty ham, fresh fruit, fresh juice and tea/coffee. It honestly felt like breakfast overload as we normally don't have that much but it was great 👍👍 some of the dishes were relatively high class and very tasty + well presented. They did a good job with mixing western dishes and traditional Indonesian dishes on the menu to adapt for multiple tastes. Also, very generous portions.

free mini bar!

while most reviews complain of the location, I felt it was pretty awesome to be in a resort tucked away in the wilderness. The roads were crazy narrow and intense, we felt like we were on an Indiana Jones adventure. Getting to the hotel could be a pain, but we met a great driver on the second day who helped us with transport back to the port.

good, easy transfer service when you arrive from the port to the hotel if you use the hotel's service. While slightly expensive (we paid 200,000idr) i'd totally recommend it as it seems like the harbor is controlled by a group of people who demand payment for cars to get near the harbor. If you arrange your own, it's possible that you'll have to hunt for your guy or spend a lot of effort with heavy luggage on dirt/gravel road.

Overall, I would visit this resort again next time we are visiting Nusa...

We stay at this resort for multiple nights. From our multiple weeks travel it was the most expensive one (compared to Pullman Lombok, Melia Purosani Yogyakarta, Grand Mercure, Double Tree Hilton etc, a lot of five star places), therefore the expectations were quite high, which I already have to say, were not fulfilled.

The arrival was already quite surprising with the road being bumpy, dangerous and taxi drivers charging extra as they know that this resort is quite remote / accessibility is limited.

The resort itself is nice embedded into a mountain with around 5-7 levels, at the lowest level is the Spa, at the highest reception, pool and eating area with a view of the sea. In between are around 3-4 apartments on each level. We knew that it would be lots of stairs, so this was no issue or complaint point.

After the bumpy arrival, we were greeted very friendly and nice by Juli and staff, it has to be said, that the staff was five stars, were friendly, open, helpful and willing to go the extra mile to make us feel comfortable.

When checking into the room, we were a little disappointed, it looked not as good as on the pictures. Main issue here was a lot of stains or similar on the walls, as well as the main door having quite a big gap to the bottom floor, therefore we had some roaches crawl in every day and other flies and similar. The bed was nicely sized and comfortable, the view superb. Shower took some time to adjust to the temperature desired and water only went down the pipe slowly, making it half a bath tub (not fully, but I think it’s clear what is meant).

Due to the size of the resort, it is understandable there is no buffet, but a la carte. Here, there were multiple options, however it took sometimes up to 25-30 minutes to get food and our dietary requirements were missed, besides emphasizing it for every order, or food was missing and had to be brought afterwards. Also, some food was not always available (pastry).

All in all, the things I criticize are no rule breakers, but it didn’t make us feel comfortable 100% and when taking the price into account, it was not worth it and I would not come again. My recommendations would be to either change price policy, or train staff better in regards to language so that dietary and food requirements are fulfilled. Also, have more kitchen staff and less people standing around the bar, it looks weird when waiting for food so long and five people just stand their and wait on the kitchen to bring food the whole time. Keep Juli and Dessi and Spa like it is, this was good experience. Rooms could use a new paint job and baths should be renewed so that water floats properly. Regarding location, it’s too big of a topic to be changed only by you, there were enough parking spots, but resorts more locally should be preferred. Or you offer free transport service to main town for set times during the day, instead of 20€ / 400k Rp. back and forth. This would justify paying the higher price in the first place, but for now, price / performance ratio is...

We decided to commit to Nusa Penida on our first trip to Bali, and stayed here for 8 days. We can only recommend it - especially due to the staff. In particular, David, Dessy, Ari, and Juli made our trip extremely memorable. They and the rest of the staff were approachable, friendly, and happy to share details about their lives that made us feel very at home, and sad to leave - not just the island, but the hotel.

The suite we stayed in has a gorgeous view of the sea and Mount Batur. The main pool and dining area is the same, and is a pleasure to spend the day in. Also, the hotel is very accommodating and helpful in organizing trips for you with a taxi or scooter. The roads on Nusa Penida are no joke!! One of the best things we did was snorkel with manta rays, followed by an evening at Gamat Bay.

There are a few heads up to potential guests:

Make sure your flight gets in EARLY. We had to rush from our 14:30 plane to catch the last 17:00 ferry to Nusa Penida. The ferries don’t go later than that. You also need to organize this yourself, though the hotel is great at having a driver meet you at Nusa Penida.

Be aware that there is always music playing upstairs in the main area. At breakfast it’s really nice and quiet music, but during the day it’s almost always pop covers. This is the single point of constructive feedback that we have for the hotel - we asked them to turn it off at one point so we could listen to the sound of nature and the waves, and this was much more relaxing - it was the only time we napped upstairs. You can always relax quietly in your room, but it’s nice to be by the pool in the peace of nature. The hotel is basically in the jungle, while still being much closer to the main town than other options.

The hotel-organized trips are very nice. The snorkeling is private, and the drivers for the east and west side tours are very kind. Do note that the main purpose of the tours of the island seems to be for taking instagram photos - if that’s your thing, great. We were there to take in the views and to appreciate the natural island, but got asked multiple times by other tour guides to get out of the way so they could take pictures for their guests. Didn’t like that, but that’s over tourism for you.

Final brief point: the restaurant and bar is AMAZING.

I want to particularly thank Dessy and David who went completely out of their way and outside of their professional capacity to help us reorganize our flights, liaising directly with Garuda customer support “until it’s done!”. I cannot thank them enough for this. @ the owners, you need to pay them double!

Overall, great choice...