Ayung Resort Ubud — Hotel in Pulau Bali

This was my 2nd trip to Ayung Resort and it exceeded my expectations yet again. After a difficult year, I wanted time away to plan, goal set & reset. This was the perfect location. This is a beautiful, majestic, older property sitting in a protected jungle on the edge of the Ayung River. The hospitality and setting are absolutely stunning and it is the ideal place to renew, recharge and refresh. Put your phone down and allow yourself to be pulled into the absolute wonder of nature. The restaurant offers an a la carte menu and you may order as much as you like from it - everything is freshly made. Even their jams are made daily. There is a selection of local and international dishes. They make awesome coffees. The Chefs make the best bread I have eaten anywhere in the world. Afternoon tea is also included and is usually a selection of 3 mini local cakes and 1 savoury item and a drink of your choice. The restaurant takes on a whole new feel in the evening by candlelight. The food is delicious - don't leave without trying the sate. There is also a special set menu most nights if you choose. Their desserts are amazing. Meals are about 3/4 to half the price of fine dining in Australia. If you are concerned about all the delectable food, workout in the gym, do yoga, walk the property (need good grip on your shoes) or swim in one of the 2 beautiful pools. Another absolute must is the three hour Ultimate Retreat Package at the Dewi Sri Spa. It is pure bliss: foot bath, full body massage, full body peel/scrub, facial, yoghurt body mask, the most mesmerising flower bath, lemon ginger and honey tea. For the best experience, book the earliest appointment. Afterwards, I could not get my room key to work and then a lovely staff member informed me that my room was upstairs! I was just a little too relaxed! The pathways are steep but there are a number of electric buggies that will ferry you around the property if you would like. I love the walk as the gardens are mesmerising. If stairs are a problem, please let them know when you book so they can put you on the floor the buggy picks you up from as there are no lifts in the lower building. They are affiliated with an adventure company so you can book your rafting, quad bike rides, village visits, cycling tours, etc at the hotel, there are cooking classes, dance classes, cocktail making classes, etc and you can even book a photographer. The property is 20-30 minutes from the bustling city centre. The hotel shuttle heads in at 10 am and 4:00 pm and you can catch it back at 4:45 pm but you need to book. I love the resort so much I found it hard to force myself to go into the city centre but did so to buy a few gifts. Make sure you have the grab app on your phone before leaving your home country so you are ready to go. That way you don't need to wait for the 4:45 pm shuttle. I think it was about 10AUD to get back. There is a great deal if artwork, statues, etc. in and around the property. Some of which is Hindu-faith based. The owner is a collector of art. Finally, the staff - they are local and their beautiful Balinese hospitality & gentleness has been preserved here. They are without a doubt, some of the loveliest people around. Everytime I leave Ayung Resort, I leave a small part of my heart and start planning and dreaming of my return,...

We stayed in the Ayung Resort Ubud for 5 nights as part of the second section of our 10-day second honeymoon holiday so we were able to spend the whole last day relaxing in the pool before our connecting lift (provided by Ayung) whisked us away down the mountain to the airport. This time we stayed in the large One-Bedroom Suite which was VERY nice, especially with the pool just out on the back porch. The resort grounds are absolutely amazing and one could argue that the Ayung Resort could be one of the most tropical jungle paradise places in the Ubud area. All the grounds and gardens are very well maintained. The pool was very clean and is great for both children as well as adults (as the pool is not too deep for younger kids).

This was part of our Bali honeymoon and we wanted one of the better 5-star resorts that still has much of the ancient Balinese architecture and feel to it. Ayung offered all of this plus so much more, and yet this resort is quite old! The resort staff were all absolutely amazing. This certainly value-added to the memorable experience of our amazing honeymoon in Bali.

The Ayung Resort restaurant has to be the BEST by far in this area. We had a wide range of their expert culinary delights (always happy to accommodate any special requests) and of course with each and every morning we were continually delighted at the wide range of foods on offer, including the more traditional Balinese foods, which were all incredibly amazing and very tasty. Each and EVERY meal was absolutely fantastic!

The Resort staff were all very friendly & helpful and the language barrier never really seemed to exist, as most staff spoke pretty good English. At each of the resorts, they always supplied us with 4 bottles of drinking water each and every day, so we welcomed that, so neither of us felt sick at all nor did we get any signs of the dreaded ‘Bali Belly’ that we hear so much of. The resort rooms are also situated in a well designed way where you feel like you have a lot of privacy, and of course we were surrounded by beautiful tropical gardens.

At the Ayung Resort, you are located right on the edge (literally) of the Ayung River (you will see rafting down below) in the middle of the jungle high on a beautiful mountain slope area and you can grab a shuttle lift (provided by the resort) into all the action and the adventure of the Ubud night markets and the amazing bars and restaurants, and of course the shopping experiences that the Ubud village has to offer.

Of course, like anything else, with this hotel combination you might have to pay a little more for it, but it was well worth it. We WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Ayung Resort as this is what we would call a ‘Tropical Paradise!' by Andrew &...

Let me start by saying that I wasn't very happy when I saw the pictures before our travel (context: we were to go on our holiday in Bali and Ayung was one of the four places we were going to stay in). It did not look like other properties and had a rustic vibe to it. But, but, but!!!!! I am so happy I was wrong! When we checked in and when we got there, I knew - It is THE PLACE to stay in!

It is not another hotel or a resort you would book. It is extremely premium and extremely luxe! The place is not very crowded with tourists and hence was very cosy. The staff treats you as if you are not a client but a guest in their own home. The way they greet you and services you makes you want to stay there forever.

They helped us plan our days and schedule our day trips. We had the "most private villa" to ourselves and we took an entire day off to take a property tour. It's a destination in itself. You could climb down from within the resort to the Ubud river and have a little private trek!

The best part about staying at Ayung is - FOOD! The breakfast is not a buffet. You get table service. The options are less relative to what you would get in a commercial hotel but the taste and the house-made breads and the portions makes you fall in love with your meals every single morning.

They have tea-time snacks at evening hours and we would not miss it for anything. They serve cute mini burgers and crepes and even though they look tiny they fill your tummy sufficiently. Delicious, Delicious food every time. We over-ate every time. The taste binds you to your chair.

The second best part of stay there is your mini transports by buggy! Yes! It's built on a hilly area and the roads are very steep. So they take you to your room and back via buggies! If you happen to travel during rainy season like we did, you feel like you are in a movie. Very cute buggies indeed.

And lastly, the spa service is amazing there.

Let me narrate one little incident: I was very cold one night - since it was raining throughout. The wait staff saw me sneezing and sensed my condition and adjusted the temperature of dining room, offered me tea and hot cakes - all without asking! I mean if that doesn't speak volumes about their dedication to their work and great hospitality I don't know what does. During the course of our stay there we became very comfortable there and it felt like home.

We might just go to Bali again just to...