COMO Uma Ubud — Hotel in Pulau Bali

Our first three nights of our Bali adventure started in Abud with Como as our base. The resort boasts five stars and it qualifies. From the finely appointed rooms, three restaurants and dedicated teams we felt comfortable, cared for, and able to relax. ||We mostly stayed on site for our meals, finding the breakfast offerings terrific with a rotation of assorted menu items and help yourself tasty items like home made pastries, juices, sliced fruits and yogurts. The dining staff is always attentive and measured in their service. We had dinner at the pool side restaurant one night and the onsite Italian restaurant the following evening. Both offered food choices and incorporated Balinese dishes along with more western menu items. ||We walked to the center of Abud one day finding it a challenge to navigate among the masses of scooters, motorbikes and vehicles on the narrowest of roads with poorly maintained “side walks.” We’d suggest planning your day to central Ubud by utilizing the free shuttle down and back, rather than the treacherous 30-plus minute hike. We utilized the resort’s small map and recommendations to find a great place for lunch - Clear Cafe - requiring patrons to remove their shoes and many sitting on the floor to enjoy the healthy menu items (no alcohol served). ||Rather than winging it we opted for organized experiences through the resort. We took advantage of the walk that rotates each morning. We found the walk to the neighboring rice fields and gardens to be a wonderful way to spend an hour before breakfast. Our guide was passionate about the sustainable practices of the Balinese, and also taking the time to pick up trash along the roadway to the fields (nice touch). ||We also booked a “vintage car” tour and thoroughly enjoyed our day with Ketut and his tangerine ‘76 VW Thing - top down! Ketut cruised the less busy windy backgrounds around Abud stopping at perfect attractions along the way - rice terrace, temples, coffee plantation - and offered insights into the Balinese way of life. ||Our final morning we participated in the resorts Yoga class in the onsite Yoga Pavilion. Seemed appropriate to do a little yoga while in Bali. Nice class with capable instructor for these less than stelar participants. ||Our room was nice, large, comfortable bed, espresso maker, plenty of bottled water (no charge), nice sized bathroom with soaking tub, robes, perfect towels, separate head and shower. Rooms are serviced twice a day and the turndown service much appreciated. We opted for the paid upgrade to a private pool suite that had an extra outdoor shower. Perfect to cool down during the day or evening, and wonderful spot to enjoy in the early morning as the sun comes up. The main pool is central with full service food and drinks throughout the day and once again with top notch well trained staff. Seems to offer just enough pool side seating to accommodate the number of guests. ||In all, a nice visit to Abud and the Como Uma. It’s an oasis from the hectic and crowded center of Abud. When we return, the resort will be top...

My partner and I spent 11 blissful days here. It's a perfect place to get away from it all and relax. The resort is beautiful and spotlessly clean, the staff competent and helpful, and the food is consistently excellent. I am allergic to nuts and really appreciate how diligent the staff are about it, and how ready to accommodate. You can always Whatsapp reception for anything you need - no phone calls! Ideal for millennials.

Breakfast at the Kermiri restaurant is amazing. There is a vast selection with daily specials. If you get there early you can get a seat next to the koi pond. On Wednesday evenings there is a special meal and with live dance and music - absolutely charming. The staff are wonderful, special mention to Murtini and Made who took extra care of us.

The Uma pool bar is a lovely place to relax and get a bite to eat. There is a good selection of cocktails, including non-alcoholic ones. On Fridays there is a not to be missed street food night - our favourite meal of our time here. Try the sate babi and the tum ayam - you won't regret it. Again, the staff are fantastic, special mention do Adi, (another) Made and Kevin.

The spa is a delight. I had a pedicure, the traditional Balinese body wrap, and a taksu massage. The Balinese body wrap was divine, the warming solution left my skin soft and the bath of flower petals will make all subsequent baths disappointing. The taksu massage is the perfect follow up to more strenuous activities.

We took advantage of the activities the hotel arranges, including the complementary morning walk and (afternoon) yoga, as well as some additional ones like the Tjampuan ridge walk (really beautiful, a nice start if arriving jetlagged) and the Ubud tour. Anom was our guide for both of these, and he was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. If you want to buy art, he knows all the best places! I also picked up some gorgeous and very reasonably priced pieces of jewelry.

The hotel can also arrange excursions with external providers. We did the silver jewelry making (very fun!), rafting, ATVing, and the Batur mountain climb. As it was a quiet time, we ended up paying extra for private tours for just the two of us, which turned out to be well worth it. Just the two of us and a guide on a raft was very romantic, and it was nice to climb and descend mount Batur without the pressure of being part of a huge group (some were up to 120 people!). Everything was very smooth and the external providers operated at the same high standards as the Como.

Again, I was so consistently impressed by the staff at the Como, and I heard from several of them it was a great place to work. The pandemic was hard on Bali, and many hotels laid off all their staff, but the Como did not.

If you're looking for a luxurious and romantic break in Bali, the Como is the ideal place to stay. We very much...

We loved our stay here. The service was top flight. The staff was genuinely friendly and very well trained. The food was delicious—we ate at both on-site restaurants (one is Italian), as well as at the bar by the pool.| We stayed in THE Uma Pool Villa. A gorgeous valley view with a private infinity pool and outdoor shower, also a very nice bedroom and bathroom with a freestanding tub and another outdoor shower (but enclosed, so there is privacy). Comfort and luxury. Room hint: There are at least two types of these villas. You’ll have to study the site, or pay attention when booking.| Note that you will get a workout staying here as there are steep stairs in various parts of the property. Some rooms require many more steps than others. We stayed at the bottom of a very steep hill, and it was an 84-step (we counted) climb or descent to our uber-nice room. We found that it was worth it!| The room service was great. We enjoyed breakfast, dinner, and multiple deliveries of champagne to the room. Bar was great, with a nice selection of cocktails and alcohols. Great excursions, and dinner shows (make sure to do the dinner that has the Balinese dancing show). Breakfast buffet was top shelf, with various hot items you can order (we recommend the nasi goreng), and we really appreciated their attention to food allergies and issues—it was very easy to get non-dairy milk and gluten-free items (the coconut yogurt and coconut sorbet were excellent). It was also really nice that, outside each room/villa, the resort has flowers and sticks of incense placed there every day.| We were really sold on the place by The Flip Flop Traveler, and I’d refer you to his video about the place.| While we loved the resort, we only found Ubud to be just “ok.” It was a long drive from the airport and not as developed as we expected. Note that it is not easy to walk around Ubud—the sidewalks are broken and narrow, and you really need to get a ride into the town area instead of walking (Como has a car that can take you and pick you up). There was also a truly surprising amount of traffic in Ubud and on the way to/from Ubud, at all hours (including at 4 a.m.!) Como saved our trip to Bali!| We hope to return to a Como resort, but if we were to go to Bali again, we would stay at one of their beach resorts (even though we aren’t “beach people”). Unless you really know that you want to stay in Ubud, I’d also recommend that you stay near the...