Ketut Madra Homestay — Hotel in Pulau Bali

The owners are just simply lovely and that's what special about this place. It is simple, rustic and traditional with nice gardens and a stream running through it. The grounds are pleasant but the rooms are in very poor condition. I did not mind at all that there was no AC, the fan was enough and at night it does get cool. My room was dirty and because it was dirty it was attracting all sorts of insects. The curtain had dead insects hanging on them. The bathroom needed a lot of work I could not tell if they were dirty or just needed updating or both. I am up for rustic and simple but cleanliness for me is #1. I heard in the common area that one of the guests had rats in their room and that is just unacceptable! What if you get bitten? And when there are rats it means that the place is not sanitary and not clean at all. They also do not clean your room every day - it's more like every 3 days and sheets are not changed. ||||I was eating my breakfast the first morning and walked my tray into the kitchen and I was shocked - there was piles of old broken down boxes, garbage and other stuff just piled in the room where our food was being cooked and prepared.||||If you are looking to do stuff closer to town this is a bit out of the way. At night also if you are not up for walking about 15-20 minutes to find a warung then you are better off staying on Hanuman Road or Monkey Forest Road.||||I have seen other homestays closer to town offering the same price but with more modern rooms and most importantly clean. There are also Retreat Centers and smaller hotels closer to town a little bit more but you get AC, a very clean room, nice surroundings, pool and breakfast for $35 per night!||||It pains me to write this review because the couple are indeed really nice but I just wanted to warn potential guests of my experience and to...

The owner of Ketut Madra Homestay is an internationally recognized painter of Bali's stories and legends. For more about him, Google: "Ketut Madra" "wayang painter"||||First things first: This place is really not going to be to everyone's taste. If you like Kuta and Seminyak, you'll probably not be happy here. No pool. No AC. Definitely no beach; it's an hour away. A dozen rooms, all utterly basic. Hot water, sure, plus somewhat squirrelly WiFi good enough for email but NOT Skype video.||||It's a Balinese home in a Balinese village -- 1.5 km west to Ubud, even closer to the villages of Mas and Pengosekan.||||Who stays here? Writers, dancers, artists, musicians, students, people who recognize that the tag the homestay has used for 40 years -- "a quite place to learn about Bali" -- is absolutely true. ||||Friends of mine have lived here for weeks, months, a few for a year. Students have used it for years on organized study trips because Madra has ties to teachers of every art form in Bali. Knowledge of, or a desire to learn, Indonesian (or Balinese!) is a big plus as Ketut and his wife Wayan have only the most basic English.||||Please don't come expecting an inn or a hotel with all those services. They're not here. What is here is a small, incredibly warm-hearted and welcoming Balinese family living an utterly traditional life in 21st century Bali. For more on what you'll find here, you can also Google: "Ketut Madra...

My husband and I, with our two kids (12 + 14) stayed here for two weeks on the recommendation of friends in Sydney. It was exactly what we expected and just what we wanted -- we were staying in a Balinese home with a family that lives the culture. Pak Ketut and Ibu Wayan are wonderful hosts and connected us with mask carvers in Mas, dancers in Peliatan, and musicians all over the Ubud area. We were able to experience the Bali that my husband said was very similar to his experience here 20 years ago (it was the first time for me and the children). ||||The Madra homestay isn't fancy in any way, but the garden setting is quiet and lovely. It's clean with fresh linen and towels, and all the basics. Breakfast is provided -- the kids especially loved the banana pancakes. ||||Some of the rooms do need re-painting and refreshing, but this homestay has been providing guests with the experience of Bali for 40 years -- and the prices ($15-20 per night, less for longer stays) are within the budget of every traveler. A couple of the older rooms are available for less!||||Ketut Madra is an AMAZING painter! His work was featured in a recent exhibition in Ubud's Puri Lukisan museum. See...