Puri Saraswati Dijiwa Ubud — Hotel in Pulau Bali

Well what can i say, we'd thought we'd found an absolute gem in this one, but as time went by i honestly couldn't wait to leave. This was our base in Ubud (our 2nd stop while in Bali). We were a group of 9 friends who'd just landed desperate for somewhere that could accomodate us all, and we found this place just down the road from starbucks of all places. Split into 4 rooms, 3* Doubles and 1* Triple we'd thought we'd hit the jackpot. Gorgeous location just off the main street, cobble stone pathways through beautiful flora (which was home to 1 or 2 extremely large spiders). The rooms were in villa styles, nicely decorated outside and in, if not a bit dated, but i'm sure it was all genuine balinese architecture, the pool wasn't too bad either. But our problem wasn't the location or the rooms or anything structurally to do with the hotel, but with the staff. From the minute we landed (and i mean literally the minute, we hadn't even divided into our rooms) we were being pestered by the staff to go on morning walks through rice fields for a small price (about 10$ a head) along with trying to organise things as well. This continued every day at every oppertunity, while they were serving breakfast, at the pool, when you got in from a day travelling they were trying to sell us some other venture, it never ended. They even rang one of the rooms at 5:30am stating that we'd agreed to go on a morning walk and it was our wake up call (chancers). It absolutely drove us up the wall for our 4 days there. Now don't get me wrong, there's a lot of this type f thing in Ubud it's impossible to avoid as you walk down the street, but as for in your hotel?? this is where we wanted to relax after our days adventure not constant imposition. And just in case your thinking i'm mistaking imposition for manners, i'm not. They wouldn't even make eye contact with us, they'd go through their routine of hello- how are you today - what did you do yesterday - what are you doing today, chatting through a forced grin all of the time, and it was 90% of the staff. Even on our last day with checkout at 12noon, they were camped outside our rooms at 10:30am with the change of sheets etc glaring at us as we went from each others rooms just organising each other for moving on, really uncomfortable stuff. So my advice would be to pop in have a look around at this lovely place, but don't stand still or you too will "greeted" with a sales pitch. P.S. No T.V....

Our stay at Puri Dijiwa Saraswati Hotel, Ubud, was nothing short of magical! Nestled in the heart of Ubud and adjoining the breathtaking Saraswati Water Palace, this hotel truly embodies the essence of traditional Balinese heritage. From the adjacent Saraswati Temple to the iconic Café Lotus, every corner of this place is steeped in culture and charm.

The Balinese-themed interiors of the rooms were exquisite, radiating warmth and authenticity. What made our experience even more special was the hospitality of the staff—always cheerful, welcoming, and eager to make our stay memorable. For our 5th wedding anniversary, they went above and beyond, beautifully decorating our room and bathtub with flowers, creating an atmosphere of romance and celebration.

Breakfast at Café Lotus was a treat in itself! The breathtaking view of the temple and lotus pond added a serene touch to our mornings, making every meal a delightful experience.

As part of their Valentine’s offer, we received a complimentary 1-hour "Rama & Sita" couple spa—a truly soothing and rejuvenating experience. Another unexpected yet incredible surprise was the complimentary traditional Balinese costume photoshoot at the Water Palace. The hotel staff, with such warmth and enthusiasm, helped us dress up and even captured stunning photos for us—making us feel like a part of their own family.

A special thank you to Onrey, Eka, and the entire team for their exceptional hospitality and for making our stay so memorable. If you're looking for a heritage-rich, culturally immersive stay in Ubud, Puri Dijiwa Saraswati is the perfect place to experience it! Highly recommended for anyone wanting to indulge in the true...

After getting screwed over by another hotel that tried to place in in twin beds (on our honeymoon!) we walked away and into the center of town to look for a better hotel... and did we ever find it!||||Old style architecture felt as if we were in a hotel hundreds of years old (don't worry, the amenities did not match the feeling). For the same price we would've paid for a shaded hotel a bit outside of the city center, we were given a room overlooking the Water Temple next door. While other tourists paid to go to those shows, we were able to watch them free from our balcony... while enjoying a tasty Bintang or two! The pool is small but pleasant, the breakfast is simple yet tasty. Sure, the staff only does their job and sits around while you wait for someone else to do theirs... but they were friendly and helpful in arranging a taxi to go hiking the volcano, or to transport us to the rice paddies and our next destination. (Most places will do this and will hook you up with a friend or relative, but the people we ended up with were super nice and helpful for a reasonable cost.)||||The location was great for heading to the historic sites, down to the Monkey Jungle, or out of town to the fields and rice paddies. Just take your guidebook and go!||||Bottom line, there are plenty of good options in Ubud, but we really enjoyed the historic charm of this one.||||AC was nice, internet wasn't available from the room, but was from the dining...