Hillstone Uluwatu Villa

Stayed at Dreamland Luxury Villas for 11 nights from February 14, 2010. First off - as many have mentioned, the location isn't perfect, but I'm giving it 5 stars. I rented a car, as is the case in Bali anyway - I rented a small jeep for 12 days, $247, gas was like 1/3 euro/litre... We traveled around Bali in crazy Balinese traffic: ) So the location was great for us - yes, away from any life, but if you don't want to spend a peaceful evening at the villa, you can enjoy Kuta's nightlife. 7 minutes by car from the hotel to the beach, you can stay at the newly built Klapa club... a bit pricey, but you can sit and drink and enjoy the view... so good! The beach is awesome, but for good swimmers - the waves are bad When it's crazy, if you're with young kids, maybe you want to go swimming on the east side of Bali. The villa itself is huge - big bathroom with shower and jacuzzi, technical toilet with electronic bidet. We stayed in the last villa, so our garden was very large, 3 times the size of the other villas we saw. Room service comes once every 2 days, not as professional as in European 5 star hotels, but everything is possible, just ask. Assure you, the service has always been six stars. The pool is perfect - morning and evening, I can't praise the service enough, 4 small bottles of water replenished daily, nice. The place is absolutely quiet (again - our villa was away from the lobby or main pool and dining area) villa, guarded at all times...we felt like we were in heaven the whole time. In the evening, after dinner or whatever in Kuta, skinny dipping in the pool, then lying in the pool, working on the laptop, watching some movies, a few glasses of wine/whiskey.. Breakfast was good. Some people mentioned that the breakfast wasn't good enough, but I wouldn't say that. The selection is adequate, but somewhat Asian oriented. Probably no ham or other sausages (none at all), cheese (only one, didn't look like much, no idea to try it), surprising fresh fruit selection not perfect... the whole island has it - pineapple , red, green melons and papaya...almost most places. We didn't really try the other hotel food, but we did order chips once and they were very good. Now for some cons. For me, the first thing is that the villa needs some minor repairs...the way to the pool needs painting and some small details of the villa should be repaired. But please note that I am a person who pays attention to details. Also, I think I'd love it if I could park inside the resort. The outside car park is guarded, no problem, but our villa was the farthest from the lobby. There is a fairly large car park inside the resort, but "for the boss...owners only", the customer service seems imperfect considering the owner has 2-3 parking spaces in his own villa. But for a vacation, it's the little things. For me it ended up being internet speed - but I don't think it's an issue for the hotel, but Bali itself. I'm having trouble with secure connections, always have to try 3 different connection types. But at least it got me away from work for 14 days! Awesome! :) The extra aspect of staying at this hotel is enjoying the best weather in Bali. The very south of Bali (below the airport) is the driest place on the island. While it rains elsewhere, the south is mostly dry. Stayed in this hotel for 12 days, only 1 day it rained for 1.5 hours, but in Bali - it rained almost every day. At one point, it was raining heavily in Kuta and we ran 50 meters to the car and we got completely wet. Starting to the hotel, there was no sign of rain at all, and even some stars could be seen. I think there are 5-6 kilometers of air distance, or even less. Overall, a good stay in Bali. The islands are amazing (we've been in Bali and the Gili Islands), nice people, great history and life, and lots to do. Driving is an experience - I drive in Thailand and it sucks, but Bali is maddening...at least a little bit of fun :). We don't like everything the local people offer, an invitation to go somewhere... some of them are really hard to get rid of. But you know, the average salary here (govt published) is $110-120/month, excluding taxes, and 80% don't even have such a salary. When people get sick, they have to pay for everything... life is hard on such a beautiful island. Bali is cool, Dreamland Luxury Villas is cool - will come again.