[Bali] Alila Villas Uluwatu : Sneak Preview

Flying on Qatar Airways, we arrived in Bali right on time at 7pm. However, clearing the immigration and customs is another story altogether. The queue was pretty long, to say the least. Holding a Singaporean passport, we did not have to deal with Visa related matters.

By the time we got out of the airport, it was already 8pm. Stepping out, we were greeted by a sight of no less than 100 individuals, each holding some sort of sign or paper and waiting to meet up with his or her guest.

Ah, airport transfers. Kind of reminds me of the time when we were in Bangkok and headed for Cha-Am! Check out the mayhem!

We, too, were looking for a sign with our names on it. Took us a while but we finally spotted our resort liaison! After confirming our identities, he helped us with our luggage as we walked towards the pick-up area located a short distance away. So, where exactly are we headed? The answer is below –

Took us a while before the driver could get his car to us – bad traffic at the airport. Had a little chat with the Alila staff who had waited one hour for us (poor guy!), and it seemed like the situation at the airport is a daily occurrence. Bali is a very popular destination indeed! Meanwhile, our luggage were marked with Alila’s luggage tag that you see above. We were handed cold towels and bottled water as we set off on our 30-minutes ride to Alila Villas Uluwatu.

The short trip was uneventful – the two Alila staff sat in front, while we made ourselves comfortable in the backseat. The scenery was not unlike the ones we’ve seen while in Langkawi or Bintan. As we ventured nearer towards Uluwatu, the roads became narrower with limited street lighting.

The first sign that we’re near our destination is when the bumpy roads ceased to exist. Suddenly, we’re cruising on paved roads and little illuminated Alila signs point the way towards the resort.

We alighted to the warm welcomes of Alila! Not much paperwork to be done here – I handed over a credit card, our hotel voucher and passports before we were swiftly led to our one-bedroom villa. Along the way, we were given a brief guide to the facilities as we walked past them.

We hopped on a “club car”, which is basically a golf-cart-like vehicle they use to ferry the guests to and from their villas, which are located in rows on the gentle slope. Our villa number? 311. At night, outside each villa, the villa number is projected on the floor – sorry, the picture below isn’t that clear =)

Stepping in the villa, we took in the sight of the interior which was to be our home for the next three days! A brief run-through of the villa was given so at least we’d know what all the knobs and switches do, and how to get hot water etc. Alila had thoughtfully prepared a bubble bath with rose petals for us to relax in.

The lighting wasn’t that good at night, so you’ll have to wait for Day #2 post to check out the pictures! By the time we showered, it was pretty late (we arrived at Alila at 9pm) so we turned our attention to room service!

Went through the list of items and settled on :

Chicken Curry
Spiced chicken, green vegetables in curry sauce with white rice

Nasi Goreng Udang
Fried rice with prawns

Think it took less than 30-minutes for the food to arrive? The dining area was quickly set up for us in the villa before the food turns cold!

These crispy crackers were complimentary to every room service.

In case you are wondering what these are, they are two variants of chili, pineapples and cucumber/carrots. You may dip the crackers in the chili if you like – tastes pretty good that way!

Salt and pepper.

Fried rice with skewered prawns. A quick language lesson :
Nasi means rice, goreng means fried, and udang means prawn.
If you’re ordering Mee Goreng, that’s fried noodles for you since Mee means noodles.

Delicious chicken curry that’s tasty but not spicy enough for me!

White rice with fragrant fried onions sprinkled on top.

So far, the service and properties were what we’ve come to expect of Alila – excellent! We enjoyed our first taste of Balinese cuisine before turning in for the night – a brand new day awaits! Check out the subsequent posts for more details!

Alila Villas Uluwatu – Suprisingly Different