Ayana Resort & Spa Bali

Many years ago I saw a picture of the Ayana Resort which gave me my first urge to visit Bali. The resort looked idyllic and picturesque I just knew that I had to stay there.

The Villa

We decided to stay at the Villas and get the full experience of this resort. Our Villa was the One Bedroom Ocean View Pool Villa. It was practically a small house at 289 sqm. We had buggy service and a butler on call 24/7 we were given a “handy” mobile to contact him whenever we needed to be picked up on the resort in our buggy.

We had a garden terrace and private plunge pool with sunbeds and a Balinese bed, with access to the garden through the bedroom, or living room.

A spacious living room with sofa, premium bluetooth speaker system and 55-inch TV.

In the bedroom, a walk in wardrobe and two poster beds and another 55-inch TV.

An enormous marble bathroom with double vanity sinks, a large bathtub with a flower petal bath. Indoor and outdoor showers and separate toilet.

It was amazing to wake up in the morning and hop straight into the sunbed for a quick 30 minutes of morning sun.

As amazing as the resort was it was soooo difficult to even leave villa. It had everything you needed and more.

Floating Breakfast

When I think of Bali I think of floating breakfasts. Being able to relax in the pool and eat snacks at the same time… a match made in heaven.

The Ayana Resort offers floating breakfast (for a price) exclusively to guests in the villa because of the private plunge pool. The breakfast has a lot of popularity and is another selling point of the hotel.

My friend and I enjoyed the floating breakfast, which was more of a brunch. Veuve Clicquot champagne and a variety of eggs Benedict, Florentine and eggs Royale.

Pools

Ayana Resort boasts of 12 pools! And they are all amazing in their own right. I didn’t get a chance to visit all 12 pools as the resort was so big and I had my favourite pools to chill by.

The staff would bring round free snacks to your sun loungers, my favourites were the frozen strawberry daiquiri shots, mini sliders, chicken satay and fruit kebabs. I love free things and I love snacks! It was so cute and thoughtful of the resort; always going the extra mile.

The pools that deserve a mention in my opinion are:

River Pool

This is the iconic Ayana pool, and the pool that most people, including myself, associate with the resort. It is made up of 3 pools, 1 is an overhanging infinity pool, a Jacuzzi. This pool really did live up to the expectations. The architecture is so well thought out, and the whole pool area looks like a slice of paradise.

The pool was generally quiet. There would be people taking pictures at different times and then it would become quiet again.

Ocean Beach Pool

Though a popular pool in the resort, it was very secluded and mostly quiet. This was by far my favourite pool. The view was insane and the Bali Beds around the pool were spacious and had sheer curtains for privacy.

I want to meet the designer of this pool and give them a personal handshake.

 

I’m not sure that I’ll be able to top watching the sunset from this pool. An uninterrupted view of an unadulterated pink sunset – it really couldn’t get any better.

Ayana Main Pool/Lower pool

The main pool is another beautiful infinity pool. I liked this pool as it had constant live music in the form of traditional Balinese Gamelan (gongs) and drums. The music was relaxing and therapeutic whilst in the pool or taking a dip in the Jacuzzi.

Restaurants

The resort has 19 restaurants and bars so it’s safe to say that you are spoilt for choice with dining options. Again, we weren’t able to dine at all 19 restaurants – and I’m not sure this would have been possible in 5 days. My faves are below:

Dava

Steak and Seafood restaurant. We had dinner here on the first night and they went the extra mile to celebrate my birthday. The staff came out singing with dessert and also gave me a birthday card signed by all.

The food was exceptional I literally have no complaints. I’m a big foodie, and I will let it be known if I didn’t enjoy my food.

Rock Bar

Rock bar is one of the most famous bars in Bali, known for It’s sunset view. The food speciality is Mediterranean and tapas.

As Villa guests we had access to the VIP Round Deck. Yet again the views were unparalleled with Rock Bar being 18 metres up on a cliff edge.

The food was nice but not spectacular, what it lacked was made up for in views. The drinks were fun and delicious.

The sunset view was magical, especially from the VIP round deck as it had a platform to take pictures with no obstructions.

I had no complaints about any of the food at the resort. It was all made to perfection whether room service or in a restaurant or bar. We sampled the al a carte breakfast and the buffet breakfast – both brilliant with great choice. The poolside bars served restaurant quality food which was perfect for poolside hunger.

Spa

As a villa guest we received a complimentary massage in the spa. The spa itself was lovely and relaxing. The spa has full facilities, and an aqua-tonic massaging hydrotherapy pool.

Resort Grounds

The resort grounds were huge and consisted of 3 resorts in one; The Villas, Ayana and Jimbaran. You need to be transported by buggy/shuttle in order to get around the resort.

Every corner of the resort is beautiful, with mini rivers and pools filled with Koi Carp and Balinese beds in every corner.

Whilst walking around the resort I would stop just to take pictures every few seconds.

Activities

There are loads of activities on offer: Shopping, private cabanas, golf course, gym, spa, numerous bars, private beach (Kubu Beach) and tennis.

I’m sure you can tell that my experience at Ayana was a great one and well worth the money. The resort left me wanting nothing more, and every hotel I’ve visited since has not lived up to it yet. Really happy with my decision to stay in the villas and I would do it again!

Thank you for reading,

Please feel free to comment with feedback or any questions.

Roberta x