Umadasa Bed and Breakfast

The last trip to Bali did not involve staying in Kuta instead I stayed in Seminyak, which is a little further out from Kuta but far more relaxed and peaceful. Also there has been too many times when I have been in Kuta and around Poppies that me and my fiancee have had to deal with rude, racist, sexist, obscene comments and at the end of the day enough is enough.
So we searched through Agoda to look for somewhere different and we came across a little place in Seminyak called Umadasa Villa.
The Villa itself is about 5 minutes max walk to beach double six which is a grey sandy beach with crashing waves and lots of white foam. There are lots of restaurants, clubs, hotels and shops in Seminyak and it is a very pleasant walk to Kuta along the beach.

The Villa itself is a little hard to find as it is new and so this means taxi drivers have yet to find their way to it. The Villa is located in the same alley or gang as the Tune Hotel so that helped the driver get us there.

Behind a locked door in a big wall is a fairly big house with 5 rooms, pleasant but small garden, small but spotlessly clean pool and a very welcoming air and atmosphere.


Our room was looking out onto the pool and the room itself was a big room with a compact bathroom. There was a wardrobe, and a table, fridge and new tv. The bed was a queen sized bed and the AC worked very well.

Lots of hot water and clean new towels which was also nice.

The stay was very pleasant and hassle free and the girls who looked after the place were very helpful and kind and made sure that we had everything that we needed. As it is Bali, there was a power cut and during this time, they made sure that we had candles and light and made us feel comfortable as best they could while we waited for the power to come on.

Oh and the wireless internet was great.

So overall it was a great place to stay and relax and I will certainly return there and stay again. The location is ideal, it is not overly priced and the room and service was great.

Click here for more information

http//www.agoda.com
http://umadasa.com

Masa Inn Bali

Yet again, I found myself in a hotel / inn in Poppies 1, Kuta Bali. I wil say that this will be probably the last time I stay in Poppies, not because the accommodation is poor but he manners and behaviours of the men there is becoming more and more unfriendly. Their current calls are for viagra and calis and then other rubbish, but what is worse is what they say to the girls walking up and down the street, in English or in Bahasa. None of it is nice or helps.

The traffic that seems to be constantly moving up and down it as well is getting worse, however the restaurants are great, cheap and cheerful and the places I have stayed in are also great.

AP Inn, Kedins, Pesona Beach Inn and now Masa Inn. Masa Inn is a little further up between Pesona and AP inn and almost is the most expensive yet. This was probably due to the fact that it was high season and at new year. I have already posted about Bali being full for New Year and so I guess it was a case of either put up or shut up.

Anyway, I digress.

We stayed in 2 rooms due to the limited availability of rooms. The first room was a twin bed for 550k a night which included breakfast. The room itself was very functional, great range of TV channels, free bottled water, nice clean and what looked liked recently refurbished bathroom with plenty of hot water and good pressure. No soap of any kind though. The AC was very quiet and very cold.  However we were only in that room for one night and in total for about 10 hours due to being out late having fun.

The second room was 600k and it was a balinese style room, which meant for 50k extra you go a 4 poster bed with nets, and everything else already described. The best thing about the room was the outside where it was gloriously decorated balinese style.

The hotel itself is very big and fully occupied. It was on 2 levels and there were 2 pools. Reception was 24 hours and the staff were very helpful and prompt. They were also the most professional of all the places I have stayed in in Bali as they gave receipts for everything. They also asked for my passport details as that was requested by the local police and it took a fair amount telling, not explaining that I had legal status to live here and did not need to show my passport. My SIM C and my E KITAS seemed not to be enough, but eventually they yielded and it was all fine.

As normal we took the room until 6pm on our last day as we were taking the last flight out and so we had to pay 50%  of the normal rate for the room, which was OK.

Overall the hotel is great, and the rooms and facilities were very impressive. I would stay there again for sure, if it was not for the fact that getting to it was a hassle walking through the vendors.

For more information click here

Akmani Hotel, Jakarta

Lurking between Sarinah and Jalan Jacksa lies a fair few hotels, alarmingly I seem to have stayed in 4 of them now. Both Ibis hotels, The Morrissey and now the Akmani hotel.
The Akmani, is located next to the Spanish Embassy and opposite an Ibis hotel and 5 minutes walk from Starbucks, Chilis, Jalan Jaksa and the busway. Sarinah is also very close to Grand Indonesia and Menteng so it is a really nice place to visit and stay, if like me you live a little further out of the city (although I live next to 3 malls and a toll way) still moving on.

For Christmas this year, I decided to stay in the city for Christmas and go away for New Year. I therefore wanted to stay in a hotel closer to the city and enjoy some time in luxury and without worry and so I decided to hole up in the Akmani.

The Akmani is fairly new in town and looks very impressive on the outside and on entering you are met by many people and ushered to the reception. Everything is calm and organised and we asked for an additional bed and we were charged 350,000 for the bed and the cost also included breakfast in the morning so that was pretty good.
The room we booked was a deluxe room and I booked it through Agoda.Com, and it cost me 750,00 B&B a night. As it was Christmas it seemed pretty good value.
The elevators were small and as usual you had to use the room key to activate the elevator.

The room itself was nice and airy, with views of not much as usual and with an AC that worked far too well and at 18 degrees it got rather chilly, even 22 was cold.
The bed was bid and comfortable. The bathroom was simple enough and the shower was ok with plenty of hot water, although that was not immediate, you had to wait for the water to come and it then pulsed hot and cold intermittently, but still it was a nice shower.
The TV was new and modern but the only drawback was the fact that all HBO films were dual language so in Indonesian and there was no way to change that to English. Star Movies in English but that was annoying. There was internet access but with cable, not wireless, but the 3g signal was OK and that was good enough for me.
The fridge was small but functional, at 7 on the gauge started to ice beer so I had to lower the temp gauge to stop any beer from being ruined!

 There is window into the bathroom next to the bed which a blind could be pulled down to hide or spare peoples blushes. However, ideal if you are wanting to watch TV whilst sat on the Toilet or showering!!

 The view of the City and Sarinah. The view is of the Skyline line building, Lotus department store and in the distance the Bank of Indonesia.

Breakfast was pretty good, with a good selection of breads, fruits, salads, Indonesian food and Dim Sum. However once the food had run out that seemed to be it, so on the second day there was no Yoghurts or Fruit left by 9am and also the Egg Chef was remarkably slow and the food from him was too salty as well.

Checkout was easy enough although again I was surprised by the fact reception called us at 10.30 to remind us to checkout at midday. I have never had that happen before anywhere in the world.

So that was the Akmani. It is a nice hotel but it lacks something but I am not sure what. I know for New Years, rooms are going for over a million which I think is over priced for what you get but then that's just my opinion.

I enjoyed the stay but due to the huge range of hotels in the city, I wont be going back unless someone else pays!!!

http://www.akmanihotel.com/home.php

http://www.agoda.com/

Morrissey Boutique, Jakarta

Interesting place this one. It is my first boutique serviced apartment hotel venue which is located on the verge of the delightfully quiet and calm area of Menteng in Jakarta, yet built next to the one of the most infamous places in the city, Jalan Jaksa. Jaksa to sum up is one street consisting of dodgy bars and food stalls, cheap hotels, bars and an eclectic mix of back packers, expats (mainly teachers I fear) and not very exotic prostitutes.
It is a fun and rowdy street and always vibrant. However, if thats not your cup of tea, then a short walk and you are at Sarinah Mall where there it is far less full on and there are lots of western restaurants and a 24 hour Starbucks, McD and quite a nice western restaurant calleed Chillis which has great food but the price is a little steep.
So back to the hotel. I stayed there for 2 nights and due to a mix up I got to spend the first night in a double bed with a great view of the sunset and in a fairly large sized area.

The room itself consisted of a small kitchenette (microwave, hob, fridge and sink) a medium sized double bed, TV and a nice shower area, with oddly enough a shower curtain but there was loads of hot water so that was good.
The style was basic with whitewashed brick wall and the ceiling was left unpainted and was grey.

The second night I was in a twin sharing and the bed was small bed enough to sleep on. Both rooms suffered excess noise from the local mosque but that is something you have to accept in Indonesia, however, even though I have lived here for 5 years the volume and sound was far louder than I am used too and it did wake me up.

There were a few problems while at the hotel. There was no explanation of how to use to the lift as you needed to insert your room key into a slot to make the elevator work and often the room keys had not been activated by reception so you had to go back down to sort that out.

I actually thought the room was not so well cleaned and the window certainly looked liked it had not been cleaned for a month.

The lobby and reception is well laid out and all the staff were overly helpful and polite. The food that we had was plentyful although it seemed to be a dry hotel and there was a great restaurant next door that had happy hour buy one get one free beers between 5 and 8.

As I was there for a conference, I never had to pay. However it would not be my first choice of  a place to stay even with its location. Prices start at 500k a night and go up.

More information can be found here  http://iammorrissey.com/