Tailor-Made Trips to Bali

Great hotel to stay and amazing service with beautiful rooms and facilities.

We felt like we sat down in the lap of luxury when we arrived at Tejaprana. Once you turn off the very busy street, you descend (literally) into an island paradise of quiet and green and luxury. Frankly, we were happy to spend all of our free time at the resort, partly because we'd been traveling for a long time, and partly because it's just so damn nice. Similarly, Aruna Restaurant is excellent! We ate our way through most of the Balinese offerings they had on the menu, sometimes more than once. Staff is very friendly and welcoming, from the top management to the people cleaning the resort.

The market walk was interesting, because it gave us such a good glimpse into daily life. The cooking class was exceptional, start to finish!.

It was absolutely fascinating to step into the world of a Balinese family, if only for part of a day. Our guide (I wish I could remember his name, but he was 6'5" tall, so very distinctive among Balinese men) did a great job introducing us to religious traditions and other aspects of daily life. I enjoyed learning about their 18-character alphabet, and getting a memento of my name written in Balinese. It was also interesting to see the amount of labor that goes in to producing coconut oil, coconut milk, and grated coconut.

Amazing and visually appealing hotel. Great buffet. Welcoming spa with well equipped gym and sauna. Pleasant outdoor pool. Lots of artistic flourishes to keep your interest and attention. Helpful and courteous staff.

We had a nice stay at this hotel. Our agency upgraded us to a junior suite which was fantastic. The hotel pool was pleasant and right by the beach. We were there in the off season and it was rather dead and the breakfast experience was initially disappointing. By the time we left there were many more guests and a full breakfast buffet--a welcome change. The staff was uniformly courteous and helpful. The location was OK. You could walk into the town center in 25 minutes if you wanted to. A few mini marts and a nice coffee/ice cream shop were within 10 minutes walk. They arranged taxi rides for a modest fee. There were no free shuttles. My only compliant: the exercise room was the poorest condition I have ever seen in any hotel--even small hotels. Broken equipment, uninviting ambience. no towels or water. Really embarrassing for someone who looks for this amenity.

Visiting the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud was quite fun. The monkeys were lively and jumped on us, keen on grabbing anything they thought was food, even stealing water bottles. It was amusing watching their antics, especially with the cute baby monkeys around.

The Visit to Tegallalang Rice Terrace was visually beautiful initially, but turned into more of a tourist enclave with zip lines, swings, and numerous photo ops which overshadowed the natural beauty of the terraces. Our guide seemed to think we wanted to indulge in the amusement park-like activities rather than immerse in the natural environment. We would have preferred to walk in the rice paddies. I'd suggest that guides inquire about clients' preferences beforehand. It certainly had its fun moments, though.

The Caci Dance Performance was a big surprise and a pleasant one at that. We initially thought it would just be another tribal dance, but it turned out to be an intimate cultural experience. Being the only duo on the tour, hosted by someone perhaps from the tribe, we were introduced to customs in an engaging way, even being welcomed into the community with a white rooster. The ceremony, the dances including the delightful rice harvest dance, and participating in some of the routines were fascinating. Sharing stories and drinks afterwards made it feel warm and personal. This is perfect for someone interested in true cultural immersion.