Citrus Tree Villas - La Mer

The place looked beautiful, and Mr Made from security and Mrs Made from housekeeping were both nice. But the problems were serious. The power shut off at 11am, and water stopped working throughout the house until the next morning. Housekeeping and security tried to fix it with a bottle of water and by repeatedly hitting it with a rock. We still had only cold water and couldn't flush the toilet after more than 24 hours, so I had my travel agent move us to a hotel the next morning. The manager kept asking why we were leaving and saying it was all fixed, which was hard to take seriously while the problems continued. One bed was broken in the middle, with the mattress sagging, and two of us got a rash from bed bugs. A week later, my rash was only fading with the proper medication. Water was unreliable, so be prepared for toilets you can't flush. The toilets are outdoors, and the showers have glass doors with no privacy, visible to Bali or people upstairs in the villa. The electricity blows. The address wasn't clear, and multiple drivers couldn't find it. There were bugs and geckos indoors, especially in the bedroom and toilet. The pool seemed to have chemicals beyond standard chlorine, and turned our skin, pool floaties, and clothes orange. The villa is in a dark alley, away from the central district. That might not seem so bad, but the bedrooms have no locks and there's only one lockable door, so it didn't feel secure. When we checked in, staff said there were no safes while we were standing next to one. Don't trust the security of the venue. It's beautiful in photos, but that's about it. Stay away from all of the Citrus Tree Villas, which are run by the same manager and owner. Better off at a hotel.

We thought we'd make do when we first arrived, but after visiting friends at a few other villas over the next few days, ours was clearly the worst by far. We left and got our money refunded. The maintenance was awful. The property looked like someone's house, and not a good one. Staff sat smoking right in front of us while we were in the pool. It wasn't clean, with butts and dust around, and the boards alongside the pool were dangerous. You had to watch your step to avoid falling in or getting splinters. The main bedroom was open to the elements, with lots of mosquitoes and spiders. Anyone in the pool could see you on the toilet. The safe didn't work, there was no toaster, and old food was left in the microwave. The staff didn't seem to care. The villa felt like a box and wasn't very big. The rooftop was a waste despite having a great view and bar. There was no shade or anything up there, and only two chairs, both broken. It wouldn't take much to bring the place back, but there are so many other villas in Bali that are 100 times better.

The house is nice and close to the sea, and the staff are very nice. But there was almost no water in the bathroom, especially when we needed it. The landlord was also very unfriendly and complained about our late checkout even though we'd booked the night after we left to make things easier for both of us.

We found this cozy place on airbnb, and it was worth every penny. It has four rooms, a living room, kitchen, and private pool. Our group of 8 had lots of fun here. We'll come back and recommend it to others, of course.