Arta Private Villa

The rough, broken road made getting to the hotel feel dangerous, and even cab drivers said regular taxis weren't allowed to come there. They said the hotel charges for its own cars instead. We were also made to pay AUD $40 for a soap dispenser that was already broken and had just been glued back together. We were rushing to catch our flight, and the staff argued with us, so we paid. After many trips to Bali, this was the worst hotel experience I've had.

We booked five nights here for our honeymoon, then left before we had even stayed ten minutes. The room looked nice at first, but I was stung by an insect, and in the bathroom we found a huge spider or insect with long thin legs. After killing it with my slipper, we heard a very loud gecko and saw it above the bathtub. It was around 4-5 AM, and we couldn't bring ourselves to stay. We called our driver to take us back to the airport and went home after less than 24 hours in Bali. Our planned ten-day romantic honeymoon became the worst travel experience possible. Getting there was frightening too. The road from the airport was badly broken, and the villa sits up on a mountain where it was very dark at night, with no lights. It was our first time in Bali, and we felt uneasy about who might be around in that dark area. At reception, the only worker was asleep and snoring. He didn't ask for our passports or verify our booking in any real way. He pointed to a paper and asked if the name was ours, and we said yes. Someone else could have simply claimed our booking, which we'd already paid for. He also didn't speak English beyond asking “NAME?” and pointing. We asked for a refund since we hadn't used the room, slept there, or stayed more than a few minutes. They stopped replying to me and haven't answered on booking.com either. They were friendly before we arrived, but now don't want to refund us. Very bad experience.

We were in a rush to get to the airport, so we paid the AUD $41 they charged for a bottle of body soap. The bottle was already broken in the room. A terrible thing to do.

The villas are modern and roomy, and I had a lovely stay at Arta Private Villas. The staff were warm and quick to help, and the food was good, including breakfast. They cleaned the pool after I asked because it looked dirty. Scooters and spa treatments are available, though the menu prices seemed much higher than outside, so compare first. There's also a free car service to town, but no driver was available when I wanted to use it.