Padangbai Vacations from ₩1,065,000

This was our first time in Bali and Ubud, and Alaya was a great base for exploring. The location is very central, with lots of restaurants, cafés, shops and spas within easy walking distance. The hotel itself is clean, modern and set in beautiful, lush surroundings. It also isn’t a huge resort, which we liked, as it was quick and easy to get back to the room or head out again. The air conditioning in our room was strong and worked really well. The staff were consistently friendly, and the traffic manager at the front was particularly helpful with crossing the busy road and helping taxis get in and out. There were a few things that stopped it feeling truly five-star for us. Check-in was quite lengthy after a long day of travelling, and there was some early-morning noise from sweeping outside the room and the shower/plumbing. Housekeeping also came at around 8am on our first morning. We hadn’t put the bamboo privacy sign out, which was our oversight, but having only checked in the night before, a slightly later visit would have been appreciated. Breakfast was included and was okay, but portions were small and some basics, such as sugar for tea and coffee, were missing. There are lots of excellent cafés nearby, which we preferred. The gym is very small and limited, so we chose to train elsewhere in Ubud, which was easy to do. We didn’t use the pool or spa, so can’t comment on those. Overall, a beautiful, well-located hotel with lovely staff, but not quite five-star by Weste