After several months investigations and review readings villa kamadewa became a part of our selection of places to stay.
We were celebrating a 60th birthday, starting of with 2 nights at a roof terrace Nimmam suit at hotel Muse Bangkok, 2 nights at tree moon villa ubud, 4 nights at villa kamadawea and 6 nights at a 1 bedroom private pool villa at Sofitel Nusa Dua.
We were off to a good start when collected by Ame the driver who was allocated to us during our stay. Experienced man who made us feel totally relaxed whilst driving the clean and comfortable 4×4 round in the traffic madness that Bali at times offers.
Arriving at the beautiful compound… wow. The car hunks the horn upon arrival, to insure the villa team and security guard was lined up to greet us each time we returned to the villa. The hunk might be annoying when all 4 villas are booked and cars are coming and going all the time but as we were the only guests it was ok.
The fact the part of the villa team who was on duty (never 5 people at once as stated on the Anapuri website) were there to greet us with flower garlands, damp hand towel and welcome drink was impressive, walking through the doors to the villa was short of spectacular!
On this holiday we stayed at places both more expensive and with higher service levels but the villa… nice!
The location:
Anapuri villas are located on a quiet stretch of black sand beach, with a few other villas near the village of Ketewel.
The safety:
Anapuri villas are located in a kind of gated villa community with each their security guards and a wild nature beach with big waves on the other side (mind you, felt very safe everywhere in Bali).
The villa:
– the wraparound pool
– the gazebo
– sun-loungers in the green grass
– the huge bathroom
– beautiful view from the bedroom balcony
– sounds, smells…
– of good size
– secure with 24/7 security guard for the compound
-clean, nice pool
– whirlpool bit too hot for the 30 degree air temperature
– great quality air con
– open air living and dining area
– media room we didnāt use
slight damp smell and too nice outside to sit in there
– quiet, only the sound of the sea
-well kept (except an unacceptable) old, worn out bed frame and madras uncomfortable to sleep in and noisy
– towels… ok but far from immaculate white, something that hotels and villas in Bali donāt seem to take as serious as in Europe
– the dressing gowns were embarrassing short, a length that a woman might want to look sexy but for a man itās way too short to keep private parts hidden (this needs to be changed)
– there is a fridge that the guests can use, we did some shopping at COCO a quality supermarket chain where we bought drinking products and a few sweet things which we could then access whenever we wanted and good to put the provided bottled water as it was all room temperature
The service:
The team donāt seem to be hospitality trained, they are giving a service level that ranges between average to good.
Within the first 5 min at the villa I told the team that we were not used to staff at home and would prefer they just chill out in the staff area and that we come knocking on the door if we need anything, something they were laughing at (in a nice way) and happy to do. This gave us privacy and the team time to rest.
First night we had turndown service but not 2nd night…? I ensured to point out the last 2 nights that I wanted clean towels and the beds made up with again was no problem.
We were given an annoying minimum level of towels for the garden and pool use as well as in the bathroom, I asked them for at all times 2 clean towels by the pool and 4 big towels in the bathroom which they were happy to do.
The door from the courtyard to the villa garden was constantly left open but once pointed out that we wanted it closed at all times that was done.
One night the 3 mini waterfalls by the pool were left running, as nice and relaxing it sounds by day as annoying it is when trying to sleep at night but again no problem it was turned off when requested.
We were rather disappointed to learn that even though the villa is advertised with a chef, the villa kitchen closes already at 8pm, pretty early to expect grown people on holiday to have finished their dinner (this needs to be reviewed by the management team, itās a private villa chef not a village restaurant) should be extended at least to 9pm.
Mega our kitchen chef and Ame our driver were kind to agree in taking us to a local fish market so we could select seafood for Mega then to cook as bbq for our dinner, Ame was looking out for us and making sure we were ok in the busy market place and Mega did a great job checking freshness and quality of everything we bought. We were a bit surprised later to discover that even though the villa is advertised with a chef and we paid for the seafood there was still a cooking fee to pay, not much in European eyes and well prepared yet bit odd when the chef is allocated to the villa anyway and already paid fir in the villa rate…
We were always asked to pick next days breakfast the evening before and give a fixed time we wanted to eat, again it takes the whole point of having a personal chef away. And we were not impressed when the breakfast was already ready before 9am which was when we normally started our breakfast, when I say it was ready it means nobody was cooking when we came down so eggs Benedicte and Indonesian breakfast was merely held warm. Like when we could smell our seafood dinner going on the bbq 1 hour before we had told the team we wanted to eat…
We were also asked what kind of meals in general and what use of the driver and car we had for the following day again taking the flexibility thatās the point by villa staff away.
Letās say it like this, the team is very nice and mean well but I have learned that I need to make very clear what I need, want and expect as guest as Iām sure itās different to another guest. Because when I asked nothing was a problem for them to change.
Food was generally really nice but donāt opt for the burger, it seems very box standard and was so cold that the cheap low quality slice of yellow ārubberā cheese did not even start to melt. Club sandwich was very nice yet also cold and pre made again I will avoid that by not planning everything a day in advance.
The cocktails… by far the worst I have ever had. Very weak, had 2 out of 3 cocktails served with missing ingredients (so not actually the cocktail I asked for) and even though the 3 other villas were vacant and the guys were kind enough to check the missing ingredients could not be found, but bummer when there is only like 8 cocktails on the menu in the first place.
So next time I want the cooking to start when I come down so I have freshly prepared food not way in advance, I will not commit to everything in advance in terms of meal times, meals and car use, I will make clear what I expect in terms of towels, turn down service and so on as my European expectations seem to be different to the Balinese hospitality.
Really did enjoy the luxury of having Ame, we did a fair bit of our exploring with anapuri as a base, he knew a lot, gave good advice and ensured we used the safe cash machines, simply a kind guy and great service and professionalism as we had 4,5 hour dinner at restaurant Locavore.
One thing we felt was missing was the use of a mobile phone with local SIM card as we had it at tree moon villa for contraction the driver, contacting villa staff or ordering takeaway.
Some former guests talk about the team not speaking English very well, we did not have a problem with that at all, speak slow and they understand very well!
Conclusion:
Do not be fooled by the less good points that I have pointed out! I just like to keep it real for the villa host and the owner to know what areas they should review but also for fellow tripadviser users to have a clear understanding of our experiences to make their own conclusion.
Itās a LOVELY villa with a kind and helpful team at hand!!!
We really did enjoy the stay, stylish, exclusive, helpful team, car and driver, beautiful view and quiet (not sure what it would be like if there was 18 guests in the villa next door or even a wedding, but we were lucky, there was nobody)
Iām just trying to make the point that itās nearly impossible for the villa team to know what each guest wants and expects of them unless you sit down with them, point out what u need of them and ask them to brief the rest of the team of your requests. That way you will have the stay of a lifetime, because the team clearly want to please the guests and are very flexible and understanding!
We stayed 4 nights and are already planning to stay longer next time because we for sure wish to return!
Thank you team Anapuri especially thanks to Ame!
Hope to see you all soon!
