Kedonganan Beach Villas

“Excellent stay at KBV”

My wife and I rented Villa 2002 one of the 1 bedroom options at Kedonganan Beach Villas (KBV) for three nights mid to late May 2024. Our prime aim was several days of total relaxation on the way back to Sydney after being in Jakarta for a week. We had looked at quite a number of options ( reading a… lisää

My wife and I rented Villa 2002 one of the 1 bedroom options at Kedonganan Beach Villas (KBV) for three nights mid to late May 2024. Our prime aim was several days of total relaxation on the way back to Sydney after being in Jakarta for a week. We had looked at quite a number of options ( reading a few reviews) that included a private pool and we thought KVB came up trumps in value. KVB had been given very good 9+ through Booking.com etc After our stay, we are are extremely pleased with our choice. The villa is spacious and true to the photos. The villa was clean throughout, the fridge huge, all aspects of the kitchen worked plenty of cutlery, utensils, mugs, glasses and plates. The lounge was comfortable .......although we sat out side a lot. The bed and bathroom areas were also clean and spacious. There are tasteful paintings on the wall and simple but also tasteful table decorations. During the day, we just opened up the glass doors and let the breeze flow through and enjoyed relaxing / wallowing in the pool in between sitting reading and relaxing around the pool. The bed/ bedding were also very comfortable. Night time, pool lights on watch or swim. The service from the KBV team was also really good. We didn't need them for a lot, but they assisted with arranging airport transfers. From KBV - only 4-5 mins to the beach where you can walk to Hotel like beach bars / cafes / restaurants like Jimbaran Puri ......a bit further but do-able the inter Continental / Four Seasons or a million other bars / cafes / restaurants along Kedonganan Beach. Bawang Merah Seafood - you walk right past the fishing boats ( watch your step ) was fabulous. We have stayed previously at a very ritzy resort - private villa pool etc. - but going back was at least 3-4 times the price ....yes beautiful places - but in the end KBV has suited us perfectly and offered us nearly equal. The money we saved was used for eating out and we were still ahead. So, we highly recommend KBV after staying in this villa....the other similar options in the complex you would expect are the same. Here are some tips if you are coming to this part of the world. Get the Bluebird Taxi App......it's great......... you book online .....you can see the driver, time for pick up and route......that was a really good move. Grab some initial grog at the airport. When you arrive and if like us you want to have some food and supplies for breakfast and lunch - head to Coco Supermarket .......it is only about 10 minutes away .....it has lots of good fresh fruit, snacks and wine and beer all under the one roof. Red and white deliver grog also .......you can get that delivered. Cheers RT May 2024

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“Mixed bag - and not for the faint-hearted!”

First - this review is related to villa 3001. Given that the villas in this complex are owned by different owners (but looked after by the same service / security company) might my remarks re the building not be representative for the other villas. Building complex: Lots of space, nice pool, kitche… lisää

First - this review is related to villa 3001. Given that the villas in this complex are owned by different owners (but looked after by the same service / security company) might my remarks re the building not be representative for the other villas. Building complex: Lots of space, nice pool, kitchen well equipped, and all the whiteware did work. However - furniture (and particular the washing machine) did show some signs of use. Safety / security (inside): The complex is protected by a security company - i.e. the risk for two legged offenders coming uninvited from the neighbouring areas is limited. Safety / security outside: Supermarket is in walking distance, however - the road leading to it is small and without any lighting ... but plenty of open manholes (missing covers for canalisation). Better use this road only during daylight (or with a good torch). Road in front of supermarket is (as everywhere on Bali) very busy - and traffic rules for pedestrian crossings seem to be unknown in this part of the world. Avoid in the dark and otherwise - Take care and good luck! Building safety: Hmm - Entrance door opens to elevated steps high (perhaps 60 cm) above the real floor (covered by water). Steps are separated by large gaps (maybe 5 cm, more at the corners - easy for a children's foot or e.g. a dropped key to slip through). Might look cool for some, but I wonder whether they have building standards and inspections in Indonesia? Bed Rooms: Two on ground level and one first floor. All quite spacious and plenty of storage room. The only access for the first floor bedroom however is over a quite narrow wooden spiral staircase without handrails. No fun to bring your luggage upstairs ... and we sort of hoped there is no fire while we stay ... no second or emergency exit available (well, maybe we could have jumped into the pool, but it is not really deep enough for a jump from 3 m height). Electrical safety: There is a lamp in the pool (light looks good) - and the electrical cable to it goes through the pool with a clamp exposed to a waterfall. I just hoped its only a 12V lamp ... but I would not bet for it. Stuff for a crime novel ... Breakfast: We ordered BF despite the horrendous price (roughly double what we paid in comparable venues) and hoped for something special. We got a friendly young pair coming in and cooking BF for 6 people on one small gas cooker they brought with them (instead of using the stove in the kitchen) with the result that the BF for most of us was already cold when we started eating. Overall quality of BF was quite average as well. AVOID. Service: All orders, contacts via WhatsApp. The people who came were friendly and sometimes more, sometimes less efficient, however as soon as a decision was necessary we were referred to the Facebook Group. We asked for late checkout ... and it took them half a day and several reminders to reply to this (which felt somewhat awkward - and made our planning difficult). On the plus side - they finally agreed to late checkout, and even made this complimentary. Cheers - need to mention the positive as well :) ; Ah yes, and they asked for a passport (or US$250 in cash) as safety deposit, which you have to give one of their people at arrival, and hope that you get it back at departure. Feels funny and never happened to me anywhere else (neither on Bali nor anywhere else). Not sure why they are doing that, given that they have our credit card number anyway - villa was prepaid? Hmm. Sort of ruins a mutual trusting relationship, particular if you only interact with WhatsApp or a messenger without authority (none of the staff we saw could make any decisions). Environment: Good foto beach in walking distance, but separated by back to back restaurants (tourist traps). Walkways between these restaurants pretty rundown and full of litter and broken glass. Take care and do not go barefoot to the beach! Beach look great for sunsets (take a foto!), but water does not feel safe for weaker swimmers or children. Very strong undercurrent. Quite close is the fishing harbour - and visiting that makes sure you won't go anymore into the seafood restaurants (smell and looks) nearby. Dead fish & plenty of rubbish everywhere.

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