Alila Villas Uluwatu
Add: Jl Belimbing Sari, Banjar Tambiyak, Desa Pecatu 80364, Bali, Indonesia
Tel: +62 361 848 2166
Website: www.alilahotels.com/uluwatu/
Visited: Nov 2010
On our second day in Bali, we came to this breathtakingly beautiful resort that sits atop the cliffs of the Southernmost Uluwatu. The location might not be the most convenient as it’s one hour from Seminyak and forty minutes from Nusa Dua, but its exclusive setting makes it a perfect hideout from the world.
Alila was designed with contemporary aesthetics while meeting environmental requirements to reduce long-term ecological footprint of the resort. Everything is in white and gray, which further brings out the mesmerizing shades of blue from the sky, the pool, and the ocean. The view here is truly picture-perfect.
The most distinguishing feature of Alila are the sunset cabanas, which are lattice style aged timber screens wrapped around couches and day beds. Afternoon tea is served in the largest cabana which stretches out to the Indian Ocean, but it was too windy that day so we opted for seats outside the CIRE restaurant instead.
There are two restaurants at Alila. CIRE for western fine dining, and The Warung for laid-back traditional Balinese cuisine.
Our waiter promptly brought us ice-cold towels, a fan, energizing facial spray, and insect repellent (which was unnecessary as there were no bugs at all). Needless to say, service was warm and attentive throughout .
After some ice-cold local Bintang beer, we ordered two sets of afternoon tea, one traditional Balinese and one Western (each 25 USD + 21%). The Balinese set includes: satay, sweet purple rice porridge, and miscellaneous Balinese desserts, plus tea/coffee/juice. The satay was the best we’ve had in Bali, and everything else was of high quality, though the view and the architecture are definitely more impressive than the food.
The Western set includes: chocolate chip cookies, chocolate eclairs, chocolate truffles, brownies, and two types of bruschetta. For drinks, I tried the mango juice, which was probably the best mango juice I’ve had in my life – rich, thick, literally a mango in a glass.
There was so much food in the Western set that we had to get a to-go box. We really should have just ordered one set, but well, we are not in Bali everyday.
Alila Uluwatu is undoubtedly a destination resort. To get here, just hop on a taxi and the driver should know where to go. If you can’t stay here for a few days, at least spend a whole afternoon here to soak up the breathtaking view. It will be well worth your time.