Balinese Villa or Hotel?

If you were to visit an exotic destination like Bali, where would you stay? A Balinese villa or a modern hotel? For me, I decided on both i.e. a few nights in Komea Villa in a non-touristy area of Canggu and then two nights in the modern Hard Rock Hotel in Kuta, the tourist hotspot of Bali.  Two very different types of accommodation in two very different locations.  Do you want to know which one my family preferred?  Read on to find out.

Komea Villa

We had a two-bedroom villa for the five of us.  It was literally two villas in a private compound, with our own swimming pool, outdoor sheltered dining, kitchenette and living area.  With such a spacious compound, I was lucky to get a good deal online from Booking.com.

A couple of travel websites gave this villa a “Superb” rating of 9 out of 10, and I could not agree more.  The villa was elegantly decorated in modern balinese style.  The open-air bath tub was cosy and big enough to fit all five of us!

It was a great feeling waking up in the morning looking up at this wooden roof – something you wouldn’t get to see in a modern hotel.  It just shouted out to me saying “You are on a vacation and you don’t need to think about work today!”.

I enjoyed the part when they served breakfast of our choice in our villa.  It beats having to wake up early and come down for breakfast before it closes. It definitely beats having to queue up to get a table, and then queue up multiple times to get your food.  At the villa, my kids could even go for a swim before breakfast.

Komea Villa is in a quiet and peaceful rural location overlooking rice paid fields, and relatively still untouched by the massive tourism in Bali.  Free transportation was available to nearby Seminyak for dinner or shopping, or to/from the airport.

This was the first time my family stayed in a villa and we enjoyed it thoroughly.

I got a fabulous deal online at Booking.com (Komea Villa).

Hard Rock Hotel Bali

Another nice accommodation, but different from Komea Villa is Hard Rock Hotel Bali – a huge hotel and a fun place to stay. It is located right in front of famous Kuta beach and within walking distance from numerous shops and eateries.

The swimming pool was the largest free-form pool in Bali. With a sand base in some parts of the pool, it was as if we were swimming at the beach, but without the waves.  We could even hear music while swimming underwater at some parts of the pool.  That was really cool.

The loft room was spacious and could accommodate up to six people.  The breakfast buffet was good but very crowded.  There were many other hotel facilities but we didn’t get to try them all.

While most rooms are available for booking on Booking.com (Hard Rock Hotel Bali), I could only book the Loft room directly from the Hard Rock Hotel Bali website.

The Verdict

Which one did my family prefer? BOTH! Each had its own style and attraction that it’s hard to choose one over the other.   I would recommend trying both if you are planning to visit Bali.