We absolutely loved this undiscovered gem of a hotel on the outskirts of Ubud. The staff was unbeatable, and the quaint property meant that we enjoyed a very private, exclusive feeling stay for a fraction of what we could have paid elsewhere for much less of an experience. Because the hotel is a few minutes from the town center (but still within walking distance), it easily allowed me to slip into the rustic Ubud countryside and let the wonder of Bali work its magic on me.

The rooms were beautifully, if sparsely, decorated. I and my traveling companions shared two adjoining halfs of our own bungalow, complete with our own private pool! The staff was very responsive to our needs, offering us free shuttles to anywhere in Ubud. The small restaurant on-property served better-than-expected meals. A basic breakfast was included free, or you could upgrade for a nominal fee. The on-site spa offered a great, relaxing way to unwind. Aside from our own private pool, there was also a larger family pool available to all guests.

Our favorite part was the free rice paddy trek offered most mornings by the hotel. We were fascinated by the rice growing process, which is still the way of life for most Balinese people. Most staff spoke English very well, and were willing to answer my questions about their culture, families, etc.

I heartily recommend this hotel to those wishing to experience Bali on a more intimate level and escape from the cookie-cutter Western-style hotels so common in the world today. I've never felt more pampered and relaxed in my life.

My Husband John & I stayed at the Waka Namya resort in Septemeber 2008 we originally booked for 13 nights because of reading the reviews and looking at their web site. To say we were dissapointed was an understatement it was old and not just tired but gone to sleep. We had (apparantly the best deluxe room in the hotel) two storey with a day bed downstairs and a large bed up-stairs, the bedding was dirty and had stains all over it and the curtains were the same. The smell from the mosquito net was appalling and I could not sleep in it for the smell. There were cobwebs all over the rooms and the fridge was full of full of mildued water. The so called beautiful bathroom as shown on their site is old, dirty and not at all appealing. The bath is covered in cracks and was so dirty I could and would not use it, the sink was the same and as for the stained toilet well we won't even go there. When we arrived for breakfast on the first morning we were given a menu and told we were allowed fruit or fruit juice not both!! Javinese Tea or Bali Coffee and bread and what we got was awfull 1 baby roll 2 tiny quarters of toast 1 very small danish pastry and 3 cubes of butter the size of my little finger nail and one teaspoon of jam. Their were guests requesting a pancake for their child who didn't like the bread and were charged a fortune for it. Everything about the Waka Namya is tired and old there are no luxuries about this place. We decided to drive to Nusa Dua and look for another hotel on the third day and found a magnificent hotel called the Bali Khama which was streets ahead of the Waka Namya and both at the same price of 130 USD per night . When we advised the Manager at the Waka Namya that we were un-happy he was most helpful and came to our room with a note pad and looked at all the the things we mentioned he agreed with us fully but said he could not do anything as the owners would not put any money into the hotel. The Hotel Manager contacted his own boss and he came on the telephone to talk to my husband and basically confirmed what the Manager had said to us but also said as we were in the best room they had so there was nothing they could do except to clean the room better!! and up-grade our breakfast to a better one for no extra charge this woulf not have altered the way we felt at all as the ambience was not going to change and neither was the cleanliness or age of the furnishings.

The majority of the staff were very nice and pleasant with the exception of the young lady who was on the desk when we arrived after almost 24 hours travelling we found her to be very cold and un-welcoming. There is nowhere to sit in the evening to relax and have a chat or to sit and have a nice meal it is not somewhere we wanted to sit in very dark and miserable and old and antiquated.

Ubud itself is very nice and has some wonderful things to see but not somewhere to stay for more than 2-3 nights and be very carelful about where you stay. We hired a car for the two weeks and enjoyed it very much my Husband found the whole experience of driving in Bali very different but he enjoyed it. By the time we had been there for 5 days they thought he was a local probably because he was driving like one!!.

So all in all a wonderful holiday after we left the Waka Namya and had somewhere nice to stay that was clean bright and a very Modern Balinese feel.

I booked the lanai room (L1) and asked to move the 2nd day. It was dark and noisy, being closest room to the kitchen and main road. The deluxe lanai was larger and more quiet, and share a semi-private pool with 4 similar rooms. Unlike the other rooms, the closet in the deluxe lanai is indoors (in the others, the closet is outside with bathroom and thus virtually unusable given the humidity). We had to move the last night to a 2-floor rice-paddy villa which was older in terms of decor and fixtures. Overall all though, the rooms are comfortable. The main pool is kept clean. Breakfast and menu selection/quality are decent. There is no wifi in the lobby which is a drag: if you have to check emails, you have to ask to use their computer and dial-up which is quite slow. At the price I paid (from $130 to $165 per room), I was expecting serenity once I crossed the gate. Unfortunately, that never happened. With a few exceptions the staff is constantly asking clients whether they have a program or not, obviously out to get a commission. It is relentless and at the rates charged it is inexcusable. To top it off, the staffer converted the USD rate I was quoted into rupiah using an incredible high rate. I argued and it was diminished slightly. What a way to end the stay!

This is the first time we have used trip advisor and after spending many hours reading through reveiws of hotels in Ubud we decided to stay at the Waka Namya for four nights.

We arrived in the middle of the night and shown to our room quickly and a kettle was provided for a late night cup of coffee.
Breakfast the following morning was simple but lovely, mixed fruit juice a must!
The hotel booked a tour for us and got us the inter-net price (cheaper than the published price).
Free rice paddy tour which was very interesting also free i/2 our massage each (the best we had whilst in Bali).
Lovely outdoor bathroom (just loved that!) Room very clean and turn down service every night.
Staff wonderful, nothing too much trouble for them.
Great free transport, we usually walked into Ubud about 15 mins and when we wanted to return gave the restaurant/bar the hotels telephone number and the transport would arrive within minutes.
We throughly enjoyed our stay here and would definately return.