We holidayed at Uma Ubud in mid-December 2011 and stayed here for the first fournights of our relaxing Bali holiday. Given the time of the year, it cost us USD240per night (lucky the AUD is strong!). While mentioning the price, I should add while we're not price sensitive, we are price conscious. hence, it was a bit annoying that the hotel quotes everything as price ++. I personally do not like that at all. I would rather know exactly what the all-in cost of everything is. Not my idea of fun to try and calculate 21% on the cost of everything. Coming back to our stay here, I must say that the staff were very good. As per previous reviewers, they knew our names and were very polite and helpful.
Room: We stayed in a Terrace Room (29). It was nice. The turn down service and the abundance of towels were appreciated. The view was nice and the setting overlooking the valley was nice too. There was an issue with privacy as the courtyards are shared withadjoining terrace rooms. We didnt like this. Also, we could hear the antics of the guys next door! Beware, the place absolutely comes alive at night. We saw frogs, lizards, garden snakes and snails every night. make sure you keep the flashlight handy.
Food:
The restaurant is called Kemiri. The food and service are both good. There is free wi-fi which was useful. Staff are friendly. They got our order mixed up once, but they fixed it straightaway. The daily special juice at breakfast was great. I had the pork neck stir fry for dinner once and that was fabulous too. Generally speaking, dinner here is more expensive than in Ubud town. I wouldn't eat at Kemiri if I want to eat Indonesian / Balinese food. Ibu Oka in Ubud is a must try if you want suckling pig. Also, if you're interested in fine dining, you must go to Mozaic which is down the road. Mozaic was fabulous!
Spa:
The spa was abit of a letdown. My wife had a facial and then we went for a 90 minutes couples treatment. I would rate the spa 6/10. The spa ambience was okay, it was more the quality of the treatments that didn't feel right. We voted with our feet and didn't return to the spa.
If you are in Ubud, make sure you go to IMAN Intuitive Bodywork & Spa. Noyman's students are amazing. I will leave a review there as well. After Uma we went to Oberoi (Seminyak) and the spa there was fabulous too. So there's room for improvement in the spa.
Currency Exchange:
Most of the currency exchange places on the road between the hotel and ubud are reliable. If the rate looks too good to be true, do yourself a favour and don't go to the broker. We found this out the hard way in seminyak. However, the FX guys at Ubud were reliable. The hotel offers inferior FX rates. ALWAYS count your change.
Shuttle:
The shuttle to Ubud town centre is a too infrequent, and if you call the hotel they will charge you. best to ask the guys at the hotel how much to pay for a taxi between Sanggingan (where the resort is) and Ubud. When we were the the staff told us not to pay any more than IDR30,000. Always negotiate with everyone in Asia, if you didnt already know that. I have even travelled by taxi for IDR20,000. However, lack of shuttle services in my opinion is a downfall of this resort. The marginal cost of providing is negligible. I dont know why management don't change this. The other alternative is to walk to Ubud. This doesn't take too long. Roughly 25 minutes.
Activities:
The morning walk was okay, not as great as other people seem to think. I think they need to let people know to wear trousers and proper closed shoes for the morning walk. The guide was knowledgeable but the walk itself left a bit to be desired as it was only in the surrounds of the hotel, and we just walked behind the perimeter of the other resorts around. We enquired about a cycling trip to Mount Batur, and the cost was excessive. We ended up going with Banyan Tree Bike Tours, which was fabulous. However, the Hatha Yoga instruction offered at the resort is fabulous. Both my wife and I loved the yoga pavilion which looks down on the waterfall and the instructors were very good. Back in Sydney we practice yoga 2-3 times a week, so it was good to keep it up.
In summary:
To be honest, the lasting memories we have of Uma is of the yoga, the long and leisurely breakfasts, the cycling with Banyan Tree and the massage at IMAN. Definitely will go back to Ubud some day. Not sure if I'll stay at the Uma. It's nice but not captivating enough to return. In my book, Uma Ubud gets a 8 out of 10.
Note for management:
1. Put a retractable clothes line in the bathrooms. People need to dry their bikinis / underwear.
2. I HATE having to calculate 21% of the price of everything and add it on top. Change this if you can.
3. Also, why are some things priced in USD (for example some spa treatments) while food is priced in IDR. You guys need consistency. The other issue is the IDR/USD rate you use is not transparent in this case. These small things do bug me, and probably detract from the overall experience for others as well.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
23 January 2012
Dear Cricketfan97
Thank you for your valuable review. I am delighted that you enjoyed most aspects of your recent stay at Uma Ubud. I would also like to thank you for your valuable suggestions and feedback. Our highest priority is guest satisfaction and comfort, and offering our guests the standards for which COMO Hotels and Resorts has become known for is our ultimate goal. To offer you answers to your questions, and to give our future guests a clearer idea of our services at Uma Ubud, permit me to respond to the points you have raised.
It is the industry standard across Bali to publish all prices excluding the 21% services and government tax.
I regret that the courtyard design of our Terrace Rooms was not to your personal preference. Permit me to detail to our future guests, that our Terrace Rooms face into the Tjamphuan Ridge. Terrace Room courtyards are private to each room and are partitioned from each other by a low wall and foliage that enables greater appreciation of the expansive views on to the river gorge. Guest privacy, relaxation and comfort are all of utmost importance to us at Uma Ubud and we are currently replanting more foliage to further enhance privacy without compromising the view.
Uma Ubud makes use of an organic pest control system. It is of great importance that the pest control measures we use do not upset the eco-balance of the environment. Only organic compounds are utilised in our pest control, and a full time pest control team is employed. We are fortunate to share our unique location with Bali's flora and fauna and whilst we take all measures to keep mother nature's creatures at bay, we also do not want to harm the environment.
It is unfortunate that your experience at our spa was not to your personal expectation and liking. We value and welcome your comments, and based on your feedback, we look forward to exploring ways to enhance the guest experience further. Several years of training are required in order to become a Shambhala therapist. Shambhala Therapists are all regularly rotated between Uma Ubud, COMO Shambhala Estate (our focused Wellbeing Estate in Bali), Cocoa Island (Maldives), Uma Paro (Bhutan), Parrot Cay (Turks & Caicos), and The Metropolitan London. Rotation of staff ensures that procedures and technique are practiced uniformly thorughout The COMO Hotels & Resorts.
The complimentary morning walk offered at Uma Ubud serves as an introduction to Balinese way of life, morning exercise, and to discover the immediate area surrounding Uma. Ubud is a semi-developed area in a developing country. Our guests part-taking in the morning walk can enjoy a candid experience of verdant rice fields coupled with villages and their people trying to provide for an increasing tourism industry. It’s an interesting insight that cuts straight to the real Bali and Ubud of today. For our guests wanting to experience more, we provide scenic tours of varying difficulty and indescribable beauty, but these require a motor vehicle (which is not as not eco friendly) and are not accessible a short walk from the lobby.
With regard to the irregularity of price quotations for services and the currency in which they’re listed; Indonesian law requires dining menus to list the local currency. However, Uma Ubud is an internationally affiliated hotel group and it is the industry norm to quote for accommodation, spa treatments, and other services in US Dollars.
All hotels in Indonesia and abroad offer currency exchange services. More competitive rates are always able to be found in the myriad of currency exchange offices and kiosks throughout Bali. You kindly advise future visitors to Bali to ‘count your change’, which we also encourage our guests to do, when using outside exchange facilities. I assure you that the currency exchange offered at Uma Ubud is in line with prevailing exchange rates and is updated regularly. We also refrain from taking any further commissions or fees. Our trained team ensures that our service of exchanging home currencies into Indonesian Rupiah is easily understood and a comfortable experience for our guests.
Again, I thank you for taking the time to draft such a comprehensive review on TripAdvisor. Your suggestions and feedback will certainly help us to fine tune Uma Ubud's services and communications to our future guests.
Wishing you safe and enjoyable travels.
Marc Lacoste
Guest Services Manager
Uma Ubud
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
