Villa Batavia, Seminyak | Bali | VillaGetaways.com

If you are looking for ideas this Eid, I couldn’t recommend Bali more. The new Emirates flights travels there in 8 hours, and this is really an island where you do get value for money.  Whether you are looking for a Villa for the family or a romantic getaway at a hotel, this island will meet all your needs.  Many have come back to Dubai at the start of September exhausted having spent the summer in Europe with family and are looking to have a short holiday before the school term really kicks off.  This is an island that can really help you relax.

We found our beautiful colonial style Villa Batavia through the website portal Villa Getaways.  They are a family owned specialist company with over 15 years experience managing villa in over 20 destinations that come highly recommended many friends in Asia.

Villa Batavia

The Villa that we chose is located in the heart of Seminyak, literally a stone’s throw away from the beach, and a short walk to Seminyak Square.  Seminyak Square is the shopping hub of the area with market stalls, modern shops and amazing restaurants.  See more on Bali…

The Villa has 4 or 5 bedrooms (the staff will lock up the 5th bedroom should not wish to purchase it) located between two buildings which are connected with an open but covered walkway.  We wanted a villa close to the beach for the the children but also a villa with a big swimming pool for the 4 children and the relatives that were visiting too during our time in Bali.  4 of the bedrooms are conveniently located on the ground floor in front of the swimming pool, and there is a small garden that the children might play in.

The Villa is managed by 5 butlers and 2 chefs that rotate ensuring that there are always 2 butlers and 1 chef on duty to meet your every need.  The Villa works like a ‘service apartment’ in which drinks in your room are chargeable, and the Villa has its own room service menu, or any meal can be prepared and The Villa has its own washing machine which they allow you to use for the children.  However, the washing service is reasonable priced so it may be easier to hand over the children’s clothing to the butlers who outsource it.

The Villa provides a concierge like service too, and they can call a professional spa to come the house to provide massages, manicures or pedicures.  Or they can book restaurants, organise surf lessons and chauffeured cars for a day trip.

We also asked the team at the VillaGetaways.com to help organise our son’s 3rd birthday, and they brought in a clown, cake and balloons.  What more could we ask for.  The children had a blast, and then for $25 we organised their favourite activity; a massage for 30 minutes each in their own room whilst watching cartoons just before their afternoon nap.

The experience at the Villa was seamless and easy making the holiday very relaxing.

Top tip:  If you are travelling with children who are mobile and not able to swim, do be careful as the pool engulfs the entire area which is great for jumping in from any area of the house.

Top tip:  Do be frank with the butlers about what your family requirements are to get the best service as they really do try and help.  For example, mosquitos are an issue in Bali so do remind them to close the mosquito nets properly and unfortunately we had to spray the room every evening.  This is the case all over Bali.

Seminyak

We loved Seminyak for the children.  Our villa was located opposite the beautiful Samaya hotel villas that were just on the beach and The Legian, one of Bali’s oldest but most beautiful hotels that is not often known outside of Asia.  The team at Villagetaways.com could not have been more accurate about the splendid location with everything being a stone’s throw away.

犀利士
e=”text-align: justify;”>There are some who don’t like the changes Bali has seen over the 20 years with hoards of tourists descending onto the island.  The traffic is pretty horrific, but no different to most major cities, and it is unlikely that there will be new roads to ease this in the future due to the politics and complexities of landownership.

Top tip: Figure out some games to entertain the children in the car because traffic can be tedious on certain days.

Top tip: Don’t use currency houses to exchange money in Bali as most of them will try to swindle you.  Instead, withdraw money at cashpoints.

Food and Restaurants in Seminyak

I didn’t realise that Bali was lightyears ahead on food.  It is more developed than the UAE in terms of food, quality and value for money – for an expensive night out it will cost you around AED600 (circa USD166) for 4 – 5 people.

Top tip: Most of the restaurants in Bali need to be booked in advanced by a day or two. Some of our favourite restaurants include

Bambu & Merah Putri that serve modern Indonesian cuisine, Mozaic Beach Club owned by the most famous French chef in Bali that has used local flavours to recreate mouthwatering bites , The Breeze at the Samaya boasts the most beautiful sunsets, and Matis, French restaurant that has a lot of atmosphere.  More casual restaurants include Sisterfields, Cafe Bali and Roti Canai.  For more restaurant recommendations click here.

Surfing and other activities

If you fancy learning how to surf, you can ask the Villa butlers to organise a day of surfing in Kuta with the Hard Rock Cafe surf school who will come to pick you up in Seminyak for a private or class lesson.  They will pick you up according to the right waves so do keep a day free if you are keen.

For more information on Villa Batavia or other villa bookings in Bali go to www.villagetaways.com