Honeymooning in Bali, Indonesia - January 2006

The Indonesian Island of Bali is home to a mainly Hindu population of 3 million. It was our first visit to the island and it was noticeably quiet. It was the quiet season and also tourist numbers were down due to the terrorist bombings of October 2005.

Nusa Dua Resort and Spa

Our first hotel was the Nusa Dua Resort and Spa in Nusa Dua. We booked this as part of a package through Singapore Airlines. The staff was excellent, but as with all large resorts you run the risk of not seeing any of the local attractions and pay much more than if you were acting independently (for example a bottle of water in the room was 10 x the price of buying from a store). Although a little pricey, the couples massage at the on-site spa was terrific. It included a bottle of champagne and free use of the plunge pool, sauna, and Jacuzzi and steam room in your very own private villa.

As part of our package we were given a guided tour of Bali - this proved very disappointing as we soon realized that the tour amounted to little more than an 8-hour drive visiting a jewelers, wood-carver and painter. We the tourists were the commodity.

Damai Lovina

Our second hotel was the Damai Lovina Resort and Spa. When deciding on our honeymoon destination we fell in love with the description on the luxury link website and managed to win a very reasonable deal which included a 5-course meal, massage class, cooking class and dolphin cruise. This hotel was everything we hoped it would be with our very own outdoor shower. There is an amazing spa in the town of Lovina which offers massage for around $6 USD. Damai currently has only eight villas but plans to more than double that number in the coming year. The place was lovely, but we found the manager Glenn to be a little smug and unfriendly.

The breakfasts and food in general was excellent with fresh fruit smoothies and organic produce. All meals can be eated in your own villa.

Uma Ubud

After six days we were ready to move on. We finished our tour in the cultural center of the island in Ubud where we stayed in the newly-built Uma Ubud. This was our most expensive hotel and was absolutely superb, the staff had a bottle of champagne for our arrival and there were rose petals everywhere. Although it cost around $275 USD per night - it was well worth the splurge to end the honeymoon on a high.

Bali was ideal for us - we were spoilt with half a dozen or so massages - an extremely relaxing time, and considering the luxurious lodgings, it was at a very reasonable price.

BY: SM

USEFUL LINKS: Luxury Link