Hello Lovelies,
we spent the last 4 days of our trip in Ubud. (You can read our other guides about Jimbaran here and Canggu here). We had been in Ubud 7 years ago but only for a day trip and I have to admit I don't remember much of it. So this time we decided to spent more time and explore it a bit more. Ubud is definitely the centre of "healthy lifestyle" with Yoga studios at each corner and lot of cafes/restaurants with healthy food options.
**Our Hotel: Desa Visesa Ubud **
The Desa Visesa Ubud is a bit up the hill from the town and like a little village itself. We have been greeted extreme friendly with a little Welcome-Ceremony and -Drink. We had the possibility to get an upgrade to a 2-bedroom villa with pool and decided to go for it (Disclaimer: we have been invited by the hotel to stay for 2 nights, but paid for the other nights and the upgrade). We didn't regret the upgrade at all, because the villa is really beautiful. 2 big bedrooms each with a lovely outdoor bathroom and of course your own pool in the middle - everything surrounded by tropical plants for a lot of privacy.
I lived the open concept of the whole hotel, they don't really have any closed rooms. Also the Lobby and restaurant are open and are facing the main pool. On the way to our villa with a golf buggy we have been shown the beautiful hotel grounds. There is a big rice field in the middle of the resort, the kids club, spa area and the permaculture - a farm with animals, fruit trees and endless rice fields.
Everything is in harmony with nature and you never get the feeling you are in a big hotel. The employees are super friendly and we felt very welcome from the beginning. They are also great with kids, so the girls have been very comfortable all the time.
We loved the complimentary shuttle to Ubud. It leaves the resort every hour and there is a Drop-Off and also a Pick-Up and this always worked perfectly.
The girls also went to the kids club 2 times and really enjoyed the time there. They got to feed the fish and chicken and I really felt good about the media free concept of the club. Kids are in nature and outside and can play games or do crafts.
The kids enjoyed the kids club and we totally enjoyed the spa. We went for their 30 minutes back massage Happy Hour offer in the morning the first time and it was amazing! The open bamboo huts are just so pretty and relaxing already and the therapists know what they are doing! We immediately booked another massage - 90 minutes this time and it was for sure one of the best massages I had in a ling time. We felt so relaxed and good afterwards, the whole Spa experience was so lovely. I can only recommend it.
We had breakfast included in our package and it's a buffet with options for everyone. Fresh eggs, pancakes, waffles, asian food as well as fresh fruits and cereals. I would have loved more vegan or healthy options, but I have to admit I didn't ask for any specials, just went with lot of fruits and toast which was fine.
We also had lunch at the hotel once, which was such a lovely experience. We could have the table in the middle of the rice field and enjoyed traditional balinese food, sweet potatoes, corn, a balinese salad with green beans and Daddy Frei also had some grilled chicken.
We spent the evening exploring Ubud and its restaurants which was super easy since we could use the Shuttle- So here are some of our recommendations:
**Restaurants in Ubud: **
We have been a bit unfortunate with the weather the first two days of our stay, since it was raining a lot. And thats when you realize how spoilt we are with our perfect infrastructure in Switzerland. The streets in Bali are more like muddy streams when it's pouring rain and in general you have to be carful that you don't loose one off the kids in a hole in the street. But since it is still warm, its not that bad - loosing a kid would be, but I mean the rain :-).
First evening we spent in Ubud we decided to go to "Earth Cafe" - a vegan restaurant and shop. The food was okay, but we did not find it super special, Daddy Frei was especially unhappy with his choice (Seitan Saté). But we bought some things in the store, which had a good assortment.
The next day we went to **"Kafe" **which had more options for everyone in the family. The food was good and they had good vegan and non-vegan options and so everyone was happy. I also wanted to try **"Sayuri Healing Food Café" **so we went there for desert. its a bit longer walking distance from the Main Street and the Shuttle drop off, but still manageable by foot. And Ubud has a bit better walkways than Canggu - at least at the main road (just mind the gaps and holes :-). At Sayuri I went for the Raw Tiramisu, a recommendation from a lovely blogger colleague and it was really delicious. The girls went for ice cream. If you like healthy food and bowls, then Sayuri is the right place to go.
I also liked the "Watercrest" Café/Restaurant. We went there for a quick stop after the Monkey Forest. I had an Avocado Toast and that was yummy and also all the other food I have seen looked tempting.
**Trips: **
Due to the rainy weather we didn't go on any trips at the beginning and stayed at the resorts and enjoyed the pleasures of our private pool. But we decided to go to the Monkey Forest for one day, since we thought the girls would like it. At first they were happy to come up close with the monkeys, but the monkeys have been a bit cheeky and pushy and after they tried to steel out of Daddy Frei's pocket they had a lot of respect (the girls not the monkeys). So just be aware that you should not bring any bags with you and be prepared that the monkeys can be a bit rude. The Sacred Monkey Forest is home to over 1,260 long-tailed macaques and three holy temples that still play an important role for the Balinese today.
We didn't go to the rice terraces this time since we have been there our last visits and we had the most beautiful rice fields at the hotel.
One of my highlights was a visit to Gaya Ceramics - a small local ceramic manufacture, which I heard about a lot. And lucky me, there was a big sale going on just the dates we have been there so I HAD to buy a lot from there.
We had such a wonderful time in Ubud and especially at the Desa Visesa - we can only recommend the hotel and would stay there again. And then the time in Bali was up and we had to leave for Switzerland again. We had booked a transfer via the hotel and with a quick stop at Gaya Ceramics to pick up what I bought we went to the airport and flew home via Doha again.
I really hope you liked our little travel guide and we could awaken your wanderlust and share our love for Bali - it wasn't the last time that we have been there. And if you'd like to bring a little of it home: our curry with broccoli, coconut milk and bulgur brings exactly those warming flavours to the table.
Love Verena
