In Ubud, we were looking for some peace from the chaotic world. In Kayumanis Private Villa, we finally find it.
The Villa
Our villa, according to be booking website, has 300 sqm space. We didn’t really measure whether it is really 300 sqm, but our villa is indeed very spacious. There are one bedroom with attached open-air bathroom, a separate building for open air living room and pantry, and finally, 9 meter swimming pool. Yeap, all of this is enclosed within the wall of our villa.
The bedroom itself is not that special. It is rather small compared to the rest of the villa. In fact, Grace feels that the open air bathroom is larger than the bedroom. The bedroom is indeed only for sleeping, and the rest of the villa is for everything else other than sleeping.
There is an open air bathroom attached to the bedroom. Let me give a warning: the bathroom offers very minimal privacy. There is a glass door separating the bedroom and the bathroom, with a curtain in the bedroom side! Even if you somehow manage to get the curtain closed, there is another pathway that is leading to the pool, separated with a partition with no door.
Just in front of the bedroom is the swimming pool. With 9 meter in length, the private swimming pool provided a good exercise in the morning, and place to cool down during the evening. Ethan was really enjoying the pool.
Our main area activity is the open air living room just next to the pool. There is a TV and a sofa, a dining table, and a small pantry. The pantry has Balinese coffee, and the most complete set of Dilmah tea that I have ever found. So, grab a cup of tea, and just sit on the sofa with music of your choice through the Bose sound system.
There is also a stove for you who wanted to cook, but with the restaurant serving fantastic food, why bother? Seriously, the food from the restaurant are good and reasonably priced.
Villa Amenities
Lets start from the food, where we left off. All the food that we ordered to our room is prepared in the restaurant. The restaurant itself is located on a hill, overlooking greenery which end up in a river. Those who dine in the restaurant will be entertained with sounds of water flowing, and the wind through the trees.
For breakfast, there are several selection between American Breakfast, fried rice/fried noodles, pancakes and nasi ayam Bali. The last one has to be ordered one night before. I really suggest nasi ayam, as it will be difficult to find elsewhere.
For lunch and dinner, there are wider selection. The Thai Green Curry and the Fish Sambal Matah. Ethan even asked for another portion of the fish because he likes it so much.
After having food, don’t forget to walk around the complex. Kayumanis Private Villa is so big, encompassing 2 rivers, and going up and down, which will burn the calories and refreshing at the same time. There are few viewing decks, overlooking Ayung River, with nothing else but nature.
The other amenities besides the restaurant, unfortunately, is not fully operational. The main pool and the pool bar was not operational due to lack of guest. This is not a concern, really, because the pool in our villa is more than sufficient to keep us occupied. And for those who are looking for massage, the spa thankfully is still operational.
There are also limited parking space available. When we were there, it was during COVID pandemic. There aren’t many guest, so we can have a parking space right in front of the lobby.
Around The Villa
There aren’t really many places that is reachable without car or motorcycle from Kayumanis Private Villa. The villa entrance itself is a good walking distance from the main road.
Just at the intersection with main road, there is Gaya Ceramic, which sells ceramic products. Ubud city center is 10 minutes drive from Kayumanis. Along the way, there is also Gaya Gelato (which has nothing to do with Gaya ceramic by the way). If you are looking for nasi ayam, Nasi Ayam Mak Juwel is also nearby.
In Summary
Kayumanis Private Villa is one of the award winner of Condé Nast Johansens 2020 and 2021. Even though some of its amenities were not operational due to COVID pandemic, we can still see why it is one of the winner. The hospitality, and the food, the villa itself, and the serenity of the surrounding forests and rivers are world class.
We wished to be able to go back in Kayumanis Ubud, when situation get better after the pandemic being put under control. Until then, we recommend those who are looking for place away from crowd to come to Kayumanis Private Villa, for a peace of mind, just like we did.