In April, I was in Bali researching a tour we’re going to run in September, 2015. I’m still working on details for that but in the meantime, I couldn’t resist telling you about what I believe is the most beautiful hotel I’ve stayed in. Ever.
Located in Nusa Dua on the southeastern part of Bali, the Samabe opened less than a year ago.
You know how you look at a hotel’s website and it appears all fantastic? And then you arrive and realize they cleaned everything up just for the photo shoot? The rooms are nowhere near as large as they looked in the pics, things seem dated and unclean, and you can just tell that attention to detail is missing?
That is NOT the Samabe.
While their website is nice, the hotel far exceeded anything I could have anticipated.
Why?
Well, to begin with, the hotel employees are some of the best trained I’ve come across. They are times 10 on the pleasant scale, in that way that only Asians know how to treat their guests. OMG they were all so sweet.
We checked in in time for lunch and our waiter knew our names before we even said anything. As a matter of fact, throughout our brief stay (only 24 hours, damnit!), all the employees called us by name (Ms. Beth and Mr. Jon). The bartender at the pool, the waitstaff for lunch, dinner and breakfast and our driver who took us to a show that night.
The property itself is five-star all the way. Consider this: Our hotel room was 1,500 square feet. FIFTEEN HUNDRED SQUARE FEET!
The bed was in what might traditionally be a living area and faced the large picture windows looking out over the ocean.
There was an entry way with a couch, chair and table. Nice touch but we never sat here at all. We preferred the rooms with a view. 🙂
The bathroom ran the length of the entire room front to back and included two sinks, a toilet, a shower with two showerheads and a gigantic walk-in closet.
The tub took up enough space which might have been a bedroom in many other hotels. Also, it looked out over the ocean (blown out in this photo).
The room was stocked with most everything we might need for a stay: sun hats, cookies, coffee maker, a fridge with water, soda and even coconut water. There’s free WiFi throughout the hotel and in the rooms. And there’s even a golf cart (with driver) that will take you from the lobby to your villa or suite if you don’t want to walk.
By Bali standards, the Samabe is not cheap. But when compared to hotels in the US, it’s a bargain considering what you get for the price. I did a quick search and found rates for later this year listed on Expedia for about $350/night.
I can’t say for certain but my gut tells me that because the Samabe is a relatively new hotel, prices will go up as people catch on to this place. So go now.
In all seriousness, if you had one swank place to choose to vacation for a honeymoon, anniversary or some other special occasion, you must check out the Samabe. It’s so special that I’ve insisted this be included in our tour next year. I believe that strongly that this is a hotel people must experience for themselves.
(Full disclosure, we were hosted for the night at the Samabe but that in no way influenced this post.)
If you’re interested in joining our 2015 tour to Java and Bali, please send me a note using this contact form. We’ve already got about a dozen gals who’ve expressed interest so make sure you’re among those who get alerted early for this inaugural trip.
Travel Well,
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