Mr & Mrs Smith

The setting of Alila Ubud, above a lush valley, the breezy cabana-style restaurant and the beautiful pool are the hotel's best features. The rooms were reasonably small but felt high-quality in terms of fittings and furnishings. The outdoor shower and bath add to the sense of tropical-living. The breakfasts were out of this world – absolutely the best breakfasts I have ever had, with local specialities like coconut pancakes and black coconut rice as well as French toast, scrambled eggs with mushrooms, fresh cakes and pastries, juices and fruit, etc. Have the ribs for dinner and don't miss afternoon tea by the pool!

Check-in and check-out were very slow procedures, testing my husband's patience in light of the heavy traffic and impending flight! And the cost of the food seemed high in relation to other places we stayed in Bali.

An unexpected find was the tranquil, beautiful view from the decking out the back of Starbucks – a lily pond and decorative temple. It's worth putting your feelings about big brands to one side to enjoy this secret spot!

Alila Ubud has been just wonderful in terms of: the excellent Dutch executive Chef Eelke Plasmeijer who prepares absolutely great meals, the breakfast which has an impressive new menu every morning, the spa staff and selection is so Balinese and the girls provide great massages with smiles on their faces. Suggest Shirodara massage – different to what you expect BUT so relaxing. We really liked the medicine man that the hotel suggested. The local Balinese made it a proper Bali experience, we loved the bike ride around Alila Ubud, and would suggest to definitely try Yoga instructor I wayan Eka Sukma Putra. The superior rooms on the first floor were better than deluxe rooms on the bottom. Last but not least, great recommendations from the resort Manager, Mr. Sena.

There are minor things, but we would appreciate if some of the activities such as Tai Chi and Yoga wouldn't all start at 8am. We managed to get up twice and no-one attended because it was too early.

The Hotel suggested we try very special treat called Kretek cigarettes.

Stunning hotel situated overlooking the beautiful river valley and surrounded by rice paddies. Wonderfully helpful staff and the best hotel breakfast we've ever had. Plus the free massage courtesy of Mr & Mrs Smith was a lovely touch. Alila Ubud was by far the nicest and most cultural place we visited on our trip to Bali. Highly recommended.

Few hotels have taken our breath away such as Alila Ubud did. As we were shown around, our Valley Suite 'View' hardly did justice to the jungle-clad deep ravine to which our personal balcony overlooked. It was hard enough just leaving the room, but when we did, even more such delights awaited. The pool at Alila Ubud is justifiably known as one of the top 50 in the world due to its plunging edges, appearing to simply drop off into the vastness below. It was here that the hotel management held their weekly Friday night welcome cocktail party for guests. I admit, if this had been after a 17hr flight we'd have traipsed back to our rooms, but as it wasn't, we enjoyed a cool cocktail as we sipped in the fantastic atmosphere. Top tips at this hotel would be to certainly opt for a valley suite. Having a family of monkeys on your balcony first thing in the morning might not be to everybody's taste, but if you have had one or too many pool side cocktails the night before, then you can always slip into the vast outdoor but monkey-resistant bath. Another tip would be lunch or dinner in Ubud. Although throngs of tourists and bustling taxis take up much of the streets, there are quiet backwater cafes offering tasty fare for a fraction of the hotel restaurant prices. We'd recommend the amusingly named 'Oops' which although looks a little sketchy from the roadside, has a beautiful secluded garden from where we supped a cold Bintang and ate chicken satay - a local affair for much of an afternoon.

Alila was great, we're impressed you managed to get us a free (and expensive) Balinese massage. Here are some recommendations that you may want to look into: Cafe Lotus is a great restaurant in Ubud with a huge temple and pond with water lilies at the back. Get to see a local dance too while enjoying dinner and a draught Tiger beer. The Living Room is a quality bar in Seminyak that gets lively later in the evening.

Alila Ubud is in such tranquil surroundings, that the urge to leave the grounds whilst we recovered from our jet-lag was minimal. We can however thoroughly recommend taking the hotel's bikes out into the paddy fields. Maps attached to the handlebars detail two routes. The longer one takes you slowly uphill through rice fields, villages and past a local temple, before depositing you on the main road for a free-wheel ride back to the hotel. The town of Ubud is a short cab/shuttle-bus ride away and, although not the centre of culture that it is sometimes referred to, well worth a visit for a day's strolling around the galleries and cafés. If you do feel the need to expend some energy, then rafting on the Ayung River (though by no means 'whitewater' as it is billed) does give you the opportunity to see the stunning carvings that local craftsmen have made on the canyon walls.