Elysian Villas Hotel

We stayed for five nights at the Elysian, and absolutely loved it. Annie is a very helpful concierge (do ask her to get the money-changer to come to your villa - so secure and a good rate too). She has the best restaurant tips too. The Elysian restaurant is very good though the menu is a little limited. It was always a little quiet - maybe they should publicize it a bit more. The villa had a large living room/kitchen, and a large bedroom, and a really nice bathroom. Just ask for wifi and they will set it up in your villa - no charge. It is a short walk to Ku de Ta but we found that restaurant a little disappointing; the service was poor. We much preferred La Lucciola, just another 10 minutes further along the beach, where you can sip an excellent cocktail while watching the sunset and then have a fantastic Italian dinner. Service is excellent there. The new restaurant in Seminyak is Sarong - very elegant pan-asian food, fantastic cocktails (try the chargrilled tomato Thai bloody mary). Ask Annie to book a table as the place does fill up. The waves in Seminyak are very powerful - great for the surfers but a little daunting to the average person. Also there are no trees along the beach so you need to hire an umbrella if you want shade - bargain hard with those guys who put out the sun-loungers! Final tip: the Bluebird taxi company is the most reliable and the drivers don't try to overcharge. Ask reception or Annie to call you a Bluebird instead of flagging a taxi down on the main road.

We loved The Elysian. The villa was beautiful, had its own pool, and was very private. The food was very good, and in general the staff were friendly and well trained. The real shining light of the hotel is Annie...she's a real star and nothing was too much for her. She really does go above and beyond to make sure your stay is as enjoyable as possible. One the negative side, the hotel isn't on the beach, and access is via a 5-10 minute walk down a narrow track which has a fair bit of traffic on it, so the walk to and from the hotel wasn't much fun. Having said that, having our own private villa meant we didn't really want to get out and about too much anyway. I'm really splitting hairs now, but our villa (and presumably most of the other villas) had a tree growing right next to the sun deck, so it was very shady and therefore not ideal for those people looking to top up their tans...and because it was so shady, the water in the pool didn't get very warm so was pretty cold whenever we used it.

From the moment we stepped out of the Denpasar airport, the wonders of Bali were introduced to us by the kind staff from the Elysian who came to pick us up in a brand new hotel SUV. Cold towels, a cool drink of water and an introductory video of our hotel followed while we were being driven to The Elysian. Once there we were welcomed by wonderful Balinese staff, given an express check in, offered our welcome drink and then taken to our villa.....as the doors of our private villa opened we were all smiles to see our very own private pool, a very spacious and comfortable living room, a large bathroom with a sunken tub, a well appointed bedroom with a DVD player and an Ipod deck with all our favourite 80's retro songs waiting to welcome us. ( I had emailed Orisca (from the Elysian office) earlier and requested her for our choice of music. She downloaded every best song of ours and helped revive beautiful memories.) The next 7 days was nothing short of a fairytale. We were served the most delicious American breakfast, made to order to our requirements, in the comfort of our room and even organized a dream romantic BBQ evening for my lovely wife which was planned to perfection by Annie, the PR head at the hotel, who will go out of her way to smile and make you feel like you are the most important guest at the hotel. She does it to everyone, so you can imagine how good she is. There were heart shaped floating flower decorations in our pool, candles in and around our garden and pool, a personal chef and the ever smiling Devyani who waited on us through the evening and served us so very diligently. We took a day trip to Ubud one day for which once again the hotel arrangements were excellent. We ordered room service a couple of times (Bali has many many excellent restaurants so eating at the hotel isn't necessarily the most prudent decision), and the food was very good. All in all, we strongly recommend this hotel and guarantee that for the price, it will be very very hard to enjoy a more complete holiday anywhere else in the world.

First impressions were not good. Our airport pickup never materialised (so we had to take a taxi - no great hardship at £4!), and the reception area seems to merge seamlessly into the car park (an open air style is all very well, but it needs some potted plants or something to provide some separation.) However, otherwise our stay was brilliant. We had booked a one bedroom villa (and had not realised that it came with a private pool), but were actually given the two bedroom villa (there is only one in the hotel). So we had a 14m pool and a huge lounge. The room was very well equipped, complete with small kitchen, great audio-visual kit, lovely patio, and that pool. There is wifi in the reception are - would have been nice to have wifi in the room as well. Villa facilities are such that most people do not use the main pool or the restaurant, so the place can seem very quiet. The hotel is not on the beachfront, but is on a rather grotty narrow lane behind the Oberoi. But you are not missing much - the beach is a pretty unappealing strip of grey gritty sand. The inside of the Elysian is much nicer! Annie was an excellent concierge, with plenty of advice over restaurants, trips out, etc. She even organised a driver for our hire car. (If you are thinking of hiring a hire car before you arrive, do not bother. You can get one just as cheap when you are there, and take one with a driver - it's a lot less trouble, what with a lack of roadsigns, police looking for bribes, etc). We only found out about the Elysian after reading reviews on Tripadvisor of hotels in Ubud. It was a great find. Strongly recommended.

We picked the Elysian to end our holiday in style having been to Kuala Lumpur for the Grand Prix, over to Phuket (cos we loved it last time!). The holiday was my present to my beloved for his 40th, so we wanted somewhere quiet, relaxing and romantic for our last five days. The Elysian was perfect. The villas were spacious, contemporary and very private. The staff were excellent, everyone was so helpful. They would even arrange for someone from town to come in and exchange our British pounds into thousands of Indonesian Rupiah (at a better rate than we got in Kuta). The villas looked exactly like on the website, the bed was just so comfortable, it took me a couple of minutes every morning to persuade myself to get up and go and have a dip in my own pool!! We had booked a Spa Escape package that gave us the choice of breakfast in the villa or at the restaurant so we had a couple of days of both! After that breakfast, we didn't need to eat at lunchtime!! The villa was so private and relaxing that we were reluctant to leave it, though we did drag ourselves out in the evening. It was just a 10 minyute walk to Ku De Ta, which was fantastic for relaxing on the loungers on the terrace, watching the sunset, or go there for a nightcap after a meal - the sea looks amazing at night, with the spot lights on, watching the waves crashing onto the beach. We hired the hotel guest relation chappie for the day to take us around Bali, he was fantastic ( I felt a little embarassed that he knew so much about the history of his home and I knew so little of mine!). It was a shame that the heavens opened - in a big way- and we had to cut the trip short without seeing Ulawatu - our choice, not his. We had a couple of spa treatments including in our package, a full body massage and a foot massage - they were OK, but not as good as I'd had in Thailand - probably the only disappointment of the stay. We also had a candlelit meal in the villa as part of the package, the food was gorgeous, however I asked for it to be served in the villa rather than outside because of the weather - and the girl came and filled the living room with candles, it was lovely! All in all, a perfect ending to a wonderful holiday, thank you so much to all the Elysian staff, Annie the guest relations manager (she works so hard making sure that the guest are happy), the room boys did a brilliant job twice a day - everything was spotless. The complimentary toiletries were top notch ( and I am fussy in that department!) A wonderful stay, never to be forgotten ( I have a picture of our villa garden and pool bathed in sunlight as my background on my computer at work and it always chills me out!)

The Elysian is a perfect destination if you want to lock yourself away from the world and just relax, read, watch movies, listen to music, and lie in the sun with complete privacy -- without having to worry about filling up your refrigerator or making your bed. The design of the villas is contemporary, fresh, and clean without the usual folkloristic touches. Staff is extremely nice and does everything to make the stay perfect. Food is okay but gets bland quickly due to lack of seasoning and variety. Restaurant only has two CDs (Norah Jones and Sade) which are played constantly at breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. Spa staff needs to be trained more professionally (chat with each other during treatments). Despite the drawbacks, the Elysian can be highly recommended if you want total seclusion. Value for money is excellent.

We LOVED The Elysian. We were in Seminyak after a long trek across Java, and had already seen the Bali sites staying at Ubud for a few days (another awesome place to stay for a few nights), so The Elysian for us was a private getaway more than anything else. We booked the Honeymoon Package and one of the private 1-br Villas which was idyllic. We had a private pool, DVD player, ipod cradle (w/ ipod), fruit every day, a few free drinks in the fridge, AS WELL AS a couples massage, scrub and bath, a butlered dinner in our room, a 3-course lunch at the restaurant....yadda, yadda, yadda....as part of the package. It was awesome, we loved it. The staff were extremely attentive, the customer service manager Annie was gorgeous and the room service super fast. And of course, there was our our pool...... It's also at the end of a driveway next door to Ku De Ta (superb restaurant with sexy loungers on the deck facing the sea). Really awesome place, particularly if you want a holiday where you barely leave your room!

Ok the review is a little late, but i've been giving a lot of thought as how to best describe the most wonderful experience we had at the Elysian Hotel in Seminyak, as words may not do it justice! We went with the intent of a relaxing, luxurious, slightly indulgent holiday of doing absolutely nothing for 6 nights, and the Elysian was the best place we could have chosen to do this. The whole experience was amazing, more than we could have hoped for. The exceptional service all started with the VIP airport meet/greet. A hotel representative met us at the gate, took us through immigration and sorted out our visas. A ice cold bottle of water and cold towel awaited us in our private car, as did a very friendly driver, telling us about Seminyak on our way to the hotel. This standard of service and quality continued right through our stay. The check in was seamless, with a wonderfully refreshing ginger drink waiting for us on arrival. We were taken to our private villa by our driver, who was reception staff as well, and he introduced us to every aspect of our villa in detail, from our own pre-loaded ipod & sound dock, to how the shower taps worked! The continuity of having the same person from pick up through check in (and check out and return airport transfers) further enhanced the very personalised service and attention that we received throughout the whole stay. You could not fault the villa. Not one bit. The daybed with the open windows out over the private pool was a favourite spot for the week, as was the sunbed out in the private courtyard. The private pool was an absolute winner, as we sat reading, listening to our pe-loaded ipod on the bose sounddock, sunbaking, or swimming without having to interact with other people, calling "villa service" when we wanted to eat/drink. You could not fault the service. Not one bit. If there was any issue or problem with the villa, (one of our window slats had come off) there was an army of staff there immediately to fix it. The housekeeping service time was tailored to our requirement, and the nightly turndown service also included room cleaning/tidying. It felt the room was always being cleaned/tidied! This standard continued through the restaurant, spa staff, reception, and ground staff. Everyone was very attentive and pleasant. The hotel didn't have any fitness equipment (which was my partner's only requirement) but it did have a deal with the Villas Asri just 200m down the road, where he could walk to and work out to his heart's content. It wasn't the best gym, but it did the job. The hotel had complimentary membership to the Canggu Club which had more recreational facilities, but this was 20mins away by car so we didn't venture this far. We visited the Elysian spa (me at least 3 times!) for various treatments, incl scrubs and massages which were very reasonably priced (considering it was in the hotel) and very good service. The only "constructive criticism" that we left the hotel, was that the menu needed some work. I don't think we would have ever left the hotel if the menu was a little more extensive, or changed between lunch/dinner. The quality of the food was good, there was nothing bad about it (esp breakfast) but it just wasn't very exciting and didn't have many indonesian dishes on it. We love our food, so we went out a couple of times, and on a good note, it forced us out of the hotel! We went to Ku De Ta on one night for sunset cocktails and dinner. You can walk there from the Elysian. The service and quality of food, drink, and finishings would rival ANY 5 star restaurant in Australia. This was THE MOST amazing dinner experience we've ever had - and we've been to almost all 5 star restaurants in Perth. One reviewer of Ku De Ta baulked at the cost of this place. Yes, it wasn't cheap cheap (we spent about $200 in total - with a fair amount of cocktails). If you want backpacker happy hour rates, then go to Kuta. This isn't the place for you. You pay for what you get, and you certainly got a fabulous night out at this place. We had no problem with spending this which, in comparison to Perth, was nothing at all. It was Saturday night and we were lucky to get a table for dinner, as we didn't book - so ensure to do this. Definitely wait for a lounge after dinner - watching the waves come in with a misted vanilla cocktail after dinner was just the best! On our last night, my partner organised our private "in villa" dining experience, with a seafood BBQ. The staff came and set up our courtyard as a romantic dining room, with candles all around the pool, Sade on the ipod - it was magical. Our private chef and waitress then served us an amazing seafood dinner... What a wonderful experience. I could go on forever about our stay at the Elysian, as you can tell, we had a fabulous time. It was just what the doctor ordered, and we would definitely go back. I did have a policy of "never going to the same place twice" but this may have changed that point of view.... why change a fabulous thing?

We've just returned from a 4D3N stay at The Elysian Bali. We booked the Bali Explorer Package directly from the hotel website at US$700 (i think its US$800 now). We had a good time there and thought that we should write a positive review for The Elysian. Our airport transfer was smooth, no waiting required. Like many other resorts, we were provided with cold towel and cold water. I must say that I didn't have a very good impression of the resort at first. To get to the resort, you will need to drive through a narrow road. The facade of the resort was also not appealing. But this is minor as once you are in the villas, you feel wonderful. CHeckin was smooth. Even though we arrived about an hour earlier than the supposed checkin time, we only had to wait a while before we were shown to our villa. The villa was lovely, just like in the pictures. A nice touch was the preloaded ipod which has a collection of many lovely songs. The main pool is always deserted (which is good). We were often the only ones using the main pool (i think most pple use their private plunge pool). The pool cabanas are very comfy, but I thought they look a bit dirty. Do not expect a pool butler like in Banyan Tree. There were no towels provided by the pool so we had to ask a waitress at the poolside restaurant to get us towels. But she did provide us the towels promptly. One thing that I really like about The Elysian is the breakfast. You get freshly sqeeuzed juice of your choice, and instead of the normal coffee that you get at most breakfast buffet, you get to choose from hot choc, cuppacino, latte, mocha. As for the breakfast, you can order anyhing off the menu and it will be freshly cooked for you. I must say there is quite a wide variety of food on the menu. We did order room service for one of the nights and found the food to be not bad, even though the scallop is a bit overcooked. We also did an one hour massage which was included in our package and even though the spa room is a bit tight and squeezy, the quality of the massage was quite good. With our package, we also had a choice of 2 day tours around Bali, with our own private car and driver. Overall, I think the villa is great, service is great, breakfast is great. But it would have been better if it is beachfront and have direct access to the beach. Just my personal preference.

During our holiday in Indonesia we stayed twice in the Elysian. The first time we stayed in the 2 bedroom villa. What an experience! Great design, very spacious, huge private swimmingpool, great soundsystem. We just didn't want to leave the villa. Service was wonderful as well - great breakfast. Thrilled by the Elsysian experience, we returned two weeks later - this time we had the one-bedroom villa. Still wonderful, with smaller private pool. A clear disadvantage is that you can easily hear your neighbors. Somehow if you have experienced the two bedroom villa, you just want to go back there. The additional rate is only around 100USD, so if you can afford it, take the two bedroom villa. Restaurant is nice for lunch. For dinner, head to the nearby restaurants on the beach. Hotel staff is very friendly and helpful