Garden Villa Bali

It was dark so we couldn't see a lot of detail on the drive to our villa when we arrived in Bali. Towards the end of the trip, the driver turned down a few back streets. If I hadn't arranged it through the villa, I would have started to worry. When he stopped and we got out of the car, we were in a narrow alleyway, and my daughter turned to me and remarked that it looked a bit dodgy (side note, once we had our bearings, it looked totally fine, day or night). There were a couple of men there to meet us, and they helped carry our bags up to a wide doorway, which, when opened, led to an oasis! A large villa was at the far end of the block, with an open lounge and kitchen area in the middle, and lockable bedroom suites on either side. In front was a grassy area with a pool on the right, and a self contained suite/pool house on the left. We were invited to sit on the couch and given an ice cold "welcome drink", while the man gave us the keys, filled out the breakfast menu, and recommended a nearby restaurant to us. We might have remembered about half of it, between the tiredness and the language barrier, but we got the important stuff. As soon as he left the kids staked their claims to their very own self-contained "suites", each with a huge bed, large bathroom and air-conditioner. Each room also had a safe in the cupboard in the bathroom and a hair dryer. Shampoo and shower gel are provided. Shortly afterwards, our son was in the pool. The only trouble with the open living area (besides it not being air-conditioned) was the mosquitoes. We did find some mosquito coils in the drawer and I had come prepared with spray, so I didn't get too many bites, despite seeing them flying around. Some of the reviews mentioned that the villa was "dated" and needed updating. After staying there, I can see that it is aging, but it was clean and comfortable and spacious, the air-conditioning worked well, and overall I thought it was quite amazing. I felt like if it was brand new and modern it would feel a bit less "Bali" if that makes sense. Previous reviews were also mixed with regards to breakfast. Some said it was fantastic and others said it was boring. I understand now. Essentially you fill out a sheet each day indicating how you would like your eggs, whether you would like sausages and/or bacon, and whether you would like white or brown toast. Each morning one or two ladies arrive with a basket and cook the requested breakfast right there in your villa, set the table, and call you when it is ready. That's pretty awesome really. They also provide a plate of fresh fruit and a drink of juice each morning, and the eggs come with some spiced potatoes that were quite delicious. What we didn't know until halfway through our stay was that at the bottom of the sheet, we could request banana pancakes. Once we knew that, my son and I were requesting those each morning, and they were delicious. There is a water dispenser in the main living area. It ran out while we were there, so I emailed the villa manager, and within a couple of hours, it was re-filled. That's incredible service. I also emailed the manager when we decided to stay up north for a night, and again received an almost immediate response. The location of the villa was also excellent. It is right next to Peppers Seminyak. It was a short walk back out to the main road where there were no end of shops and restaurants. There is a gelato place on the corner, so we took to stopping there each night after dinner where the kids would get a shake or cup, and we started also getting a shake for the security guard that would sit outside the villa from 6pm until 6am each day. There is a small booth at the end of the laneway but more often he would be sitting on a bench in the middle of the alley. Overall we were very happy with our stay and would recommend it to anyone wanting to stay in Seminyak. We stayed in Villa 3, the biggest one.