For those looking for resort comforts with the privacy and exclusivity of private villas, The Samaya Seminyak Bali appears to be an attractive option. Here’s a look at what we found during a two-night stay. Accommodation was provided by the hotel for review by TLFL.
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Butler service is a mainstay of the experience
Butler service is at the core of The Samaya experience directly from the moment of arrival at the property. From the moment of stepping foot at the property, the team were attentive, from the placing of flower necklaces through to the issuance of welcome drinks.
The Samaya Seminyak Bali itself is located across two sites:
- The beachside area of the resort is where a bulk of the villas are located
- Around 100m away, approximately ten Royal Courtyard Villas are located one street back.
A golf buggy driven by your butler can take you and your luggage to the Royal Courtyard, where we stayed. We only used this for arrival and departure because it feels a bit lazy to utilise this service when you’re not carrying 60+ kilos of luggage.
While at first glance, it would seem that the Royal Courtyard Villas are ‘worse’ because they’re not as close to the beach. In reality, it wasn’t a problem. Most villas at The Samaya Seminyak Bali do not have a direct view to the beach.
Once at the villa, the butler took us for a tour of the villa’s features and inclusive amenities. Their support and services were available 24/7 throughout our entire stay.
Seriously spacious
Once through the gate, you can see why The Samaya Seminyak Bali is located across two sites. Their villas are large when taking into account the outdoor space, which is almost as important as inside when at a destination like Bali.
Outside, there are two main lounging areas. The first is a covered veranda with an L-shaped rattan sofa with a dining table for two located directly in front. This is located next to the generously-sized pool with waterfall feature.
The second is a patio area directly in front of the villa and at the end of the pool, which features two loungers for sun-seekers. All the furniture outdoors featured deep, well-padded mattresses, which meant comfort wasn’t a concern.
Heading inside through the front door brings you to a small hallway which acts as the connector between the bedroom/lounge and bathroom/dressing room.
The most impressive room in The Samaya Seminyak Bali Resort is the airy bedroom and lounge space. The area is simultaneously able to feel both spacious with the high ceilings and light colours, as well as intimate with the nets around the bed.
Wisely, the property has not excessively used too many dark colours in the space to make it feel dingy. The materials and colours selected feel in tune with the relaxed atmosphere of Bali, rather than to go hyper-modern in a design.
The only minor grip I had with the design was the television placement. The sheer size of the patio doors means that the area where it has been put is the only real option without obstructing the line of sight. That does mean, however, that your head juts at a bit of an angle to be able to watch it while seated on the sofa. I’m not sure I’d have a better solution though…and besides, I wasn’t in Bali to watch television…
On the opposite wall is a large integrated desk, which could be useful for a short spurt of work if required. Each villa has a dedicated WiFi network, which is located on this desk, providing decent download speeds of around 50mbps and reliable coverage inside to as far as the veranda.
The bed itself was a delight – with a comfy mattress and a pillow mattress for a tailored sleeping experience. I stuck with the default option provided in-room, as that was already a decent option.
A bathroom bigger than some London flats
While I was expecting this to be an excellent property, I think this is one of the first times I’ve probably been wowed by a bathroom to this extent. In a departure to the light colour scheme of the lounge/bedroom, this space opts for dark splashes with liberal use of marble and wood, which gives the feel of a Japanese onsen.
A large whirlpool bath is directly next to the windows, with double showers directly opposite. This space feels as though it has been designed for honeymoon couples to enjoy every moment of their trip together. Thankfully, the infrastructure of the villa can keep up – with a steady flow of well-pressured, hot water available even with two showers on at once.
If you are looking to make the space feel bigger literally, then the windows open up, and you can feel the Bali heat from the inside.
There’s also double sinks, which feels a necessity if you also have double showers.
A walk-in wardrobe adjoins to the bathroom and could easily take enough clothes for a week. That much space and extra luggage might not be necessary as the hotel provides for two items of clothing to be washed for free per person, per day.
The hotel provides an extensive complimentary mini-bar to guests as well as an excellent little pod-based espresso machine. Beverages in the mini-bar are replenished daily as part of the room cleaning services, which can be requested at a time to suit you.
A separate toilet and bidet complete the bathroom area.
The entire property, including the bathroom, is air-conditioned and is not centrally controlled.
Breakfast is quite the experience
On one hand, having breakfast in your own space should feel pretty normal – after all, that’s what we do every day at home. However, having it served by your butler to your private villa in Bali does feel a bit more special.
Guests staying at The Samaya can opt to have a la carte breakfast at either of the on-site restaurants, one is located at the Royal Courtyard section and the other at the beachfront section, or have it delivered to their villa. While I probably should have tried the restaurant, the novelty of breakfast in-villa was too hard to resist.
The menu is extensive, consisting of Western and Asian specialties which can be requested to your butler. Breakfast was delivered on both days within about thirty minutes – which is reasonable considering they also need to safely transport it to your room. Considering the rest of the experience, the breakfast was of equally high standard, and I suspect most people on longer stays wouldn’t run out of options to eat.
Thankfully, The Samaya haven’t opted for the impractical floating breakfasts that seem to be popular with properties and influencers the world over…
And for those interested, afternoon tea was also served with extremely tasty scones offered. This is available from 2pm-5pm daily in the Royal Courtyard Villas.
I do have some minor feedback about the in-villa dining experience, though. The first is clearly the food will not stay at optimal temperature as it is transported to the villa. While none of the food was cold on-arrival, I think it is natural to say that if you want the peak dining experience that you should go to one of the restaurants.
Second is that for a country and island that prides itself on its extensive range of coffees, I would love to see the hotel up their coffee game. While the coffee was serviceable, I did find the standard option a bit weak and asked for an extra shot for added strength. As a premium property with excellent coffee options on its doorstep, it would be great for the hotel to offer the chance to choose your beans or to have a bit more flair with their coffee.
Rounding it off with a spa, pools, beach and gym
As with all Bali resorts, The Samaya Seminyak Bali, of course, has a spa on-site, which has a prime position view overlooking the Seminyak beachfront. We opted for a couples massage during our stay, which, along with the sound of rolling waves from the ocean, made for a relaxing experience.
Prices are more expensive than many spas you will find outside the resort. As with my other hotel resort reviews, you are paying for a better standard of service, cleanliness and location, which make for a noticeably more premium experience.
Two pools can be found at The Samaya, in addition to those in the villa grounds, and like the restaurants, both are split between the two sections of the resort. On almost all occasions I passed by, the Royal Courtyard shared pool was empty.
From the main pool, Seminyak Beach can be easily accessed.
Finally, a small gym can be found in the Royal Courtyard section of The Samaya but is open to all guests. It features a couple of cardio machines, dumbbells and three multi-use weight machines.
Conclusion
The Samaya have built a solid experience to offer Bali-goers a combination of high-level service, great facilities and excellent villa properties. While not mentioned thoroughly in this review, it also has a great location close to the beach and close to attractions such as Seminyak Square. Being so close to the action while also feeling peaceful is a real selling point of this unique property.
The Samaya offers a compelling alternative to the plethora of independent villa options on the island, which do not provide the attentive butler service offered by this hotel. While The Samaya’s villas on their own are fantastic, the service offered by their teams place the hotel into a higher league of premium properties.
You can check prices and availability here.
Like our The Samaya Seminyak Bali review? We have another hotel review in Bali, which is the Hotel Indigo Bali Seminyak Resort, that you can read here.
1 comment
This is a nice review. I hope to visit soon
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