June 15, 2016 “Paradise in North Bali!” The owner – Angelique was a dream to deal with in booking the accommodation. She provided all required info via email, directions etc for us to plan our trip. Thanks very much Angelique. Travel – The villa is approximately 3 1/2 hours from the airport. You cross several mountains / ranges to get there. It is very slow going due to the roads, traffic (like getting stuck behind trucks), steep inclines / declines etc. The time it takes to get there is well worth it though! The villa – As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by the amazing staff. The trip got off to a fantastic start by their warm welcome. Once we walked through the villa and saw that amazing infinity pool and view straight out to the ocean…..well WOW! The villa is clean, functional and we had everything we needed for our young family and the in-laws that came along for the trip too. The beds are huge and comfortable. The en suites are nice too. The kitchen is large and there is everything there required for a stay. The real winners are; the outdoor setting, table outside where we ate all our meals, the banana lounges, day bed and pool – everything outside that looks out at that amazing view! The staff – Iluh runs the show and thank goodness she is there. She was amazing. Good with the kids. Nothing was too much trouble to make / get. Everything was managed with little fuss. We planned ahead for our meals where we gave Iluh money for the shopping and then she would return with an itemised bill with change. The meals that were then prepared were amazing. A good selection and cooked to perfection each time. Angelique is very lucky to have Iluh on board. Sayu was also fantastic and attended to all our needs. We mainly dealt with Iluh as her English is better, but there were certainly no issues when Iluh wasn’t around either. Sayu even offered to work on the Sunday that we were there (the staff are usually off due to their celebrations). Sayu made all our meals, tea / coffee or whatever snacks the kids wanted – the ladies were perfect. Agus was perfect also. Most of the time you didn’t even know he was there, but there he was cleaning up the yard every day in the heat, trimming trees, mowing etc. He was friendly and had a joke with the kids too. All in all, the staff were amazing and added to our awesome experience at this oasis. Recommendations – Bakery Lovina has some beautiful food and their bread is delicious too. Iluh even picked up fresh bread for us from there in the morning on the way to work! The Spice Beach Club (SBC) was amazing for dinner. Beautiful food, great setting on the beach for a sunset and the band comes on at 7:30 p.m. which the kids loved. The bonus with the SBC is the free shuttle to/from the villa. We also got the ladies from Cambodia spa to attend the villa twice for massages, hair braiding for the girls. Iluh organised this for us. The prices were good and their service was very good. Iluh arranged for a boat to pick us up from the beach directly out the back of the villa to go and see the dolphins – which was worth it. A long trek on our day to see the pods but the kids loved it. Just ensure there are enough life vests on the boat for the kids before booking. Iluh also arranged with one of the drivers, Ketut, for us to have a day trip (approx 6 1/2 hours in the end). We visited; mini Borobudur temple (close to the villa), the Holy hot springs (not worth the visit in my opinion), Git-git waterfalls (worth the hike to get there), the Botanical gardens (kids enjoyed it) followed by lunch overlooking the lake. Good trip and Ketut knew all the local roads including shortcuts when the heavens opened up. The only negative was the amount of rubbish on the beach and in the sea water…. I would highly recommend this villa for groups, families or whoever – it is paradise. Thanks to all the staff again for our wonderful experience / time there. Anthony Gasparini, Melbourne, Australia