Accommodation sugestions for Bali?

Hi

My boyfriend and I are going to Bali next week for 8 days. We have decided to split our time between Ubud and Nusa Lembongan to get a bit of culture and beach.

Are these good places?

We are happy to spend apox $50 AUS a night on accomm in these 2 places. There are so many different accommodation choices. Has anyone got any recommendations? We want somewhere romantic-ish, comfortable and well located. In Ubud we don't want to be too far away from it all and in Nusa Lembongan we want to be on a great beach where we can swim.

I welcome all suggestions. Thanking you in advance for helping us plan our holiday!!

Hey B, Im a big giant Ubud fan and Bali lover.I just came from Ubud and Padang Bai last week. I looked up and down Monkey Forest Road in Ubud at teh various accomadations. There are many many choices and very many well under your price range that are quite nice. I prefer to stay on MFR as it is basically the main shopping and restaraunt street and everytime you leave your door you notice something ( mostly something to agonize over buying) different.I could go on and on about Ubud but Ill just give you two ( maybe 3 ) recomendations. For accomadation you cant go wrong with Ubud Bungalows. Its about half way or more towrds the Forest from downtown. Its a gorgeous set of bungalows with a lovely little non rectangular pool with an infinity edge, swim up bar and fountain statue feeding it. There is also a very lovely breakfast pavilion ( bfast is usually included in Bali) overlooking taerraced lawn and garden ( well the whole thing is a garden--kiinda like most of the island!). The rooms closer to the entry gate ( a few bungalows away from the pool) have been renovated very recently and are big, airy and have really cool bathrooms. They have these crazy gargoyle-like mosquito coil burners that they light every dusk for you. You dont really need them if you dont leave the windows open during mozzy hours. I found the upstairs rooms to be the better for the high ceilings and privacy of the terraces but some of the single floor bungalows have really cool carved and painted doors. The rooms do vary so look at a few if you choose to check the place out. The older rooms by the pool are definately stuffier and cramped compared to the newer ones. The best part of all --the price---I had a room with giant bed for 20 US a night discounted 10 % since I stayed a week to 10 days.I wouldnt worry about reservations too much but sometimes the newer fan rooms do fill up and your stuck with air con ( totally not needed now). a triple or an older room. Of course everyone has there favorites so Im sure you here more and go and check it all out yourself. ---if there is any moon left when you get there be sure to sneak down to the pool and watch it rise through the palm trees around 8-9 pm ish. Magical.--- Ypou can do day trips to many places from Ubud with a car and driver for 30- 40 bucks a day.You can do Bemos and rent scooters if you have time, an international motorcycle liscence and dont care about or speak enough Indonesian not to be overcharged on the Bemos.
Ive been to Bali a number of times and never stepped foot on Kuta or nearby beaches.Ive only driven bye. Beachtime in Bali to me is an increadible waste of time compared to going to temple ceremonies, day trips and and generally hanging out watching the rice grow. If you want to see a little gem of a beach that will be gone in 5 months to a year go to Padang Bai and look for the "white sand" beach. A moterscooter will drop you for like 20000 to 25000 ( 2 or 2.5 US) round trip. There a a few small grass hut style restaraunts and some local rasta-ish boys and scattered local lovers hanging out until that is soon when a Korean Corporation is buying all the acces to the beach and building a nasty korean insular hotel and kicking out all the beach shacks. Thers tons of lovely little hotels on the "beach"/harbor road.I made PB the last stop on a day trip from Ubud and had the driver leave me there and pick me up two days later. I splurged at the Absolute Bar and Pool -diveshop and got their 25$ AC room with a wild gorgeous outdoor bathroom. You can also stay in a "rice barn" for like 10 bucks or so. A good strategy anywhere is to have a snack at a restaraunt then leave your bags and have a shop around at the hotels --and dont be shy to try to bargain.
Anyway sorry to bend your ear but Ive just signed on to write a rec for my driver and wanted to give these tips out anyway --maybe Ill Post them as part of a trip report. Have fun----taxi from airport to Ubud shuold be about 180,000 (split however many ways) Rp not more( something less than 20 US). Drivers f rom hotels are usually a little more expensive than on the street.I was quoted from 160,000 t0 220,000 one way to Padang Bai.
See my driver rec as well :)---Have FUn!!

Yup, Ubud certainly is a lovely place to stay at.

One thing I noticed immediately on arrival; lots of overseas guests were speaking Indonesian to the hotel/restaurant staff, something you almost never heard in Kuta.

Also, the restaurants were not hammering out the ghastly heavy metal 'music' that we tried to leave behind. There are some beautiful Balinese and Sunda CDs available, so that you can take back pleasant memories of your time in Bali

A Korean resort in Padangbai!!!!??? Is nothing sacred any more? I stayed there on the way to and from Lombok many years ago, and agree that it is (or was then) a delightful place, certainly and sadly nicer than Candidasa had become at the time. Unlike Adran, No. 1 above, I have spent time in Kuta. If you do end up there, Sorga Cottages was, and probably still is a good mid range option. You can find cheaper places, if your budget is limited, but sounds like you have allowed more than enough to cover your accommodation needs. Have a wonderful time. It's a beautiful place, full of gentle natured people. I hope to be back there once again next year.

When staying at Sanur, Bali, I can recommend Peneeda View hotel. The service is Balinese, there are restaurants nearby that serve real Indonesian and Balinese food, the lodgings are Balinese lumbungs or fantastic small airconditioned villas (two weeks ago they asked us 40 dollars a night including breakfast for this luxury, a large discount!), a number of swimming pools, at the beach.
Jan de Nie

Hi

Hey thanks for everyones words of advice. I have been forced to post a lot of questions because i have been following up a lot leads but i find that the accommodation is usually always booked out or they don't reply to my emails. This appears to be met with some criticism by some thorn tree'ers but i have no other choice i cant find any accommodation! Thanks for everyones advice on stuff. I have followed through with pretty much every lead. I did study indonesian for about 7 years so I am not worried about the language barrier!

so it has been decided that we are going to Nusa Lemobongan and Ubud.

Thanks for your responses. I tried to book Nicks Hidden and Ubud bungalows the 2 places recommended by throrn tree'ers and neither place has responded to my email. so i am back to square one. Can someone please recommend nice accommodation for my partner and I in Ubud for under USD$40 a night - we leave in 3 days. I have also had problems with Nusa Lembongan accommodation.. likewise any suggestions??