Bali Zen Villa - Guests Comments

now that we are back home and back into the swing of things, we would like to offer you our congratulations on a great Villa and location. The presentation was top class and we felt totally spoilt. The furniture and extras like Balinese carvings were just as we saw on your YouTube tour. Great value for money.

we just wanted to say thank you for such a wonderful stay in your villa. It was so relaxing and we were so very well looked after by Agusto from the time he picked us up from the airport. Having stayed in your villa with its luxurious fit out we have convinced ourselves that we will be back next year. We will be in contact to check availaability. Once again what a villa and what a lovely holiday.

Good morning Allan and Liene.

Thank you for your email and please let me assure you that we were in no way unhappy with the villa, Agusto or the staff. We had a wonderful time and only came home early because the humidity was taking its toll on we soft Canberrans and we had seen what we wanted to on the trip.

I cannot speak highly enough of Agusto and is family. We sincerely appreciated the time he spent talking with us about his life and the Balinese culture. Each time we were with him when we were out and about we felt very safe and I can see why he is so trusted by you and other guests. We also loved getting to know some of the security guards as we waited for taxis - we are particularly fond of Ali.

Agusto took us to his wife's shop one afternoon where we were the recipients of their kindness and hospitality. I tried Bali coffee for the first time there and loved it! We also liked Sanur and spent a lot of time browsing the shops and eating at the cafes and restaurants - our favourite was Le Ming Restaurant.

Both of us agree that the best thing about Bali is the people. Despite their hardships, they always say hello with that huge Balinese smile. We wish Aussies were more like that sometimes. It would be uncommon to walk down the street here in Canberra and say hello to people 'just because'.

We will definitely travel to Bali again when the budget allows and have already decided we will stay in Villa B - it is so beautiful and the plunge pool is a real treat. When we return we are confident we will be more travel-wise and venture further abroad in the area. But for now it's back to work next Tuesday to make some more money to pay the mortgage - I call it 'the grind' :o).

Thank you again for your wonderful service and that of Agusto. We sincerely hope to see him again when we next visit Bali.

Warm regards.

Christi and Mal.

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Home now from a fantastic trip to Bali. The Villa, staff and surrounds were perfect for myself, husband and 3 year old daughter Ruby. She was treated like a rock star and got to know everyone at Zen Villas. Augusto was a true gem and helped us a lot. Thank you so much for sharing your little slice of paradise with us. I hope we can return one day soon......

Dear Liene and Allan

After clearing Customs at Dempasar Airport it was a pleasure to see Augusto’s smiling face greeting us for our transfer to Sanur. Augusto helped us to his car with our bags, gave us both beautiful cold towels to refresh with and a very welcome cold drink.

Although it was dark when we arrived, and we were guided to our villa along the lamp lit grass pathways we could still begin to appreciate the lushness of the gardens. Our first view of the villa was all that we had hoped it would be, and more. The villa was very well appointed, beautifully clean and very spacious. Augusto provided very helpful information about what was in the villa for our comfort and enjoyment.

The next morning we were able to fully appreciate the lushness of the gardens surrounding the villa, the Bali Bengong in the rear garden and plunge pool in the front.

Throughout our stay at the villa, Augusto was always very helpful and at the end of the phone if we needed his assistance. Augusto took us on several trips and at the end of the holiday his charges were more than fair for the amount of times we had used him.

We had a very relaxing stay at the villa and would certainly consider returning when we are able to next year.

Regards

Anne and John Watson

Hi Allan,

Well, back to reality & just firing up the computer today. We loved our time at Zen Villa, it was perfect for our needs & baby Milla loved her daily swims in the pool. The staff were lovely & Agusto lived up to your descriptions. His sister was also lovely & gave great massages & also cooked us a couple of great indonesian meals at the villa which was very convenient. The only negative I can think of is the problems we had in getting an outside line from the phone. We followed the instructions & dialled 9 to get an outside line but then were not able to connect to anyone from there, we tried various restuarants to order takeaway, and also Agusto and it just kept making strange sounds. The problem must have eventually been fixed as when Agusto tried it finally worked! Also, my in laws found the mattress too hard for them, but that is a personal preference really and they did say most hotels in Bali have firmer than normal mattresses. I'd also suggest perhaps in the Villa Information file to maybe include instructions on the DVD.

All in all a fabulous holiday and we really enjoyed Sanur, much quieter & less hectic than Legian & Seminyak where we've stayed previously.

Many thanks for all your assistance.

Sylvia

Thank you so much for the organisation and services you provided at Bali Zen Villa!

We were delighted with the accommodation and the services that came with it, including of course Agusto, the housekeeping staff, the massages and the bikes. It was wonderful for us that it was so private but still close to amenities!!

The service provided by Agusto was excellent. He always made sure we had what we needed and provided good suggestions about the local area and what to do and it was fantastic to avoid the hassle of the airport and know that he would be there to get us.

Hi Allan & Liene

Just wanted to let you know that we had a wonderful time in Bali and thoroughly enjoyed our time in your villa. The accommodation and facilities provided were perfect for our family during our 2 week stay. The bikes you provide were well utilised. We enjoyed riding along the beach front. Thank you.

Agusto and his family were terrific. It was great to have Agusto available as our 'Bali adviser' and driver. Ola babysat for us a couple of times. Our children enjoyed her company. All of the staff at Zen were very friendly and helpful.

Our only problem was the Wi-Fi. It was either very slow or would not connect. We did speak to reception and a couple of guys did have a look at it but the problem wasn't fixed. We then had to utilise Wi-Fi facilities provided by restaurants. Not a huge problem, but thought you should know.

We look forward to returning to Sanur again some time and would definitely be interested in booking Zen again.

Regards

Kate

8th January 2010

Hi Allan,
Here's our reference:
In the 10 days we stayed in Bali, each day we were more reassured that we had picked one of the better places to stay. Zen Villas is quiet and clean, set off from the main road in Sanur. It has security and an extremely helpful staff available any time of day. Each villa in the complex is very private and we often had the feeling we were the only ones staying there since we didn't hear any noise from our neighbors. The villa itself was pristine. It was definitely our home away from home and was wonderful and spacious. Augusto was the man. We are pretty laid back people, so he complimented our style well and was hands down the best guide we could've had on the island. He was helpful and was always able to get the best of what we wanted. For example, we wanted to rent scooters and the first day found a place in Sanur and rented a pretty run-down bike that kept stalling and two chewed up helmets, thinking it was the best we could find. Augusto said he would call his friend and the next day we had a nice bike delivered to the villa with two brand new helmets in tow, so Augusto definitely knows how to take care of you, for whatever it is you may need. Overall, our trip was enhanced by Zen Villas and I would recommend Allan and Liene's place to any one who was considering a trip down to Indonesian paradise.
Thanks again for the wonderful stay! We had a great time!
Katherine and Lev

We had a wonderful two weeks stay in the Zen Villa. Agusto was a great guide and really is trustworthy. And on the price: value for money.

just to thank you for using your beautiful villa for 1 week.
We are back home since this morning, in the fresh and cloudy european November weather;
We gave the keys back to Agusto yesterday at 1 Pm as planned.

12th November 2009

Hi Allan & Liene,
Had a fabulous time! Your villa is beautiful and the whole family agreed that next time we visit Bali Zen Villa B would be on our itinerary.
Thanks,
Annette

Sorry for the late reply, but we just arrived back in Australia and had to catch up to speed with work. We had an absolutely lovely stay at Villa Zen, so much so we wanted to stay for a further 2 weeks but had already committed to another villa.

The second villa we stayed in, in Legian, was the first villa we had booked for our holiday but was unable to access it for the first week as it was booked. We then found Villa Zen on the net and secured it for that week. We both wish we had seen it first and booked it for the 3 weeks. The Legian villa was not anywhere near as nice/comfortable/private/relaxing/kitted out/enjoyable etc as yours and it was approx the same price. We are so impressed by Villa Zen that we have already passed on recommendations to our friends, it was fabulous. The staff were excellent and very professional, the location excellent, the facilities excellent, both you and your management team have done an exceptional job, congratulations.

18^th October 2009

Dear Allan and Liene,

This is to thank you for the nice opportunity to use your ZEN Villa B in Sanur.

Your villa was well up to our expectations. Villa is well equiped. We appreciate bicycles, pool and garden. Complimentary massage was so excellent that we ordered one more round.

We appreciated quiet and relaxing atmosphere in the villa and in Sanur in general.

Augusto is a real diamond. Always good mood and always helpful. As you mentioned before, as a local Balinese he knows where to go. We made quite a few trips together. Always safe and we appreciated places we could visit.

Zen Villa staff is also very nice.

We will keep this holidays as very positive experience.

Thanks again and best regards

Ludek & Mirka

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Our stay at Zen Villa B was fantastic. As predicted, all the staff loved fussing around our 6 month old daughter Yana. Yana loved the attention while we had some time for a quiet breakfast.

Having Agusto around and available for all our transport made life really easy, and he showed us many interesting parts of the island. True to what you had told us, he is 100% honest and was very reasonable in his billing at the end of the week - even though we had not agreed on costs at the beginning of our stay.

All in all, we had a very relaxing stay. We enjoyed the tranquility of Zen Villa, good food around the corner in Sanur and the possibility to join the crowds in Kuta or Ubud or anywhere else if we wished to.

Dear Allan & Liene, Just a note to say how much we have enjoyed our stay at your Villa. It has been very relaxing. We can not speak highly enough of the way Agusto has looked after us. He has been very helpful, nothing has been too much trouble. Also we have enjoyed the breakfasts that Ayu has cooked for us. She has also been very helpful. We would like to come back next year, and wonder if we should contact you to book it.
Thanks once again,
Regards Don and Judy.
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Zen villas is a small complex of about 7 or 8 villas. We stayed at Villa B owned by Allan & Liene. This was a delightful 2 bedroom villa nestled down a bamboo lined avenue. The villa is spacious, comfortable, well equipped and tastefully decorated with many Balinese antiques.

The bedrooms each have a king size bed and en-suites allowing privacy should two couples decide to share the villa. There is a plunge pool in the garden in addition to a Bale Bengong which is the perfect place to have your complimentary massage. The gardens themselves are well stocked with tropical plants and are tended to by the numerous and welcoming resort staff.

Airport transfers were taken care of by a local Balinese man, Agusto who can also act as tour guide and general taxi driver should you wish. Agusto was a friendly face right from the beginning when he met us at the airport with cool towels and took us safely to the villa. Driving standards can be erratic in Bali but we seemed to be in safe hands with Agusto.

The villa is cleaned daily and towels / linen replaced as necessary. Again the cleaning staff are very friendly and work around your schedules. Any requests were dealt with quickly and efficiently by either the resort staff or by Allan who responded very quickly to any emails.

Located just a 10 minute stroll away from the main Sanur street, it is well positioned to explore the local restaurants without the associated noise and bustle.

29/09/08 BW from Sydney wrote - Dear Allan and Evie
I just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our stay with you at Zen Villas. Paul and I have both traveled fairly extensively in South East Asia and both agree that Zen Villa is the best place we have ever stayed. The villas are well appointed and close to everything while being far enough away from the hustle and bustle to be an oasis of calm.
The real key for us though was the wonderful staff who looked after us so well and with such genuine kindness that we have been telling everyone about Zen Villa since we returned. From the housekeepers to the security staff we were really impressed with your team. Our special thanks though go to Gede and Agus who helped to make my 50th birthday such a success.
Again many thanks and I am sure we will return in the future.