When it comes to Bali, I am annoyingly biased towards the Seminyak area. My first trip there was 4 days based in a quiet little pool villa along Jalan Batu Belig just outside of the main Seminyak area and 4 days was all I needed to fall in love with the food & the beach 🏖
After that, every trip back to Bali has been a failed attempt to wander out of Seminyak. We went as far as Kuta the previous time but I’m quite a paranoid (read: neurotic) traveler and I spent most of my time in Kuta Art Market clutching my bag nervously.
So this Bali trip, we had the opportunity to stay with Renaissance Bali Uluwatu Resort & Spa and jumped at an excuse to get our asses out of oh so beautiful Seminyak to Uluwatu. I have heard of Uluwatu’s towering cliffs, crashing turquoise waves & amazing views but the hour long ride from Seminyak has always deterred us.
So one sunny Saturday afternoon after a particularly exhilarating surfing session with UP2U Surf School, we checked out of The Dusun Villas in central Seminyak & fell asleep in our Gojek toward Renaissance Bali Uluwatu Resort & Spa.
I only woke up when we went through a particularly bumpy stretch and started making our ascend up to Renaissance. I was a little shocked when the security guards stopped our vehicle to do a thorough check – felt like we were visiting royalty 👑 but it felt good to know that we were very safe in Renaissance!
The minute we turned into the lobby I kid you not 4 staff members came rushing towards us and greeted us heartily, unloading our bags (and us) quicker than I could get out a thank you! Despite my blurry perception from having just woken up from my slumber, I was instantly won over by their impeccable service standards 😍 Having worked in the service industry when I was younger and growing up in Singapore where ‘good service’ just means you get your food on time, I am ultra sensitive to subpar service and the Renaissance brand has never disappointed.
And the lobby! Sweet fajitas – the breaktaking views paired with the effusive ambience was perfection. As we breezed sleepily towards the check in counter, basking in the soft lilting music and warm gusts of ocean-scented winds, random staff members popped up cartoon-like to offer us a citrus welcome drink, guide us towards a beaming receptionist (no hectic check in queues here no sir) and relieve us of any remaining burdens we were carrying including our passports.
As our cheery manager got all our details settled, I wandered in a satisfied daze towards the R Bar – a sprawling cocktail platform peppered with inviting sofa beds & framed by the magnificent view. We enjoyed a few cocktails 🍹 before we were whisked off with much anticipation to our suite.
Along the way in our buggy, we learnt that Renaissance’s massive estate is made up of 6 separate blocks and there are not just 1 but 2 infinity pools – we were particularly keen to check out the quieter infinity pool below our suite.
But all thoughts of wandering were rightfully banished once we were ushered in our gorgeous suite. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.
I still can’t fathom why I am so intrigued by this ladder-in-bathroom aesthetic of Balinese interiors (where does the ladder go??? What is this glorified towel hanger symbolic of??? WHY?!) but Renaissance’s junior suite has all the traditional Balinese design influences down pat, woven in creatively with modern lines & touches. The free standing bathtub embedded in a view of lush mountain greenery is a sight to behold for Insta-hungry travellers.
We collapsed promptly into our soft duvets and decided immediately to call in some room service – the selection was really fantastic! We got ourselves some beef rendang enchiladas and raw tuna quinoa bowl which I was craving from Sisterfields (but they changed their menu nooooooo) and every bite was scrumptious 👍🏻
I’m not ashamed to say we spent the rest of our Saturday lazing in our luxurious suite, endlessly entertained by the two widescreen TVs (cos’ one screen isn’t extra enough). To our credit, we woke up in time to catch their international breakfast spread at Clay Craft, an art and craft inspired restaurant that also houses a pottery and cooking school!
What a spread!! I expected nothing less but was still so pleasantly surprised by the fresh fruit smoothie bar, the live crepe station and fluffy eggs benedict. The perfect meal to fuel up for a whole day of… well, pretty much just relaxing by the resort’s beautiful infinity pools!!
Heading back to our room took a while thanks to food coma, the extensive maze of elevators through the enormous resort grounds and all the Instagrammable spots that I was happily distracted by. “Help me take a photo here!!” “One more please!!” “You need to get the pool in the photo as well!!”
We spent our next few days with Renaissance Bali bumming around in our little slice of heaven. We also took the chance to traipse around the Uluwatu area, depending on TripAdvisor to hunt for the best cafes and massage parlours around.
With the staff’s recommendation, we hopped on a 20 min shuttle bus to explore Roosterfish Beach Club at Pandawa Beach and enjoyed a quiet afternoon on their beach sofas, soaking in the ocean views. Must-try dishes on Roosterfish’s menu are the Roosterfish Platter and their huuuge chilled fresh seafood kit with king prawns, lobster, oysters, mussels, scallops with thick cut fries! A wonderful accompaniment to your laidback beach day.
All in all, a truly spectacular stay with Renaissance Bali Uluwatu – it is the kind of overwhelming hospitality that basically incapacitates you in a state of everlasting vacation slumber. I cannot wait to be back!
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Renaissance Bali Uluwatu Resort & Spa
