This was our 2nd stay at the Parigata Villas. We had loved our first time at this property when we stayed for 10 nights in August 2010 but we were shocked and disappointed by how run down the villas had become in just over 12 months when we returned in mid Oct 2011 with little or no maintenance carried out. Although the gardens are still gorgeous the villas are very tired and in need of maintenance and a freshen up. In both villas we stayed in the paint was peeling off the walls, the furniture was old-fashioned teak, the rooms were dusty. In addition it was frustrating to have to ask for our tea, sugar, coffee, shower caps, soaps to be replenished every day. I have listed below the problems we encountered and I know for sure that for $150 USD per night that there are other properties in Sanur that offer higher standards and quality rooms/villas with a full buffet breakfast - not the cold piece of fatty bacon and untoasted bread that was served up under the heading of “American” breakfast! We alerted the management to the problems we were encountering (listed below) early in our stay and we gave them the opportunity to compensate us financially for the lack of sleep we were getting. We asked for 2 or 3 nights compensation but the most they would do was offer a spa treatment and return transfer to the airport when we were leaving – this was not what we considered fair compensation for what we had encountered.
Enau villa
The toilet would not stop running after it had been flushed – we had requested for it to be fixed on the 2nd morning of our stay but when we came back to our room in the afternoon it had not been fixed. They sent a man over to fix it and by 9.30pm it was still unfixed and we were left without a working toilet overnight.
Air conditioning noisy due to excessive build up of dirt and dust in filters that had obviously not been cleaned for years– couldn’t sleep. Paint peeling off the walls, dusty cupboards, drawers, floor was generally dirty, plunge pool in villa was very cloudy on our arrival and we had to ask to get it cleaned.

Kana villa
Paint peeling off walls same as Enau and dusty furniture
Rats in the ceiling
Broken toilet seat falling off the toilet, Leak in the roof – bed got wet when it rained, Power points a bit loose and dangerous

Some other issues to note:
The breakfast is pathetic!! Cold, fatty bacon, bread that was not toasted, rude waitress one morning due to being stressed because they were understaffed. Due to the poor quality food and service at breakfast, we ended up not eating breakast at the property but opted to go down to a little cafe down by the waters edge to buy our breakfast for the last few days of our holiday. Again making the Parigata Villas less value for money.

Communal pool was unuseable because it was so badly in need of algae removal from feature rocks in pool that when they finally did clean it it took the entire week for the pool water to become clear again. It was unusable for the majority of our 10 day stay.

This property has good bones, is in a fantastic location, beautiful gardens but for a $150 USD per night I would definitely NOT recommend this property until some major repairs have been carried out.

Villa is okay, although could use some renovation. Location not perfect, next to a busy road. Breakfast very basic. For 140 usd per night you can find better hotels in Sanur we think.

Very nice resort with 8 private villas each with their own swimming pool centrally located yet peaceful and quiet, within walking distance to beach, they also have their own restaurant on the beach with sunbeds and towel service. When we visited we paid 120usd per night with breakfast, it was well worth it for the comfort and service.

My Husband & I stayed here for 5 nights from the 14th - 19th March 2011. (So at least you have a more up to date review than 2010.. ) :)

The Villa Suites are really nice and the one that is on the profile photo here is exactly the same as the one we stayed in. (same views, bedding etc. )

We loved having the privacy of staying in a Villa Suite and having our own plunge pool was a real bonus.

The staff on site are very friendly too. They will help you with anything you need and will also arrange for the hotel car to take you to their sister hotel for spa treatments which is convenient. We opted for a full body massage treatment and this was very good.

There are other 'spas' near the hotel itself, we went to the one near to where you go to the beach, on the right hand side and it was very good, the price was cheaper again! So make sure you go for a spa treatment whilst in Bali.

There are 6 sunloungers down by the pool, which is a lovely area surrounded by the garden, but you need to get your sunlounger early as there's such a limited supply. We found this a lovely place to relax and read.

I would just point out a couple of things which were on the negative side and useful to know:

1. The Location of Parigata Villa Resort:
We were alittle surprised to realise that it was off a busy enough roadway, I guess we imagined it would be almost beside the beach so somewhat quieter.

2. Our Villa Suite Location within the complex:
We were located in the Villa Suite called 'Sugi' which is the 1st Villa beside the Reception area and obviously the roadway. We could hear the traffic particularly when it was heavy and also as the staff arrived to change shifts we could hear them chatting and laughing, which sometimes included in the early hours of the morning. Obviously if we had a rest in the day time (which we liked to do) we could hear any activity in the reception area plus the traffic. We decided to use ear plugs that we got on the flight over so this helped to reduce the noise level.

3.Breakfast:
We found the breakfast to be very bland and didn’t think the quality was great. In particular the fruit didn’t taste fresh, in fact it was quite bland in taste, which is not what one would expect to find in fresh fruit. The coffee was the worst, tasted cheap and nasty, as both my Husband and myself enjoy a good cup of coffee in the morning this was disappointing. We went out a few days to local restaurants to avoid eating there. Perhaps we're too fussy.. so it's an individual thing to be judged individually.. but it wasn't to our taste.

4. The Beach.
The Beach is about 5 minutes walk away and be prepared it's nothing special and the water is not deep at all, you'd have to walk out some distance to get deeper but then again that might not be safe.

5.The Hotel’s Sun Loungers (sunbeds) allocation on the beach is dismal:
The Parigata Villas have a small allocation of sun loungers/sunbeds on the beach and it is on the section where the boats are docked too, which must mean that the water isn't as clean on this section. So naturally it isn’t the better part of the beach. In addition to that all the sunbeds are very close together so there's not much privacy and it's awful if somebody is smoking beside you. The Hyatt Hotel has a much better allocation on the beach and the sun loungers are well spread out on the more idyllic part of the beach. However you are not allowed to sit on these sunbeds obviously if you’re not staying in the Hyatt and the security guards walk up and down to spot anybody who doesn't have a 'Hyatt Pool Towel' . We found this out on the 1st day, we had no idea there was a distinction so we were asked to remove ourselves from the sunloungers. You'd think you'd just tried to deal drugs on the beach, it's a bit 'over the top'. We also saw them 'evict' a family of 4, they tell you that you're welcome to 'sit on the beach' - oh how nice of you, the hot sand with all these little white crabs coming in and out of holes on the beach!! Needless to say this was disappointing. So unless you're willing to get up early and get a sunlounger on the part that the Parigata owns and it's not even that great. (Of course one could travel to other beaches but perhaps its the same scenario there..)

6. Transport to Airport:
Please note that the 'hotel's car' is more expensive to take to the airport, compared to hiring a taxi from a local company in advance, which the girl in reception will organise. Although they'll say it has to be by the 'meter' but we agreed in advance the same price as coming out, so it's up to you what you feel is better.

I just wanted to share some viewpoints with you all. We still enjoyed staying in the Parigata Villas because of the facilties and privacy offered compared to other resorts and would still recommend them. We feel it's just good to have a 'full picture' of what to expect, instead of half a picture. Then it is s an informed decision.
End of Parigata Villa review.

A couple of tips on Bali in general:
As you arrive in the airport, be prepared to pay 25USD per person for a 'VISA', you have to queue up twice, once to pay for the VISA and the 2nd time to receive the VISA. Also when leaving the country, again you'll have to pay 150,000 rp each.

As soon as you leave the 'visa' area, beware of men in uniform standing around the suitcases. We thought that these were staff employed to help and 3 guys eagerly grabbed our suitcases and even the 'customs officer' saw this. We were very innocent, as soon as we turned the corner one of them said 'give me a tip'.. so we weren't impressed. So don't let anybody touch your suitcases, it's not necessary (note they have a badge on the shirt saying 'porter).

Then when we went outside all these taxi drivers kept shouting at us trying to get our business and trying to rip you off, we walked up to the right hand side and there's a 'legitimate taxi company' there and they have the prices of the jobs printed on the wall in the office, for eg. the trip to Sanur was 95,000 rp.

Everybody is trying to make a quick book off the tourists. Be ready for a bombardment of people constantly asking you to 'come into their shop/restaurant, or to go 'snorkelling/jet skiing' or offering a 'massage' etc.. its constant but you get used to it and we just kept saying 'no thank you'.

In addition to this, we were suprised by the stark contrast of 'rich and poor', its not really what I expected, I thought it would be more 'tropical or lush looking' but the streets etc. aren't like this. It was good to experience it for sure and I know people said that the likes of Ubud are far less touristy.