I am staying in Kayana Villas, Seminyak, Bali with a girlfriend who has come over from England for a bit of sun.  Due to my geographical proximity to our mini break destination, I was put in charge of booking somewhere for three nights stay (why does it always work like that? I think I know less about Bali hotels than most people in England do). We were working on a budget of £80/SGD $160 each a night and so far…so good:

 It’s a kind of villa hotel. There are 24 rooms, all hidden away in their own little villas off this winding pathway that cuts the place in half, more or less.  Unless you see people walking to and from their rooms, you actually don’t notice that there’s anyone else staying (perhaps there isn’t?).

All the things you generally want to be included in the price of the room have been: there’s free wifi – I HATE paying extra for this when I’m staying anywhere…I’d go so far as to say that I’d actually rather pay more for my room not to be charged for this. Ditto breakfast which is also included here.

The slight boo-boo is that there are no villas with twin beds, so we are sharing a double (we are very good friends so this is not really too much of a problem). I just felt terrible for the guy who showed us to our room as he couldn’t really get his head around it.

What I love about Kayana – apart from it’s price – is it’s location.  It’s at the end of the Seminyak strip, on Jalan Petitenget,  that until a few years ago used to be quite undeveloped but has now risen up to be the cool part of town.

The W Hotel is right next door to us (how pleasing to practically share an address with it yet be paying a quarter of the price of a room there!) and opposite is the amazing Amo Spa that’s owned by chic and beautiful New Yorker Navia who I met on a previous trip. She’s lovely and a fount of local knowledge, able to tell you in an instant what’s hot and what’s not.

Seminyak has changed so much since I was last here (about three years ago) that it’s v helpful to know someone with good taste who can give you a steer. Sure, an earl grey tea cocktail on a lounger at Ku De Ta is a bit of a first night prerequisite but there are masses of new places I’m looking forward to trying.

But for now…the beach beckons!

Beach image courtesy of Bali Sunset Villas; hotel images via Kayana