Finn's Beach Club

I had the pleasure of visiting Finn's Beach Club this month and I fell in love with it. Located at the Semara Resort in Uluwatu, it is absolutely stunning with its white sand and perfectly blue water. The Semara Resort itself is incredible. With its security and privacy, it's the chosen accommodation for celebrities such as Jennifer Hawkins, and I can see why. Their resort is made up of private villas that have cliff side pools and an endless view of the ocean.

To get to Finn's, it's best to get a driver for that day as taxi's are hard to come across in Uluwatu and it means you can stay as long as you like and know you'll have no problem getting back again. The best time of day to go is completely dependant on the tides. At high tide, all you can do is lay on your lounge and enjoy the view because the the water is too rough (even for good swimmers) to go in. It's best to check a couple of days before (a tide chart is available here on their website or call them up to check) and be prepared to either go all day to avoid missing out on lounges or be competing with others for a good spot. The day I went with my family, we arrived not long after it opened (10:00am) and while we loved enjoying the view and just relaxing, because it was high tide, we missed out on things like stand up paddle boarding, kayaking and snorkelling which is all only available to do at low tide.

The entry price for Finn's Beach Club is 250,000 Rupiah (about $25) per person. This includes a towel, a lounge or beanbag (if it's available), use of all the facilities and equipment including kayaking, SUP and snorkelling (dependant on tides), use of the pool at The Semara and 150,000 towards food and drink. To get down to the beach from the resort, you need to go on an inclinator. I've been on a couple of inclinators before in Penang and Hong Kong and I've found them to be incredibly uncomfortable. Luckily the ride down to the beach is a short one with stairs on either end and the view, oh my goodness. It is paradise. The real thing.

Finn's Beach Club is just gorgeous. It's got a beach shack look to it with lots of lounges and beanbags as well as a lovely restaurant area. It's the perfect place to relax. The water, when it's not too rough, is perfect. At low tide, you're able to walk a ways up the beach and find a nice quiet spot to relax and enjoy the sun. The food and drinks are a bit on the expensive side for Bali, but the dish I had (calamari skewers) were really yummy. I'm a bit undecided about whether it was worth $10 though.

Finn's Beach Club is a great way to spend a relaxing day out. Whether you're travelling with young kids, teenagers, your partner or friends, it's a place for everyone. I'd definitely return.

 

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Lembongan Harmony Villas

My last trip to Bali was the first time I had stayed on Lembongan Island. Located just off the East Coast of Bali, it takes just 20-30 minutes in a fast boat to get there. After having a bit of help from Lembongan regulars, I booked Lembongan Harmony Villas for my 3 night stay. I was so excited; the photos looked unreal.

Images from www.lembonganharmonyvillas.com

The price for the villa was just right- $120 a night not including breakfast. For a one bedroom villa with a gorgeous infinity plunge pool and beautifully furnished verandah overlooking Jungutbatu Bay and Mount Agung in the distance. It was a view I was really looking forward to waking up to.

Prior to my stay, I had our boat transfers organised for my sister and I by the villa manager, Janu. I thought it was great that they offered this extra service and meant it was one less thing I had to worry about. I was a bit concerned about the booking because it had been organised by someone else (I like organising everything myself), but everything went smoothly.

When we arrived, there did seem to be a bit of confusion about where we needed to go. I later found out that Janu was actually supposed to meet us on the beach when we arrived, but he wasn't there. This wasn't a problem at all, we got to the villa just fine.

We were welcomed in and Janu lead us to our villa- Villa 2. The view certainly did not disappoint. Janu was very thorough in introducing us to the villa, showing us a file that was full of info on the island, what to do, where to eat etc. It was a great resource for a couple of first timers.

A few changes had been made to the set-up since the photos above were taken. Between the upstairs sundeck and downstairs pool and verandah, a bamboo fence had been erected and a shade cloth over the pool. They had added these to increase the privacy for those staying in the villa. It meant that anyone staying in the above villa, Villa 1, could not see through to the verandah area. Their pool however does directly overlooking the sundeck. I didn't have an issue with this because I wasn't planning on doing any topless sunbaking and in my opinion, it was no different than having people at a hotel seeing you enjoy the sun. I was however very disappointed to see that the sunlounges had been moved from the sundeck (see above photos) to the verandah. I can understand that they were moved due to privacy reasons but what was in their place wasn't sufficient; a single chair, 2 foot stools and a table, and where the sunlounges were put instead- squished into a corner of the verandah- made them a bit unpractical to use. The photo of the comfy sunlounges with the beautiful view is a high selling point and their replacements didn't do it for me. We did ask to have the lounges moved back up which the staff did, after asking twice.

With the villa, we were also given a mobile phone. It had numbers of spas and restaurants already saved, as well as the number for Janu. Although he wasn't always on site, we were always able to reach him. I gave him a call one day to organise scooters and 10 minutes later, they were there and ready for us to use. As helpful as he was in this regard, I found him a little overbearing when it came to recommending restaurants to us. The two places we decided to follow up with were a bit disappointing. On our last night, we were on our way out to a nearby restaurant when Janu insisted that we instead order take away from a specific restaurant, telling us how good the dishes were. We decided to do it just because he was being quite pushy and although the food was nice, it wasn't fantastic. It lead me to think that maybe he's making a commission from getting guests to order from certain restaurants around the island.

Inside the villa, we were more than comfortable. Our beds were comfortable and surrounded by a mosquitoe net. There was a TV, DVD player and stereo with an iPod dock. The bathroom was spacious and the villa even had a complete kitchenette and a well stocked fridge.

 

The view over the bay was unbeatable but to get such a great view, the villa has been situated at the top of a hill. You know what a hill means? Stairs. Lots and lots of stairs. Even for my sister and I, two reasonably fit young girls, we were left puffing and sweating when we'd made it back to the top. If you're on the older side or have bad knees, I wouldn't recommend it unless you're going to avoid the stairs altogether by using a scooter. There is also a couple of blocks in front of and next door to the villa of undeveloped land. I've wondered what will happen to that beautiful view once the land is developed.

All in all, we loved staying at the Harmony Villas. Now that I know Lembongan island better, I don't know that I'd stay there again, but I'd definitely recommend it especially if you're after a quiet and romantic get away with your partner.

You can check out their website here and also their sister villas, Lembongan Sanctuary Villas.

 

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Good Bye For Now, Bali

My last trip to Bali marked my tenth time to the beautiful island. Even though I've been there ten times, nine of them being just in the last 4 years, there is so much of the island I am yet to see and to experience, so much I haven't done there yet. I don't know when I'll be back in Bali, but I know it won't be too long. The island holds a special place in my heart and I know it'll be there waiting for me when I'm ready to come back, after I explore the rest of the world a bit more. I still have a lot to share with all of you; my recent visits to hotels and restaurants plus more of my tips for travelling to Bali. Where ever my travels take me next, I took forward to sharing those adventures with you too. But who knows, maybe I'll be back there sooner than I think.

 

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Bali, Day 11: Finn's and Friends

Today's weather: slightly overcast morning that cleared into a beautiful day

Today's exchange rate: 10,200 Rupiah per AUS $

I was up at my usual time and went straight downstairs to meet Mum and Dad on their verandah. Just after 7:00 we headed to the restaurant for breakfast. We had some time to kill before we headed out for the day. We woke up our Canadian friends at about 8:30 and they emerged feeling refreshed after a good sleep. We left them to have breakfast while Mum and I went to change some money. Today we were heading to Finn's Beach Club in Uluwatu. As my last full day and Bill and Wendy's first full day, it was the perfect time to go. None of us had been before but had seen many spectacular photos so we were looking forward to it. Oka was picking us up at 9:30. Mum and I hung out by the pool until it was time to wait for Oka, who is always early. The Canadian's (Dad included) had played a disappearing act so we ended up leaving a bit later than planned but we were soon on our way.

The drive to Uluwatu with the new toll road didn't take long, it was the winding roads that slowed things down but we were pulling up to the Semara Resort at about 10:30. What an incredible place. It has the most amazing view over the cliff side and down to the blue ocean. How amazing it would be to stay here. We headed downstairs to pay for our beach pass before getting on the inclinator. The cost was 250,000 Rupiah per person, with 150,000 of that being used as a credit for food and drink. It included entry in Finn's Beach Club and use of its facilities such as the lounges, towels and, depending on the weather, kayaks, stand up paddle boards, snorkel gear. It was a pretty good deal. Unfortunately we had come at high tide and the water was too tough for any of those things. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the incredible views and the beautiful water.

We enjoyed a few drinks, had some lovely walks along the sand and soaked up the sun. As the day went on, we were pleased to see the tide going down and in its place, the staff were bringing out more lounges and beanbags. Soon enough, people were getting in the water to refresh and we were able to walk further along the beach and around the way a bit. I loved it here. We all loved it here, especially Bill and Wendy. It was there first sight and first use of a Bali beach and they were absolutely loving it. What better way to introduce them to Bali than to bring them somewhere as amazing as this? Even I was in awe of it.

I was getting a bit peckish and although the food is quite overpriced, I ordered some calamari skewers as a snack and to soak up the very strong cocktail I had just enjoyed. We were almost ready to head off, with the beach club becoming busier with low tide. We settled what was left on the bill after using up our credit before heading up the stairs (which were no where near as bad as the ones going up to the Lembongan Harmony Villas!) and back to the inclinator. Upstairs, we were allowed to use the resorts pool which was perfect to rinse off before getting back into the car. The view from up here in the pools was breathtaking.

Once we were dry and ready, we waved Oka over to take us to lunch. We decided to head to Bali Collection and get a bit of a taste of Nusa Dua. I have to say, as pristine as Nusa Dua is, I don't think it's for me. Mum and I have discussed staying there one day for a couple of nights just to relax but any longer than that, I think we'd be bored out of our minds. Bali Collection is like a little shopping district in Nusa Dua with a range if restaurants and shopping selling international brands.

We went to the restaurant The Paon for lunch and had invited Oka to join us. Everyone except myself ordered Nasi Goreng while I decided on Mie Goreng. The service here was quite good and the food was lovely. Our bill, including Oka's lunch, was about $35. We wandered slowly back to the car and headed back to Sanur. Once again, thanks to the toll road, the ride was quick. We got back just before 4:00 which was perfect because Bill and Wendy were booked in for a massage at Koa at 4.

While they were off being pampered, Mum and I tried to enjoy some peace and quiet time by the pool. Unfortunately this was ruined by a couple of young girls playing and jumping around. Now Mum and I have no problem with kids being kids since we both work with them at home but our issue was that there was NO parent supervision. Not a parent in sight. The girls were competent swimmers but does that mean the parents can just sit back and assume that everything will be ok? Maybe they thought that since it's a small hotel, they could get away with sitting in their room or on their verandah and just listen out. In our books, this was not ok.

I headed off just before 5:00 for my massage. Unfortunately there was a bit of confusion at the spa and when I had booked Bill and Wendy in for 4:00, they thought I was cancelling my 5:00 booking. This also meant they had filled my spot. I was not happy because I was so looking forward to having another hot stone massage. The lovely staff at Koa took charge and told a couple of other ladies that were booked in that they would need to come back later. I was very grateful and I got my massage after all.

It was another winner and I once again left smelling delicious. I bought a couple of goodies from here so I could smell delicious at home as well. The products were 90,000 Rupiah each and I got a tin of their tangelime sugar scrub and of their coconilla body butter. When I got back to my room, I slathered it on. It is quite oily so it didn't soak in easily but it smelt so good. I was in coconilla heaven.

Tonight for dinner, we were off to the Art Cafe along with 12 other people. I had made a booking for a bunch of us that knew each other through a Bali Facebook group. Most of them I had already met, but some of them I hadn't. Everyone was looking forward to having the chocolate cake I had been raving about for so long. Slowly, the spots for 17 people began to be filled and we all happily chatted away. It was like catching up with old friends. We ordered our meals, and as they arrived, the restaurant became quiet. The staff did a great job at getting the dishes out at more or less the same time and everyone enjoyed their meals. There was a mix of chicken, fish, pork, curry, pasta, rice. It was great to see so many different meals.

Chicken curry

Beef rendang

Pork ribs

Butterfish

Stuffed chicken breast

Everyone was looking forward to dessert and I was so hoping that it lived up to everyone's expectations after I had built it up so much. They arrived one by one and everyone loved them. They all dug their spoons in and watched the delicious sauce ooze out. It just never fails to impress.

I thanked the staff profusely for hosting us. They had worked hard and had catered for us very well, even managing to do separate billing. We said our goodbyes to all our new friends and a few of us headed down the road to the Irish pub The Wicked Parrot. It was packed and looked like a sea of green. We enjoyed a drink and the Irish music before departing. It had been a busy day and we were all exhausted. I was ready for my last sleep in my Bali bed. As always, my holiday has gone by in a flash but what an amazing time I've had; I've enjoyed some amazing views, eaten some great food, met new people, enjoyed the company of old friends and family. Could I ask for anything more?

 

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