As I mentioned in my first post under this category, I will try to get Bali ‘out of the way’ first because this is the island that I have the most ‘data’ on in my laptop. Other places that I’d like to share of will require a little bit more time in terms of collecting all the details, sorting through the folders of photos and yes even trying to remember what happened!

Side note:- I am having a little ambivalence of blog writing – firstly about the issue of making it so public.. it’s quite possible that I may eventually find this whole endeavour a little too awkward and either privatise it or just delete it all together – secondly about potentially contaminating future life experiences with the pressure of needing to record it for the blog. Will that somehow dilute an authentic living experience if we feel pressured to update it to others? What keeps me going for now is that I feel like I’m sort of ‘passing on the good deed’ of other multiple reviewers and bloggers whose reviews and sharing I counted on before deciding on a certain plan of action. I am a planner and I find it really difficult to make a decision without having researched further on it and I really feel indebted to many public bloggers and reviewers who give such an incredible amount of photos, details and videos for free. For other bloggers who have once felt these misgivings I do about over-sharing but continue to blog nevertheless, do feel free to send me a message on your thoughts! 

OK so blogging quandary aside, this post will be about the villa we selected in Jimbaran. This was for a girly holiday between myself and my good friend A. and we stayed here a few months ago, so it’s all fresh in my mind. So this time our route was Ubud – Seminyak – Jimbaran. The Bali trend for me is usually to pick a relaxing villa at the end of my stay as a way to unwind from the preceding days higher level of activity. It is of course also more interesting for me to write about specific villas found via Airbnb than a chain hotel one can find in Tripadvisor as you will already get all sorts of photos, videos and client experience in those reviewing portals.

Jimbaran

So clearly I have problems getting to the point. Right – Jimbaran is one of the more well known beachside spots in Bali. Probably less famous than Nusa Dua and Seminyak but still trendy enough for Four Seasons and the Inter-Continental to set up it’s property there. It’s located in the south-western coast and is close enough to Denpasar International Airport (20 minutes drive, about 9 kilometres) which is why we chose it as our last spot before we leave the island. Further we wanted to take a day trip to Nusa Lembongan (I will also post about this soon) and the point of departure was not too far from Jimbaran.  It’s proximity to our last port of call in Seminyak (40 minutes drive, about 15 kilometres) sealed the deal.

Villa Moondance Jimbaran

On my list was sea view, minimum 2 bedrooms, access to beach and amenities and private pool. I also needed to work so when I saw that there was ample work space in the open air dining area and a third room which could double as a bedroom, I decided this will be it.

Once you get into the alley from the main road, it took some time to figure out which was the villa as there was quite a few surrounding the area. I probably made a lot of residents curse me on that particular morning as I kept insisting to the taxi driver that each villa we passed was the correct one and would go down and start knocking on the door endlessly. Eventually we got it – it’s basically the last last last villa down the alley and when I say last, I mean that it is not just possible to go any further than this villa. After calling her incessantly on the phone (and perhaps after she heard loud knocking all over the neighbourhood) Midah, the wonderful caretaker, eventually emerged up from the staircase and greeted us. So this is another staircase point to make – please consider this carefully if you or any of the guests have mobility issues. There are soooo many flights of steps to get down to the villa. If you have big bags, you will require assistance especially if it’s raining which it was when we arrived (a slight drizzle).

So down the flights steps we go and the first structure you will eventually meet is the master bedroom on your left – it is on its own with an en suite, and then as you go further down the steps you will find another bedroom (left) on its own with its en suite and the huge living, dining and kitchen space spreads out onto an open air terrace overlooking the Jimbaran coast. The poolside is on the right and just above the poolside is the study room which can double as a bedroom but it does not have an en suite bathroom. Just to note though that the pool is not a lap pool or an infinity pool. It is pretty much a paddle pool and you can’t see the sea from where it’s located.

The design and furnishings of the place is top notch. Very traditional Balinese dark wood but at the same time with clean minimalist semi mid-century lines. We understood that the owner is an Indonesian architect living abroad and Midah pretty much looks after the place for her. Midah is a very gentle and peaceful lady. I felt quite often though she had a rather wistful energy, perhaps she was missing her family who lived in Java. Midah is not Balinese but has lived there for many years. She basically prepares all our meals for us and can arrange for sightseeing excursions, massages, grocery shopping etc for you. Additionally she can speak and write English well and so I was communicating with her via WhatsApp and emails well before I arrived. She even took my friend on her motorbike to see the Nyepi day celebrations. We tipped her as much as we possibly could because we really felt she deserved it.

You can have a look at the villa on Airbnb via this link.

These are our photos of the place..

 

Surrounding Area

There is a famous Asian fusion restaurant not far from the villa which we had some snacks at called Fat Chow and you can walk to the beach (there is a short cut) but it will still take maybe 20 minutes (I got a cab). I wouldn’t say I am a big fan of Jimbaran beach though – the water and sand are just not that exciting and I saved my beach enjoyment day for the Nusa Lembongan trip.  A. went for a snorkelling trip in Jimbaran but she didn’t rate it too highly either.

Final Words 

We liked the place very much and no doubt its a slice of tropical bliss. If I were to compare between this villa and the one we stayed at in Candidasa then naturally I prefer the latter one but the cons of the latter is the location. As described in my post on the Candidasa villa, while we adored our break there the location is not half as connected and ‘happening’ as Jimbaran so it all depends on what you are looking for. Another issue that sort of made us a little uncomfortable were the uninvited ‘animals’. Me and A. are a tad dramatic and also maybe a bit of a scaredy cat but because of the open spaces of the place, we were often visited by little frogs, lizards (some were just tooooo big not to have a crazy reaction at) and these tiny little black worms of which I don’t know the name but Midah promised me was not harmful. So if you are icky about things like this you may want to think it through (though please then just consider booking a hotel or a closed space property as lizards, frogs and worms come within the territory of open aired, dreamy vacation homes). The final point I thought was worth making was that this villa I think is absolutely fantastic with a large group of friends or family – for one or two persons, it can be a tad bit lonely.

Overall, we still rate it highly on Airbnb. For the price you get, it ticks a lot of important boxes and if you choose to come and stay here, you are bound to have a wonderful time 🙂