Hotel Review – Villa Puri Purnama, Bali
Bebe Voyage rating 8/10
When we first started planning our trip to Bali, we were totally overwhelmed with all the different types of accommodation, price points, and locations. We knew what we were looking for, but finding it was going to be the difficult part! Our first stop was at Villa Puri Purnama on Bali’s Cucukan beach. If you are looking for a place to truly get away from it all, then you definitely need to look into this place!
Location
Villa Puri Purnama is situated on Cucukan’s sparkling black sand beach on the SE side of Bali just north of the Nusa Dua Peninsula. When we first read about the black sand beach, I kept coming across words such as glittering and sparkling. I honestly assumed they were great sales adjectives to make you want to stay there, but NEVER did I actually think the beach would sparkle! Yet that is exactly what it did! Growing up in Florida, I’ve seen my fair share of pretty beaches but this is absolutely the first time I’ve ever seen a beach sparkle and glisten as if there were crystals strewn about. It was absolutely stunning! Unfortunately, right up along side the sparkle was a lot of trash and I would be lying if I said it did not bother me. The villa is located in a very local part of Bali and the beach is public to the local villages. Unfortunately, there is a lot of trash that gets left behind. They do have people who comb the beaches and clean them, however they can only do so much and you will see trash come in with the tide. This is by no fault of Villa Puri Purnama however, and I had read that this was actually a problem all over Bali with both locals and tourists leaving their trash behind. The stretch of water along this beach is not known to be a great swimming beach (although you will see plenty of people swimming in it). If you are looking for a place with gently rolling waves for the kids to play in, there would be better locations. There is however a lot of cool tide pools that form in the rocks when the tide goes out and our kids loved to splash in the shallow water closer to shore. The villa is located directly on the beach within the small Cucukan village. Just outside the village there are a few small shops and restaurants, but this is truly a place to get away from it all. You will not see hoards of tourists or have the big glitzy hotels and restuarants nearby. It is also about 45 mins into the heart of Ubud which makes it great for a day trip and about 25-30 mins into Sanur if you want to do some shopping and head to a beach club for the day.
Style and Character
Villa Puri Purnama is a large shared villa with 4 private rooms and 2 beach front style cottages. The rooms are massive with large bathrooms and beautifully decorated in the traditional Balinese style. It is a shared villa so you will have your own private room and bathroom, however the pool, common area, kitchen and dining area are all shared by other guests.
Service and Facilities
The Villa has a staff on hand to accommodate almost any need you may have. Two cooks will make you breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They have a driver who will pick you up from the airport and can also take you on day tours around the island. The pool is small, but its clean and overlooks the ocean which makes for a beautiful place to relax.
Rooms
The rooms and bathrooms are absolutely massive. We had no problem staying in one room with 2 adults and 2 young children. We stayed in the upstairs Master Suite next to an open air sitting area which was perfect for putting the kids to bed and then walking over to the couches for a glass of wine and listening to the ocean. They also have 2 beach cottage rooms which can accommodate larger families but are more basic in their amenities. A great option though if you have a larger group and are on a budget!
Food and Drink
The Villa has a staff on hand to accommodate almost any need you may have. Two cooks will make you breakfast, lunch, and dinner and while there is a menu to choose from they can also help cater to you if you have picky kids like we do! The food is great and most of the dishes to choose from are Indonesian. Although our 3 year old loved the spaghetti and had it every night. You also absolutely must have the banana pancakes for breakfast. We ordered them on our second day and continued to order them every single day for the rest of our visit. While there is no onsite bar, you can also order beer or wine ahead of time and they will have it for you with your meals. Or alternatively you can have the driver take you to the store and pickup whatever you may need and keep it in their kitchen. We ate breakfast daily at the villa and then usually headed to Komune Beach Club for lunch and to watch the surfers. It is located on Keramas Beach which is known for its almost perfect surf break and attracts surfers from all over the world.
Value for Money
The villa is very reasonable considering the level of service and amount of amenities you receive. The room was the nicest room we stayed in throughout Bali and the staff are pretty much always on hand to help, so the value is amazing for the price you pay!
Family Friendliness
They have highchairs and cots available and you can also request a carseat if you have the driver take you anywhere. The staff is great with the kids as well and they will do their best to accommodate. While we were there, there was only one guest who did not have kids and there was a large group checking in after us with young kids who had come back for their second time.
Fun Fact
Cucukan beach in Bali is known for having small smooth, shiny black stones. They can be found all over the beach and during low tide there is a large amount down at the edge of the shoreline. Women and Men will come out from the village and collect the best ones. They seem to be extremely picky on the ones they are looking for as many get thrown to the side while the good ones are thrown into their bucket. Towards the end of the beach you can find a large group of people then going through even more stones and bagging them up to send into the village. They are then bought by people all over Bali to be made into floor decoration. Some of the designs can be very elaborate and beautiful!
Contact Info
http://www.villapuripurnamabali.com
We actually contacted the villa owner, Paula, through the tripadvisor site and we were very happy with the booking process. Paula was also great to deal with and got back to us immediately with answers to our questions.
Rates
Starting around $100/night
Interested in reading about other SE Asia destinations? Check out this post about three unmissable destinations and add them to your travel list!
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