From Roger North and the rest of the family

England

Dear Ekayanti, I'm now back in England with time to drop you a note of thanks for the excellent arrangements that you made regarding my family's stays at both Villa Senja and Alamanda. The ground transfers could not be faulted and all went like clockwork. Regarding the villas. Suffice to say that the family intend returning to Bali to repeat the experience albeit we may choose to stay at different locations and/or villas. A true testimony of how good the villas were. Inevitably there are aspects of each villa that were not perfect for our specific requirements but we had accepted beforehand that there would be some compromises. The mix of the family with four adults, two young active children (aged 3 and 2) and baby twins of 5 months was probably unique! Regarding Villa Senja the layout/arrangement of the rooms was very good although had the bedroom adjacent to the kitchen and ground floor lounge been closer to the other bedrooms it would have been better. The upstairs open lounge/dining room was brilliant. It was where we ate and then lounged around each evening. Also it was a great space for the two active children as they could easily be supervised at the same time as the babies could lie on the large bale-like lounger. The only serious comment we could make on the layout was the risk of the stairs with the young children. A gate across the would have been perfect but that is specific to us. As to the staff, they were marvellous being attentative and co-operative. Not only did they greatly enhance our stay they remained discreet. They couldn'y do enough for us and we repeat to you the thanks we gave them. The quality of Villa Alamanda could not be faulted. However, it's layout was not as suitable as Senja. This is not a real criticism of the villa but more of our specific requirements. Again the two sets of stairs leading off the balcony caused some anxiousness particularly with their being right behind the chairs to the dining table. The dining area was otherwise okay but there was no adjacent lounge area to relax in after dining. The long balcony was great and the children could play freely but having two loungers one at either end did not give the feeling of comfort. We spoke to the manager about this stating that ideally that had the bay next to the dining area been incorporated into the dining extension it would have been greatly enhanced. You will appreciate that the excellant bale by the pool was very detached from the villa. As to the pool it was very good and we spent a lot of time and fun using it daily. It would have been a little better had the pool floor not been sloping at such a gradient but I'm probably being a bit picky! The staff were very good but particular mention must be made of the cook - she was exceptional and we can't praise her enough. Her attention to our varied requirements and timings was marvellous, she clearly loves using her skills and we greatly enjoyed the results! We would also add that the driver was great and very flexible. One aspect that did cause us concern was the lizards (gekos). Out in the open it was okay as we appreciated that we were in the rainforest as the wonderful vegetation proved but in the bedrooms the large gekos were a bit of a problem. I think the problem comes from having thatched roofs that cannot be fully sealed to the outside. We repeat that any negative comments are given to assist and that the overall aspect of the holiday and of both villas greatly exceeded our expectations. We have obviously learnt a few things and think that when we consider accommodation next year we will consider the layouts and stair arrangements closer and probably request a plan of the villa layouts before booking.We trust that this helps and again we repeat our thanks for all you organised for us.