Vajra Villas - Villa Vajra
What You Get
Gym/Fitness Centre
Internet (WiFi)
Swimming Pool (Private)
TV (Satellite/Cable)
The Experience
Staying at Villa Vajra offers a chance to slow down and immerse yourself in the beauty of the landscape, the architecture, and an intelligently gathered collection of contemporary Balinese art. The villa’s owners are artists from New York; they created Vajra with one of Bali’s most renowned architects and have paid great attention to detail in its furnishing and management. The name of the villa reflects their interest in meditation: the vajra being a Tibetan Buddhist ceremonial symbol, a sword of wisdom that cuts through ignorance with the goal of compassion and equanimity – and a suitable name for such a beautifully tranquil place.
This fully staffed villa is located in a quiet rice-farming village ten minutes from Bali’s cultural centre, Ubud, with its array of restaurants, shops, galleries, spas and cultural activities (easily accessible courtesy of the villa’s car and driver). Although, with an 8.5-metre swimming pool, fitness room, study/TV room, and lovely walks through the villa’s rainforest gardens to enjoy, you may not want to go out at all.
Six guests are accommodated in three ensuite bedrooms (two queens and a twin), with the option of two more in the study, which is easily converted into a fourth bedroom. The thatch-roofed living and dining pavilion is cathedral-like in its proportions and opens onto a broad semi-circular timber terrace.
The villa has a staff of ten. Meals and snacks are provided by two cooks (breakfast is included in the villa rate and a comprehensive suggestion menu of Western and Indonesian lunch and dinner dishes are priced at cost plus 30% handling fee), and spa treatments are also available at the villa, carried out by professional therapists from an Ubud Spa (charged at cost). The villa manager is always on call and lives only two minutes away; his uncle farms the rice fields next to the villa.
It should be noted that Villa Vajra’s open design and unguarded stairways and pool area make it unsuitable for disabled or very young visitors.
Our review
- Overall Rating:
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8
- Reviewed:
- 06-Jan-2012
A luxurious escape from the crowds with plenty of entertainment for the whole family.
The children made friends with the villa manager’s uncle who farmed the rice fields beyond their bedroom and our friend the recluse is a birdwatcher so she was in heaven wandering the garden paths through the rainforest. She also relished the study with its good-sized desk. My husband and I enjoyed test-driving the huge jacuzzi bathtub in the master suite after a workout in the fitness room and I loved waking up below the tightly thatched roof and watching the early morning sun coming through the wooden slats and dancing on the walls. Our friend appreciated the same experience in the Valley bedroom, which she said was wonderfully quiet. And of course we ALL enjoyed the pool at the heart of the house.
All the staff were courteous, relaxed and competent, and the villa manager was very helpful. The kitchen staff accommodated our different tastes and dietary requirements (our recluse friend is vegan), once we explained what we wanted. Every morning we selected the day’s dishes from the suggestion menu, gave the cooks cash for shopping, and received precise accounts for all expenditures. In the evenings the baronial living room was a delight, filled with classical music piped through the Bose sound system. We also treasured calm moments taking tea in the little teahouse pavilion and listening to the sounds of the surrounding forest.
Individual Scores:
| Character/Charm: | 9 | Location: | 7 | Outside Area: | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Living Area: | 8 | Bedrooms: | 8 | Bathrooms: | 8 |
| Kitchen: | 8 | Facilities: | 8 | Staff: | 8 |
| Value: | 8 |
Highlights
We loved Vajra’s quiet location near Ubud and its closeness to the rainforest and were delighted by the art on the walls of this handsome, well-managed villa. Gusti, the Villa Manager, looked after us wonderfully.
Surprises
It was disappointing that the villa’s WiFi wasn’t working at the time of our visit (May 2011), but we were able to get online in Gusti’s office and were offered the use of a computer as well.
PROs
- Thoughtful, attentive staff
- Flush with facilities
- Lush and tranquil surroundings
- Exceptional artwork and decor
CONs
- Not ideal for toddlers
- WiFi issues during our stay
- A long walk to the shops!
Guest reviews (2)
- Edward Butzirus, United States checked out on 07-Apr-2014
- Overall Rating:
-
8.9
- Reviewed:
- 26-May-2014
Individual Scores:
| Character/Charm: | 10 | Location: | 7 | Outside Area: | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Living Area: | 9 | Bedrooms: | 9 | Bathrooms: | 9 |
| Kitchen: | 9 | Facilities: | 9 | Staff: | 10 |
| Value: | 8 |
- PT, Australia checked out on 25-Aug-2012
- Overall Rating:
-
8.2
- Reviewed:
- 28-Aug-2012
Individual Scores:
| Character/Charm: | 8 | Location: | 9 | Outside Area: | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Living Area: | 7 | Bedrooms: | 9 | Bathrooms: | 8 |
| Kitchen: | 8 | Facilities: | 7 | Staff: | 10 |
| Value: | 8 |
Gallery
Location
Villa Vajra faces farmland and rainforest from its perch on the edge of a river gorge on the outskirts of a rural village about ten minutes northwest of central Ubud. It is reached along a small lane leading off the main road through the village. The entrance to the property is through a grove of big bamboo where the owner’s house, Villa Sati, stands like a gatehouse to the estate. A raised boardwalk leads across the rice fields to Villa Vajra. The roads in this area are not busy and are pleasant for walking.
Places of Interest(KMs) |
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| Central Ubud | 6.5 |
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| Monkey Forest | 8.0 |
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| Ubud Botanic Gardens | 9.4 |
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| Mas | 11.0 |
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| Seminyak | 35.0 |
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| Kuta | 40.0 |
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| Ngurah Rai Airport (DPS) | 43.0 |
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| Mount Agung | 60.0 |
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About Ubud
Ubud is Bali’s cultural hub, a royal village situated at the confluence of two rivers on the southern edge of the Balinese heartland. A haven for local and foreign artists since the 1930s, it is now a conglomeration of villages and the island’s centre for fine arts and cultural performances, attracting art collectors, connoisseurs, writers, mystics, and people who are actively involved in art, anthropology, music, dance, architecture, environmentalism and alternative healing.
Ubud is the seat of the Sukawati Royal Family; the palace is centrally located and open to the public, while in the surrounding villages visitors can watch the island’s most accomplished painters, stonemasons, woodcarvers, mask makers and silversmiths at work. As well as numerous shops, galleries, studios and a market, Ubud even has its own sacred monkey forest. Restaurants are plentiful, but nightlife is limited with the majority of places closing around midnight.
Ubud is the perfect area to use as a base when visiting Bali, the town is surrounded by most of the attributes that entice people to this exceptionally beautiful island – emerald rice terraces, traditional art and craft communities, ancient temples, palaces, and breathtaking river gorges. In fact, the Sayan Ridge is home to some of the best hotels in the world. Ubud’s central location makes it very easy to get to the mountains and all of the major tourist attractions. It also has a cooler, fresher and generally more pleasant climate than the southern coastal regions.
About Bali
Bali is Indonesia’s most popular tourist location and is considered one of Asia's premier tropical island destinations. Steeped in history and renowned for its artistic way of life, Bali is a peaceful contrast to some of the more frantic destinations Asia has to offer.
The inner peace and creative talents of the Balinese has attracted artists the world over fascinated by local dancers, silversmiths, wood carvers, potters and painters that seem to pervade throughout the island. The abundant verdant fields and surrounding sea have long supplied Bali with an easy surplus of food leaving time for life’s more artistic past times. As a result everything in Bali has a creative and religious element centred around the local Banjar (residents association) – little, adorned temples are everywhere, doors are covered in intricate carvings, huge kites ward off evil spirits and colourful roadside ceremonies bring traffic to a standstill.
Bali is a popular destination principally from Australia and Asia but also from all over Europe. The island welcomes thousands of visitors each year to a relaxing lifestyle, stunning beaches, world class surf, vibrant villages, and spectacular scenery all with an exquisite tropical climate. Located approximately two hours’ flying time from Singapore the island is serviced by an international airport at Denpasar with direct flights to and from many major cities in Asia, Europe and Australia and many more via Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital.
The island offers an impressive range of leisure and lifestyle amenities including world-class golf courses, wonderful seascapes for surfing, diving and snorkelling as well as luxurious spas, chic boutiques, tropical forests, towering volcanoes and international cuisine.
Rooms
The approach to Villa Vajra is over a raised boardwalk through rice fields. A modest gate opens to a lotus pond across which a walkway covered with white-flowering vines links thatch-roofed pavilions: the study to the right and, to the left, the master bedroom and Sawah (rice field) guestroom connected by a hallway. The Valley guestroom lies below the master.
All three bedrooms have smooth timber floors, ensuite bathrooms, storage closets with safes, and offer the choice of ceiling fans or air conditioning. The queen-bedded master suite has sliding glass doors on three sides and a small balcony furnished with a daybed. Its large garden bathroom features a black terrazzo bathtub for two with jacuzzi fittings as well as an outdoor shower. The Valley bedroom is also queen-bedded and has a large bathroom with bathtub and shower. Both these bedrooms face east and are filled with forest-filtered sunlight in the mornings. The smaller, twin-bedded Sawah bedroom has rice-field views on two sides. There is a shower in its small but handsome marble-lined ensuite.
The study is an inviting room with high ceilings and well-built wooden cabinets housing a Bose sound system, a 27-inch flat-screen TV, a DVD player and a huge selection of DVDs, as well as board games and books. A long desk looks out into the grand space above the living room and off into the rainforest. Two sofas can be arranged to form a queen bed, creating a fourth bedroom with attached open-air showeroom.
Downstairs is the huge open-sided living and dining room with its cathedral-like ceilings. At the far end is a semi-circular timber terrace jutting into the rainforest while, at the near end, the dining area is furnished with a teak table seating six to eight and the adjacent kitchen is well-equipped for guests who wish to self-cater.
Next to the living pavilion, the swimming pool and jacuzzi are set on a wooden deck furnished with four sun loungers while, below the living room terrace, is the fitness room. Stairs lead down from the pool, past an outdoor shower, to a furnished terrace and then to a teahouse pavilion. The property descends all the way to the narrow river at the bottom of a steep gorge.
Key Amenities
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Gym/Fitness Centre
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Internet (WiFi)
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Swimming Pool (Private)
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TV (Satellite/Cable)
Other Amenities
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Air-con (Bedrooms)
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Baby Cot
(On Request)
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BBQ
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Bed Linen
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Bicycles
(Extra)
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Board Games/Toys
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Book Selection
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Car Parking
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CD Library
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CD Player/Stereo System
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Ceiling Fans
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Computer
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DVD Library
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DVD Player
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Equipped Kitchen
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Extra Bed (Roll away/mattress)
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Fax
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Generator
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Hairdryers
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High Chairs
(On Request)
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IDD
(Extra)
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Iron/Board
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Laundry Service
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Main Dining (8 persons)
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Massage Beds
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Microwave
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Motorbikes/Scooters
(Extra)
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Oven/Hotplates
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Safe
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Toiletries
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Towels
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Wine Fridge
Villa Staff
- Babysitter (Extra)
- Chef/Cook (All meals)
- Garden/Pool Staff
- Housekeeping (Full time)
- Manager (Restricted hrs)
- Masseuse/Spa Therapist (Extra)
- Security
- Shopper
http://www.thevillaguide.com/villa/villa-vajra.aspx
