Xavier W
April 4, 2024
I'd like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the entire Udara Bali Resort and Spa team for making our stay over the last week so memorable; we have learnt a lot and emerged relaxed and with fresh perspectives. Our room rate included a generous "all-inclusive" food and drinks package, daily spa treatments, wellness facilities access and complimentary laundry service. Housekeeping even provide a turn down service, which is a nice touch. The daily yoga classes range from Hatha, Vinyasa and breathwork through to water yoga, aerial yoga (think hanging upside down like an acrobat) and sound baths in the evenings. Special events were great ways to try new things which led us to experience a Kakao and Kirtan led by a musically gifted member of the instructing staff called Martina - A must try ceremony filled with the tales of its origin, songs, ceremonial kakao and mindful communication! My hat goes off to the staff working in the F&B area of the resort (The term ‘resort’ makes Udara sound huge, but it’s just right); the chefs prepare excellent food (I’m not a fan of their passion for coconut oil - alternative cooking oils would be nice) and the serving staff are really friendly and make an effort to know you by name and cater to your taste preferences. While the food options were meat-free, we didn't find ourselves at a loss for menu options (although by the end of our week's stay we had favourites). The food was consistently delicious and the option to choose the cook on the tuna or the temperature of our poached eggs was a nice attention to detail. From ordering an additional order of eggs at breakfast to substituting rice for extra vegetables, the staff were only too happy to help. The juice and smoothie selections are fantastic; delicious, well-presented and customisable (if so desired) and the coffee is well-prepared in a commercial grade coffee machine with iced options, too. Big plus if you’ve been getting used to ‘Bali coffee’. The spa and pools were a great place to unwind and cool off. With a sauna (choose your own scented oil infused water to enhance your session), steam room, jacuzzi pool, cold plunge, ice bath, poolside bar and a 37C pool with underwater speakers, we weren’t short on options when we found ourselves seeking some downtime in between yoga sessions and local promenades. The beach is on the doorstep and the coffee/juice bar has paper takeaway cups, so long walks in the mornings before yoga practice or facility access opened were nice ways to start the day. The staff carrying out the spa treatments were discreet and skilled, therefore highly professional by our observations. The yoga instructors were highly approachable, helpful and knowledgeable; they helped people who were either struggling or craving a challenge by providing one-on-one instruction throughout the classes and insights into the practice types, poses and their purposes were features that we found added good value to the stay. Altogether, the variety of yoga