Hotel Review: The Seminyak Suite Private Villa, Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia

Hotel Review: The Seminyak Suite Private Villa, Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia

Just got a chance to write my last stay at The Seminyak Suite Bali in August 2013.

Value For Money: 8/10
It's private. The whole resort is quite small hence I would call it a boutique resort. There are only a couple private villas in the area.

Location: 8/10
Well it is located in Seminyak, specifically Jalan Raya Seminyak. However, I like to stay at a hotel where I could go out at night to see the crowds within a walking distance. This hotel does not provide that. I think it's not really located in the most hip area of Seminyak where we can find great restaurants.

Breakfast: 8.5/10
The breakfast was just OK. Nothing too special to remember.

Villa Quality: 9/10
We stayed at a two bedroom villa with a private pool. I was very happy with the design of the villa, the cleanliness, and the sleep quality in the bedroom. The bathroom as so huge that I think it feels so empty. They could have put some interesting stuffs inside the bathroom.

Staffs: 10/10
Very happy with the staff. Satisfying service and always helpful in tending our needs.

Facilities: 7/10
Nothing much. Our stay was entirely revolved inside the villa.

Would I recommend you to stay at this hotel?
Yes if you can find a good deal on this hotel. Otherwise, I would choose somewhere closer to the Seminyak upscale restaurant scenes.

My Overall Rating on This Hotel:

8.5 / 10

Throwback: Chillax by the Nusa Dua Beach

One of my favourite things to do is just relaxing by the beach, listening to the sound of the waves, and enjoying the beach scenery.....

These photos were taken during my July 2014 trip to Nusa Dua Beach Bali.....

Legian Beach Bali on a Sunny Day

These pictures were taken during my holiday in Bali in July 2014....

Taken from the rooftop of soon-to-be-open Citadines Hotel in Legian, Bali, Indonesia.....

Hotel Review: Ketapang Indah Hotel

Hotel Review: Ketapang Indah Hotel 

First time visit to Banyuwangi was in early 2013 for a family event and we stayed at this hotel. Having a good experience and knowledge that this hotel is close to the train station and the Ketapang Ferry Port, I decided to make my second stay at Ketapang Indah Hotel when I was going to hike the Ijen Mountain.

Also find this hotel here:

Agoda Hotel Page

Tripadvisor Hotel Page

Location: 9/10

The location for this hotel is easily accessible by car. Banyuwangi City itself is not that big. This hotel lies between the Centre of Banyuwangi City and the Ketapang Port. It's closer to Ketapang Port side and the train station than to the centre of the city. In order to get some local foods, you might need to rent a taxi to the city central. I did rent a taxi without the meter on, we negotiated with the taxi driver to take us to a couple points in Banyuwangi City, mostly different restaurants and fruit vendors, and take us back to our hotel. We ended up paying about IDR 100.000 for the one-hour taxi ride.

Hotel Quality: 8.5/10

The hotel is like a Balinese Hotel and probably the most decent hotel in Banyuwangi. They have a nice lobby with a welcoming drink readily sitting beside the receptionist. The hotel itself is huge and hotel rooms are separated in many different buildings. First time around, you might get lost inside the hotel. 

Room Quality: 8/10

It's quite decent. Not a 5 star, but enough for a transit or a two-night stay. The bathroom is alright but again not a 5 star.

Facitilies: 8/10

They have a swimming pool and a children area which makes me think that this is a children friendly hotel. The breakfast area is a spot in the hotel that I like to spend in the morning.

Staffs: 9/10

This hotel lives up to the standard of Balinese Hotels in terms of the friendliness and helpfulness of the staffs. The staffs are very friendly and would help you to give any information from a hike to Mount Ijen, Banyuwangi art parades, to a taxi rental around Banyuwangi. 

My overall rating of this hotel would be:

8.5/10

Fishing Team at Senggigi Lombok

One fine day when I was in Lombok and just finished my seafood lunch somewhere at Senggigi Beach, me and some other friends observed a
group of fishers who were fishing with a net....

It was pretty interesting to see hence we waited for them to pull the net from the middle of the see to the shore.

However, after a while (probably longer than 30 minutes) the net was finally reached at the shore.

With excitement expecting to see a lot of fishes, we came closer to them. However, a big disappoinment showed on our faces when we saw that the long hard work of pulling the net was for nothing. Not a single big fish was caught. The disappointment was especially showing on the faces of the fishermen.

We suddenly felt bad for them. But I guess, the lesson learnt here is that some hard works might not result in anything right away. But persistence and perseverence will pay off in the end.

So my friends, let's give our best today and put consistency in hard work as something that keep you going. NEVER GIVE UP!

HAVE A GREAT DAY ALL!

Photography: An Interesting Fish at Pulau Menjangan

An Interesting Fish at Pulau Menjangan

Taken at: Menjangan Island, West Bali, Indonesia

Taken by: Ferry Wijaya

Taken with: Olympus TG-2

Date Taken: December 24, 2013

Description: 

One of the many fishes you can see when snorkeling at at Pulau Menjangan, West Bali, Indonesia.

Travel Capture: Vienna, Austria

Vienna, Austria

Taken in August 2009

during my Europe Trip

Snacking at Ayana Rock Bar Bali

Another hip bar that I usually go whenever I am in Bali is Ayana Rock Bar...

Usually we go there to enjoy the sunset while having some drinks and chatting with a couple of friends.... 

However, this time we got a bit lost on our way there and we missed the sunset. But we decided to just go down anyway to the bar and have some snacks there....

There is always a line up to get down to the bar but it's mainly because of the slow lift that goes up and down to the bar.

The snacks and drinks are actually very delicious but it is absolutely overpriced. They probably need to charge at a high price to compensate for the cost os maintenance and construction of the rock bar.

The Ayana Rock Bar is basically built hanging at the base of a rock cliff.

It's actually quite nice at night with the wind blowing and the smell of the sea and the sound of the waves hitting on the rocks....

Photos of Amadea Resort & Villas, Seminyak, Bali

The pictures of 4 bedroom villa that I stayed in...

Hotel Review: Amadea Resort & Villas, Seminyak, Bali

Hotel Review: Amadea Resort & Villas, Seminyak, Bali

This is one of the hotels I stayed during my Bali Hotel Hopping last July 2014. Me and my family stayed at a 4 bedroom villa with a private pool for 2 nights before we left Bali. To me, Amadea Resort & Villas at Seminyak is another boutique villa resort located in Seminyak. It's quite small and I think it consists of a few more than 7 villas and also there are some hotel rooms at the back of the lobby area.

The lobby area itself is not located at the front of the property. We have to walk tak a boogey ride provided by the hotel to the back of the property to reach the lobby.

Location: 10/10
For the location, since I wanted to be in the middle of Seminyak bustling shopping area, Amadea is perfect. Just across the streets we can find a lot of great restaurants to fulfill our gastronomical cravings of mostly Western and Fusion foods. Not too far away from the hotel, within a walking distant, we can find a lot of small shops and we can also walk to Seminyak Square where we can find more shops and restaurants.

Hotel Staffs: 8/10
I can't say a lot about the hotel staffs since I didn't get into contact with them too much. However, it's safe to say that they're very friendly, helpful, and love to smile. They tried to give us an origami from the towels that shaped like ducks, it's very thoughtful of them and my little cousins were excited about it.

Breakfast: 7/10
The breakfast is quite basic and not a lot of variety. Nothing too special about it and I have had better breakfasts provided by a villa resort like this.

Price: 9/10
The price is very reasonable given the fact that our villa is very huge and actually if we wanna squeeze in more people it might be possible.

Villa Quality: 8/10
Of course Amadea is not as luxurious as other hotels I stayed in (W Villas and Sofitel). The building specifications of the villa I can tell that it's not too great and it's pretty basic. Probably they can improve the villas by providing better and more interior designs and furnitures. The atmosphere of the villa feels a bit empty and cold. The private swimming pool is awesome though, the size is just right.

Value for Money: 8/10
It's alright. I might come back bringing a group of friends to stay at this hotel. The value for money is quite reasonable. But, I am not sure if I will come back here again since there are a lot of other villas within the price range and quality that I want to try in Bali. So I guess I won't be staying at this hotel anytime soon.

Would I recommend this Hotel?
Hmm, I wouldn't go telling people to go to Bali and must stay at this Villa. But if people ask me whether the villa is alright, the two words that would come to mind are "DECENT ENOUGH".

My pictures of the 4 bedroom Villa I stayed in:
http://ferrystraveladventures.blogspot.com/2014/08/photos-of-amadea-resort-villas-seminyak.html

My Overall Rating on This Hotel:

8/10

For my other reviews on hotels and villas in Bali, click below:

Amadea Resort & Villas

Sofitel Nusa Dua Beach Resort

The Haven Bali Seminyak

W Spa & Retreat Seminyak Bali

Attraction Review: Museum Trick Art 3D, Sunset Road, Seminyak, Bali

Another trip to Bali last month during the eid mubarak holiday made me wonder what new things or which new places I could do or go....

Then I surfed over the internet particularly Tripadvisor and found out that there is a 3d trick art museum where you could capture some pictures as if you are actually there and actually doing the things in the scenes (due to 3d effects).

During a laid back afternoon and we happened to be very near the alleged location of the museum, me and two little cousins decided to drive off to find this museum which was actually only 5 minutes away from our hotel in Seminyak.

We reached the museum and I got the impression that the museum looked pretty basic from the outside (nothing unique) and well it's actually just OK inside. But it's just that this is something different that we can do in Bali and I was happy enough.

If you happen to be in Bali and got bored with the same old things to do and you got like 1 hour to spare andddd if you are quite close to the Sunset Road area, you could try visiting this place.

This place is quite easy to find. Just look for Swiss Belinn Seminyak Sunset Road then look across the street. This museum is right in front of the hotel.

There is an entrance fee of IDR 100.000 per person (same for adulta and children) at the time I visited in July 2014.

Also later I found out that there is actually another 3d art museum which you can also visit that's located on Jalan Nakula which is also very close by from the museum I visited. You can do some comparison from the internet to choose which one to go to....

Below are some of my pictures from the 3d Trick Art Museum on Sunset Road:

The Museum consists of two floors of 3d scenes.....

Some scenes are awesome but absolutely in order to take your picture, you need a travel companion to take your pictures :)

Some amazing pictures if you can pose correctly and take the picture from the right angle....

Try to visit the museum during quiet hours so that you can take your time without being waited on by the other visitors....

Movie Review: Rio 2 (2014)

Trailer of Rio 2 (2014)

Genre: Comedy , Adventure , Animation  | Length: 101 minutes | Land/Year: USA 2014
Regie: Don Rhymer, Carlos Saldanha  |  Actors: Jake T. Austin (Voice), Carlinhos Brown (Voice), Kristin Chenoweth (Voice), Jemaine Clement (Voice), Jim Conroy (Voice), Rachel Crow (Voice), Bernardo de Paula (Voice), Nola Donkin (Voice), Jesse Eisenberg (Voice),Miguel Ferrer (Voice), Jamie Foxx (Voice), Pierce Gagnon (Voice), Andy Garcia (Voice), Jeffrey Garcia (Voice), Bebel Gilberto (Voice),Jason Harris (Voice), Anne Hathaw (Voice) 

This is the kind of movie that I like, uplifting and happy and bringing good message. Rio 1 was very awesome in my opinion, but Rio 2 is even more awesome. The story is very nice and a really good sequel to the first one.

Very nice and easy listening soundtracks.... I think I am gonna get the soundtracks soon. :)

There is also addition of Bruno Mars who sang so beautifully in the movies..... Like the first one, Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway did a good job as the voices of Blu and Jewel, the two main characters of Rio 1 and 2.

My Movie Review: 95/100

Watch Rio 2 Online here:
http://www.movie4k.to/Rio-2-watch-movie-5474398.html

Photos of Sofitel Nusa Dua Beach Resort, Bali, Indonesia

The Reception and Lounge Areas of Sofitel Nusa Dua Beach Resort

The Swimming Pool Area of Sofitel Nusa Dua Beach Resort

The Lobby and Exterior of Sofitel Nusa Dua Beach Resort

The Beach Area of Sofitel Nusa Dua Beach Resort