Best Hotels in Bali – Amandari

[box] **If you missed my post about Aman resorts on Bali  you should probably go read that first. It has some general information that applies to all of the Aman resorts on Bali. **[/box]

Amandari is located in the center of Bali near Ubud. This is considered the cultural center of the island with a lot of temples and traditional villages. Ubud is also where you’ll find the highest concentration of local artists and art galleries.

The resort is located in the village of Kedewatan overlooking the Ayung River gorge. It was built to resemble a Balinese village with winding pathways and high walls surrounding each suite. Some suites have views of the river valley while others are enclosed with private gardens. The outdoor tubs in each suite are super private so don’t be scared to take a take a bath here!

Amandari Suite bedroom
Amandari Suite bedroom

Joy and I stayed in the Amandari Suite. This can be booked as either a one bedroom suite with a private pool and a separate common room, or can be opened up to a connecting suite so you would have on larger common area with 2 separate bedroom suites, the large living room and a private pool. And, this view:

Amandari Suite pool
Amandari Suite pool – this is seriously ALL YOURS!

I really love this suite for families. The 2 bedroom suites are large each with king sized beds and their own large bathrooms (with outdoor tubs). The “living room pavilion” sits between the two bedrooms and is just a large open area with super large, comfortable day beds. I can imagine two families staying here – the parents get the bedrooms and the kids can have a sleepover in the pavilion. It’s the perfect setup for some great family memories.

Amandari Suite family room
Amandari Suite family room

About a mile from the main resort is something even better for families or larger groups – the Amandari VIlla. Guests staying here can spread out among it’s 5 buildings – 3 detached bedrooms, a living room pavillion lined with windows and an open air dining bale. You’ll have two staff members taking care of you and a car on call should you ever want to venture to the main resort. It wasn’t “presentable” when I was there but I did sneak in to take a peak. Checkout this pool!

Amandari Villa Pool
Amandari Villa Pool

We did venture into Ubud for dinner one night. A driver from Amandari drove us into town and all we had to do was ask someone to call them when we were ready to be picked up and brought back to the resort.

There are quite a few activities to choose from here. I hiked down to the river one morning that ended with a private breakfast. I was able to see a bit of daily life on Bali and enjoyed a lovely breakfast with a view at the end.

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We also took a cooking class at the home of one of the resort employees, visited the John Hardy compound and had lunch with members of his team, hiked a mountain… There’s so much we missed, too. You could spend several weeks here and never get bored.