Остров богов и демонов Island of gods and demons

Hello!
We are a young couple, we were in Bali from February 23 to March 2.2012 on a last minute tour. Tours to this hotel are on fire only because it is new and, together with the Nico Bali hotel, a construction site separates it from the rest of the tourist area. But it does not interfere at all, they are building behind a hill, there is no noise and dust. You can’t get to the center of the village on foot, because it’s far (10 minutes by car), wild heat and there is no desire to go past the construction site.
However, this is where the cons end and the positives begin.
The hotel is new (built in 2011), clean, with very beautiful pools without the smell of bleach. Lovely friendly staff, everyone greets, bows and says thank you, even for what you ate. Lovely rooms that have everything and a great high bed. The price of the room includes water (1 liter per day).

The breakfasts are quite decent. We were given: very tasty papaya, watermelon, unsweetened melon, oranges, and rarely a snapfruit - a local fruit that looks like a dried armadillo on the outside, but inside it looks like strawberry-flavored garlic. I advise you to try.
Inexpensive spa, body peels here are the cheapest in the area - approx. 15$. I advise you to go there immediately after arrival and do an exfoliation to evenly tan. The coolest scrub is chocolate. We did a massage with aromatic oils for two on a promotion for 375.000 rupees, we were given a 25% discount for the future. The massage was done by 2 girls, diligently, but not very skillfully, more like trainees. On the second visit, we came to ask for a massage with Hot Stones, it didn’t work out together, only one massage therapist was free. He gave us a massage in turn, but very good. So feel free to ask the guy : ) (and book your treatments in advance).
Separately, about the Bali Collection. It is a mall with restaurants and boutiques. A free bus runs from the hotel (once an hour), but not always on schedule, often earlier. A local taxi (private traders) wants 45.000 rupees for delivery, and the state. taxi - blue (Taxi blue, blue cars) takes ~ 20.000 rupees. on the counter, so it's better to ask to call him or bargain hard with the locals.
In Bali Collection we went to Ocean Spa. The first time we had a very good Balinese massage. We came again, asked for a discount, they agreed to a free facial massage, we were satisfied until the massage began. It was like smearing oil on the body and the endless arrogant chatter of the masseuses. We still regret that we didn’t get up and demand other masseuses. And the face was massaged, it felt like a butt, it even hurt. Then we realized that this is how they reward requests for discounts. Although it is normal to haggle and ask for discounts in Bali, they give them easily even in serious stores.

Restaurants: Bali Collection has a cool Aroma restaurant with fusion cuisine, they served us even at 10pm when others closed the kitchen, gave discounts every time, offered a free shuttle service to and from the hotel. As a result, we went there to eat deliciously: the most inexpensive fresh and delicious lobster (590.000 rupees / kg. ), super squid, crabs and shrimp, excellent Balinese duck and lasagna. My favorite dessert is bananas fried in batter with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, they are delicious, we ordered 3 servings for 2. Two Islands wine (two islands) is also cool, with fruity notes, they are somehow cheaper than in the supermarket. I also liked the Japanese restaurant Japanese Garden: huge portions, inexpensive, very tasty, pleasant atmosphere.
Beach. Walk 10 min. past the Nico Bali hotel, go down the long stairs to the ocean. To the left of the stairs - a wild beach and a fishing village, to the right - an excellent beach of the Niko Bali hotel, a shadow behind it under the trees. If time permits, it is better to go there at 7 am or 4 pm, because the rest of the time it is wildly hot and it is very difficult to go back in the heat, because in this climate you are very relaxed. The pool is lighter and more pleasant. If you go back in the evening, you can meet wild monkeys on the path. It is better not to touch them, do not feed them from your hands, because. they can bite.
About guides and excursions. Our guide was Varvara. She campaigned to urgently buy excursions from her, as they supposedly end quickly. Pegasus prices are very high from 80 bucks. We took only rafting (it was incredibly cool on the Ayung River with beauty in the form of nature). Asked her to recommend a good Japanese restaurant, she advised Musashi, immediately took out a book with coupons for reservations. A transfer came for us that evening, then they brought us and gave a menu for Russians, with high prices and sealed special offers. We ate delicious, but more than $ 100 and realized that we were scammed. Tip: do not ask Russian guides for good spas and restaurants - they have their own interest and are always at your expense. Excursions are a separate entertainment: a local rafting company immediately came to rafting for us and there is no rumor or spirit about Pegasus. The Russian girl on the spot only spoke about safety, everything else was in English, we had to translate to the rest of the people in the boat. Pegasus simply resells all tours that are not related to the sightseeing story in this way (same with diving, with elephants, underwater caps on Lemborgan, etc. ). take pamphlets at the airport and call companies directly, rafting earned us 15 bucks each. Russian-speaking Balinese cost more than $65 per day. But we were glad to improve our English. We looked at: Center of the island (Cheluk, Mash, Ubud, Volcano, hot springs. North (Lakes Bratan and others, coffee plantations with tasting, Lovina, Forest in the north, hot springs temple), Bird and Reptile Park, sea turtle farm, drove along the roads with tropical forests, Git Git waterfall, visited a bunch of temples, including Tana Lot, fed the monkeys near the national park. These were stunningly beautiful places, like in the movie "Eat, Pray, Love". I advise everyone. So and after our complaint about the Ocean Spa, our guide Innenga took us to the very best in Nusa Dua Valentino Spa. It's a pity that we got there only at the end of our stay. All the other spas that were spent on seemed like a joke. The scheme is like that. There there is no Russian and Russian speech, English is rarely spoken at the reception. You can get there through a local guide and communicate through him. Price tag is 50 bucks for 2 hours of serious therapeutic massage. They don’t have a spa for less than 2 hours. It’s better to sign up, there are a lot of people there. They work from 15.00 to 22.00 at 15.00 00 customers are few, and in the evening there are crowds. We took foot reflexology (We were pressed on points on the feet and legs - this is a treatment), massage with herbal bags - clicked on all points of the body, face of the head, then massage with bags - complete nirvana, on another day we took a chocolate spa - points, chocolate, hot stones, kayf.
In general, I really liked Bali, only heaps of garbage and the feeling of constant divorce at every step scare away (and even when the locals realize that they have been seen through, they continue to try to breed you like children, and when it doesn’t work out, they make an offended face). Do not eat in Varungi, although the food there is cheap, it is absolutely not adapted for Europeans. Ours sometimes get poisoned.