Let’s be honest, hotels can be expensive.

Looking at tourism in Bali travel statistics, we see that many people travel in groups or families of 4-6 people requiring at least 2-3 bedrooms at rates averaging anywhere from $100-$800 per night depending on your level of quality requirements.

Sure. This gives you a big pool, gym, social interaction, a smile from the front desk, the concierge and baggage handlers, there’s room service and a clean room to come back to at the end of a long day of illustrious shopping and sight seeing in the wonderful Bali.

However, on the flip side. The pool is public and shared. The gym is barely used. The social interaction consists of screaming kids and rowdy teens. The smiles are impersonal and disappear 9 out of 10 times when faced with any problem. The room service, inconvenient. When a door knock accompanied by ‘room service’ awakens you in time to watch the sunrise on a Sunday morning.

If you look into some of the Bali Villa options available, you will notice that there is a big range of pricing. More often than not, you will find that when comparing a private Bali Villa ‘room for room’ with a comparable hotel the Villa will come up cheaper.

Then there is the added advantage (depending on who you stay with) that a private Bali Villa allows for a luxurious and more personal, tailored accommodation experience.

So if you make the right choice you should expect to be rewarded with the following:

1. Value for money

2. Private pool

3. Absolute unadulterated Privacy

4. Great on site staff with 24hr smiles and an untainted attitude toward making your every wish and request a reality

5. Great on site staff that can become off site as soon as requested

6. Room service that caters to your own personal plans and time allotment

7. A solution to any and all your problems, and at times the owner close by if needed

8. More space for a fraction of the price with your own kitchen, complimentary WIFI, living space in a real ‘home away from home’ setting

9. With tourist packages organized, drivers organized your entire holiday can be planned from within your private Bali Villa by the helpful staff.

10. In villa chef, which can be arranged or is provided

The advantages are plain to see.

However, with so many Bali villa rental options and the private Bali Villa market expanding so rapidly there are a few things to check and look out for to assure these requirements are met.

Where will you stay?

Bali is exactly 5632.859863 Square kilometer or 115km x 112km. So while it is relatively small, the options of where to stay in Bali are extremely diverse.

Here i will cover a few of the more popular options.

Kuta:

Kuta is the most densely tourist populated area in Bali. With its nightclubs, bars, surf brand shopping, high-rise hotels, polluted beaches, extremely congested roads and heavy traffic, over ‘touristation’ has left its mark.

While Kuta is an exciting place to stay, the Villa rental options will not be as quiet or ‘private’ as some other areas in Bali. Luckily, one advantage to the small size of Bali is that Kuta is only a 10-15 minute scooter ride away to feed the hunger for a big night when required.

Pros

- Clubbing, bars, nightspot
- Shopping (surf brands)
- Market shopping and haggling

Cons

- Lack of privacy and loud
- Market vendors intensity
- Pollution
- Traffic

Ubud:

With art markets, dance displays, temples, quaint villages and villagers and a few good dining options Ubud is an extremely relaxed setting in which to do a whole lot of not much. A good place to retire to for a few days to gather your thoughts and make peace with nature. Although, for longer stays a driver is a must especially if you seek excitement. As the traveling time from Ubud to Kuta or Seminyak is approximately 1.5 – 2 hours drive. So, a good option if you just want to chill. Not so much if you are after a balance of relaxation and adventure or at least a choice of one or the other.

Pros

- Cultural
- Quiet
- Natural

Cons

- Travel times and distances
- A little less developed than other areas of Bali
- Limited shopping
- Limited dining

Seminyak:

Seminyak’s atmosphere is much more sophisticated and laid-back than Kuta, and the beach in particular is quieter and cleaner. Seminyak is also the high-end spa and boutique shopping capital of Bali. Nowhere is the up-scaling of Bali in recent years more obvious than here. If you have the advantage of choosing a Seminyak Villa rental that is set back a bit from the main roads, you will enjoy absolute quiet and peace with just a short stroll taking you right back into the action. Seminyak offers entire streets of shopping options and restaurant choices.

Pros

- Laid back
- Cleaner
- Shopping
- Restaurants
- Cafes
- Quiet/serene and private

Cons

- Can be more expensive
- Traffic at times

Of the three options covered, a Seminyak Villa Rental would be the most ideal for a balance of privacy, shopping, dining, spas, excitement and relaxation and yet it is still conveniently located in Bali and just a short distance from Kuta.

How Much Will you Budget?

How much you will spend on your ‘home away from home’ Bali Villa is dependent on but not limited to a few factors.

- Location
- Inclusions
- Bedrooms
- Facilities and Services
- Quality of Villa

With new Villa rentals in Bali popping up monthly in this ever-expanding market in Bali, you will find that a little bit of research will get you a ‘home away from home’ that checks all the above boxes at a decent nightly rate.

What to Look for

- Location

picking a location that will suit your desired experience is important. So start with this.

- Reviews

Reviews are the building blocks for any successful rental property and give you an insight that no photo or description will give. Look for consistency across the review’s and keep in mind that one or two bad reviews against a heap of excellent reviews should not entirely account for the general business practice. Any concerns, email the owner and gauge how to take based on their response.

- Photos

Are important to show you what you are getting. Ask for more if required. Look for photo’s that have been shot honestly and that don’t air brush or glamorize the Villa rental.

- Inclusions

Tax included? Airport transfers? Breakfast? WiFi? Amenities? Service? Portable cots? Pool Fence?
Although this information should be provided on the Bali Villas listing, always check this and ask about anything that is not covered on the listing.

- Staff

How many staff, what are their working hours, are there any days that they have off or will not be available?

- Facilities

How many bathrooms? TV in living area? Size of Kitchen? Size of living area? Size of pool? In Villa catering? How many bathrooms? And so on.. You would be surprised at how many times people burnt by failing to ask some of these simple questions. Again, while most of this should be covered in the Villa rentals listing, do not forget to ask if there is anything you need re affirmed or anything that is not covered.

- Optional extras

Are there any optional extras available

- Best price

With the private Villa rental market being so competitive there is no harm in asking for a better price. Remember though, that you have a better chance of this happening on off seasons as Bali Villas generally fill up months in advance for the busier seasons

- Details of the Owner

No harm in asking where the owner is from for more of a quality assurance.

- Furnishings

Looking at the state and quality of a Bali Villas furnishings will be a good indication of the state and quality of the Villa itself. Also a good way to see whether the Villa rentals style matches with yours to create a more harmonious stay in you ‘home away from home’

- Size of pool

2m x 2m will not fit a family of 6

- Size of bed

A large, luxurious comfortable bed will be the icing on the cake for your stay.

With this in mind, checking sites like HolidayIQ http://www.holidayiq.co.id and tripadvisor http://www.tripadvisor.com/ is a great place to start to compare your options for your next stay in Bali at one of the luxuriously private Villa rental options available!

Remember to pack your best pair of swimmers and enjoy beautiful Bali.