I booked a 4-night stay at The Jumah from September 5 to 9. So this review is fresh. I loved that its owner, Nyoman, was prompt in replying emails and queries. He gave a very good first impression.
Upon arriving, we were greeted with a spectacular landscape. Our villa, which hosted the five of us, looked stunning from the outside. We just loved the garden and the private pool.
That we were surrounded by greenery made us feel as if we were away from the hustle and bustle of Ubud when we were just a stone's throw away from town. The quiet nights were a welcome, which was what we wanted. The location is great. Jalan Bisma itself has an interesting array of food and spa options. Getting to the Ubud market and Monkey Forest was just a 15-minute walk.
The staff also gave a good first impression. They were always ready to help, whether it is a trip to the Bintang supermarket for groceries or helping my father-in-law to ascend and descend the staircase leading to the villa.
Sadly the cons outweigh the pros here. Especially for the price we paid.
Upon checking in, we found the villa was not properly maintained. There were cobwebs everywhere, from the ensuite bathrooms to the side of the beds. Our bedsheets and towels had lizard droppings on them.
It was very dusty, which was not good for our one-year-old girl. Actually not good for anyone, really. There were dead bugs everywhere. We found hairpins and such lying around. The soaps in the baths were way passed their expiry.
Water flow is a probably, so showering became a drag. There were also a lot of ants, mosquitoes and various bugs that greeted us especially at night.
I was told that electric mosquito coils would be provided but I had to ask for them, they were not setup upon arrival and for a capacious villa, the number of coils provided were insufficient.
Promised was security at night. But I did come out a few times to see if such was the case and found that between 10pm to 2am, there were no one manning the security booth. I knocked on the staff quarters a few times but no one responded, meaning we were actually left alone by ourselves most nights.
Also staff were caught sleeping in empty villas during the daytime.
The breakfast menu was very thin. Again, stated in the menu was an option of granola and yogurt, but only after asking the staff about this, they said it was 'not available' at the moment because the supermarket ran out of stock. Which is a really lousy excuse given that a 24-hour mini mart was just 500 meters away and they had yogurt and granola.
I requested for a banana for my baby girl on the third day and they refused to give it to me saying that the bananas are used for the pancakes. Do the math: what would a banana cost when we were the only guests in the villa throughout the week?
What really ticked me off was how slack they were on the last day of our stay. The night before I specifically requested for breakfast to be served at 9am. The staff saw us leave for Ubud market at around 7am and assumed that we didn't need breakfast.
My father-in-law waited at the villa but no breakfast was served. I confronted two of the staff. One of them, named Made, raised his voice, giving excuses such as we went out for an early round of shopping, hence no breakfast and that they didn't know that my father-in-law was in the villa.
These are the very same people that know my father-in-law has a stroke and can't walk. They even didn't bother to check. Worse, they didn't keep to what was agreed upon in the email.
Last, I decided to hire a driver and asked Nyoman for a recommendation. We were introduced to Ari Wayan, who is one of the drivers working with the villa. He was a typical scam driver, insisting on us to go to places he believes is 'best' for us and gave excuses whenever I countered with suggestion of my own. He was a driver after all, so just drive.
During our trip to Jimbaran, Ari sped and put all of us at risk. I know that the next day is a Balinese festival, but that does not give you the license to jeopardize our safety. He also is very hot-headed and either scolded motorcyclists or other drivers.
And, since he knew the places we wanted to go could not give him an form of commission, he decided to pull the 'my-mom-in-law-is-sick-hence-I-have-to-end-my-shift-early' stunt on us at the last minute and right after knowing that he would be paid for the day.
The location of the Jumah is great but if you are planning on staying at Jl Bisma, I would like to suggest you look elsewhere as there are myriad guesthouses, villas and even cottages that could provide you a better service.
Toutes les réservations sont effectuées directement auprès du propriétaire 