10days at this peaceful resort, staff friendly and helpful always smiling .. Clean on arrival and upkept during our entire stay .. Value for money ... Lots of advice and attractions .. Breakfast was enjoyable and great to catch up with other guests..

This is our second stay at Pondok Ayu within 12 months. Ayu in Indonesian means (I was told) beautiful and Ponkok is just that. This year we travelled as a family. My 14 yo son loved having the pool mainly to himself. Is a very safe, quiet property. Shopping, restaurants, beach are all but a short walk away. Hospitality wonderful. Thank you to ALL the staff. We have already booked again for September 2013. We have attached some of our photos.

We stay at the Pondok so often, it feels like our second home. The staff are all lovely and so welcoming- it's SO nice to be greeted at the airport by Gede's BIG smile and SO good to recognise all the same familiar faces. I think a good indication of a happy work environment is the stability of the staff and in all the time we have been to the Pondok, the staff have only ever left to go on maternity leave. Everyone seems to be SO happy there- a true indicator that the owners, Barb and Steve, must treat their staff really well. fEach time we come, we book it out so that the entire place is all ours and we share it with friends or family. This time, everyone we brought with us have never stayed there, but I think they will from now on. It was the first time to Bali for a few of our family members and they all LOVED it without fail. The beauty of the gardens, the gorgeous swimming pool, the big spacious rooms, the cleanliness, the fresh linen everyday, the little extras like mosquito spray and night torch in your rooms, the sunscreen and mosquito repellant next to the pool, just ensures that your stay will be as comfortable as possible. I told Barb beforehand that my niece Emily was turning 1 whilst in Bali, and the staff arranged a little party for her complete with a soft toy bunny rabbit almost bigger than Emily and a beautiful birthday cake and balloons all around her cot! This is just an example of how thoughtful Barb and her staff truly are. I almost don't want to write a good review (but I promised Gede and Barb I will) because I'm afraid it might make it more difficult for me to get a booking again- the Pondok will become too popular!!!!!

Stayed at Pondok for 4 nights after staying in Ubud. We had the suite, which was beautiful and exceptionally roomy, with all mod cons and masses of storage. There is free wi-fi, a small fridge and 2 lockable compartments for valuables. We were given 2 complimentary bottles of water each day. The only downside was the water pressure, which ages to partly fill the enormous bath, before the hot water ran out. OK for the walk-in shower, though. The staff are lovely and cannot do enough. Gede picked us up from our hotel in Ubud, and suggested a couple of places to stop off on the way to look for souvenirs, for which we were grateful. The shuttle service was really helpful when we were tired and didn't want to walk to or from the beach area. However, on the occasions we did walk back after our evening meal we felt perfectly safe, but just sometimes had to play Russian Roulette with the traffic on the dual carriageway. We often simply enjoyed relaxing on the terrace outside the suite, which was always comfortably shaded throughout the day. Breakfast was basically fresh fruit, orange juice and toast, with freshly-cooked eggs any way you like, plus bacon and tomato - or you could have pancakes. Laundry is washed on-site, is very inexpensive, and comes back the same day beautifully folded. Loungers and parasols are plentiful, and everywhere (including the pool) is kept scrupulously clean. We wished we had had longer there, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend Pondok to anyone (except it might mean we couldn't get in on a future trip!)