My family and I were looking forward to our short stay in Ubud but, unfortunately, our initial impression was tarnished due to the accommodation at Taman Harum Cottages.

We booked the accommodation via their website and were impressed by the photos. In reality, though, the family cottage looked quite different and needs to be renovated. It seemed very run down, dark and a bit dirty. Not how we envisaged our stay to be in Ubud.

We organised to have massages on the premises and would have to say that they were VERY average - even the massage room was unappealing.

The other inconvenience was the location. The cottages are about 15 min's out of central Ubud which means you always need to rely on transport to get you into town.

The only positive thing I have to say about Taman Harum is that the grounds were impeccable and the staff friendly enough. They were even willing to assist us in finding alternative accommodation.

Definately not a place I would be returning to.

When booking our trip to Bali, we decided that we wanted to go authentic. If we were travelling to a place like this we wanted to feel like we were there at all times, and did not want a generic "hotel room". We are so happy that we made this decision. Taman Harum is beautiful- the grounds, the rooms, the rice fields, and especially the people... NI Wayan Surati, Kadek Surawati, NI Wayan Balik, Balik Jendra, Dewa Ayu, Dayu Sukawati, Dayu Ratih, Made Kamariana, Ketut Kania, all of the Putus, and of course Hari made our stay a wonderful experience. It was my first time outside of my country, and they made me feel very comfortable, and safe. Everyone was so helpful, accomodating, and friendly, I would return to Taman Harum in a heartbeat- I wish that our 11 day stay never had to end. The food was delicious, even the "American" food, had a touch of Indonesia. We got to take part in a cooking class, got to prepare, and eat the most delicious meal that I have ever had. I also had my first massage ever in their on-site spa- very relaxing, and extremely well priced. The garden shower made you feel like you were in paradise. In fact, the whole experience made me feel like we were in paradise. We will definitely be back.

My partner and I spent two nights at Taman Harum. What a unique place. We stayed in the Honeymoon Cottage for $48.00++ or $58.08 USD per night, including breakfast. The cottage had a living room with sunken conversation pit, kitchenette, bedroom, completely open air bathroom and a raised bale overlooking the rice fields and Mt. Agung (when there were no clouds) Breakfast, though not gourmet, was still satisfying. The pool was quite nice, also overlooking the rice field and volcano. As there is a Temple on the premises, offerings are made all day long, which only adds to the experience. The staff were very accommodating, and barly raised an eyebrow when my partner and I checked in. They also run a shuttle into Ubud until 10PM, which was quite convenient. For a relatively small fee, you can partake in wood-carving classes, batik making, etc. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we were unable to take any of the classes offered. Though not a five-star resort by any stretch of the imagination, we both became enamoured with the place,
and did not want to leave. During our trip, we stayed at the Bali Cliff Resort and the Hotel Imperial Bali, but the Taman Harum was by far the most interesting of the three places. They also have a restaurant which provides basic Indonesian food at very reasonable prices. All in all, we would definitely go back.

Hope this is of some help
Dan and Bob

We booked a villa that was supposed to look into rice fields & Mt Agung. When we arrived, we were ushered into a rather run-down wing where there was no view whatsover. It wasn't exactly a stand-alone villa either but several double story units built together. The whole set up looked rather old & musty.

We insisted that we had booked a villa that had this view but the polite manager kept on insisting that the rate we were paying for was not for such villas. Nonetheless, I produced my printout & asked him to have a look at the website which published the details. After some to'ing & fro'ing he agreed but said he was doing it out of goodwill & that the webpage had made a mistake. (FYI, it is still the same webpage to this date with the exact same details).

So, we were led to our villa with the view. It overlooked the rice fields & had a glimpse view of Mt Agung from the balcony upstairs. Very tranquil indeed. The rooms were adequately furnished, pleasant but not luxurious. For the price we paid, it was value for money.

My advise is this, if you book a villa (with rice fields & Mt Agung view) & get ushered to the run-down wing with no view, insist on your rights. I remember this happening with another Tripadvisor user when I was doing research on this property last year.

Also, it is about 20 minutes away by car from Monkey Forest Road so you are not in the heart of the action. But they have a shuttle service on demand. Breakfast was acceptable but nothing spectacular. The on-site "spa" was an unispiring room. I definitely would not have gone there for a massage. There are a lot more nicer spas in the area for the same price or slightly more.

For what you pay, it is great value.