We are an English couple in our early 30s currently staying in the Alu-Bali villas on the second part of our honeymoon, having spent the first 4 nights in a suite at the Hilton in KL enroute from the UK to Melbourne (where we currently live).

We are very used to staying in good quality hotels and have travelled extensively throughout Australasia, Europe and the US both on business and for fun. I always think its hard to judge people's opinions on this site as different people have different standards so to help you, I would classify my partner and I as well travelled and "fussy" as regards what we expect in return for our hard earned cash!

So what can I say about Alu Bali? First of all the positives (and there are many):

* We booked our trip on-line directly with the hotel and the communication was always excellent via email with Alu-Bali. We got a great price of US$240/night including transfers and breakfast and we were upgraded to a 2 bedroom villa upon arrival.

* We arrived at Denpasar Airport on Saturday and were picked up by the first of what can only be described as the happiest hotel workers we have ever met! We were swiftly transported, in comfort, to the villas.

* The villas are beautiful, well laid out and spacious. All the fittings and furniture are quality items in the traditional Balinese style. The pool is large enough for a large family, let alone a couple on honeymoon (though it is unheated and therefore cold if you are used to being very spoilt!) Basically the Alu-Bali website is a 100% fair representation of what you can expect to get when you arrive here in terms of accommodation.

* The morning breakfasts are great and you get a very good choice of western and local cuisine to choose from. It is very nice being able to book breakfast for a certain time then have the friendly staff prepare it for you whilst you laze on the sun-lounger or day bed.

* The food that we have had in our villa for lunch and one evening banquet meal has also been very good and of a comparable standard to what you would get in a cafe or restaurant in lots of places in the UK or Australia.

* There is a well stocked bar in the kitchen area with a variety of soft drinks and beers and a small selection of wines (no spirits so bring your own - you are allowed 1L per person at customs and they WILL stop you as they scan all bags........ as I found out!) Prices are very reasonable with a can of Coke being the equivalent of about 80p and a beer being about £1.20. Good wine, as with everywhere on Bali, is quite expensive though not so horrendous as to put you off.

* The villas are close enough to restaurants, bars and convenience shops to ensure that you don't have to get a taxi everywhere though the hotel are more than obliging in ferrying you to anywhere that you would like to go on the island providing you book ahead for the use of their car. A number of comments on this site mention that you need to get a taxi to restaurants etc but I totally disagree.

* There are 2 good restaurants very close to the entrance (Living Room and Hu'u which is also a pretty lively bar/club........more to follow on this) and a further 5 or 6 on the beach which is no more than a 10 minute walk away for all except the very elderly. Put it this way, I have relatives in their 60s who the above walking time would apply to.

* There is a convenience store about a 4 or 5 minute walk away which sells beers, cigarettes, snacks, water etc etc. Its open 24 hours and the prices are roughly 50% of the hotel prices i.e. worth the short walk if you are on a budget.

* Taxis for trips further afield (and when the hotel car is booked out) are plentiful and when ordered from hotel reception, very prompt. It is also very cheap to get to pretty much anywhere in the Seminyak, Legian, Kuta area.

* If you are considering working on holiday or if you just want to keep in touch with the outside World, there is a free broadband, wireless internet connection for the villas which is very handy! There is also a small TV and DVD player in each room.

* Everybody is very friendly and the level of service is amazing. A small army of people cook, clean and generally look after you every day and you are left to simply relax and enjoy the holiday.

* The hotel seems to be very secure and every car is security checked at the hotel entrance. There is a 24 hour guard on duty and each room has a decent sized safe (though this is not secured to anything!)

All very good so far but there are some negatives:

* We arrived on a Saturday evening and everything was very peaceful however, after a long day travelling (and it is our honeymoon!), we retired to bed early only to be awakened at about 11.30pm with the sound of the Hu'u restaurant / bar turning in to a nightclub! Now, I am 31 years old and grew up in Liverpool so I like a good night out however, this place was LOUD! And it was loud till 3am. If you are coming to Bali to spend all your time clubbing and drinking through to the early hours this won't affect you but I am, to put it simply, past this and my idea of coming to Bali was to have a romantic, relaxing honeymoon and our first night was anything but this due to the unbelievable noise.

* We seriously considered checking out after the first night due to the club but we spoke to the manager and we were informed that it is only Friday and Saturday when things get loud. To be fair, she has been proved right and Hu'u seems to be more of a quietish bar throughout the week and seems to be closed by 12.30am / 1am. You can still hear the music faintly but you don't feel like you have your stereo on full blast in the same room as you like you will do on a Saturday! We are meant to be here for 10 days and we are still contemplating moving to the quieter Ubud area for our last weekend to get away from this.

* The area surrounding the hotel is not exactly enticing beyond the local restaurants but I am sure this applies to most of Bali and we have to remember Indonesia is a third World country! It is certainly not like a European holiday resort so don't expect things like pavements, road crossings, covered sewers etc etc! That said, you will not really want to leave the villas during the day and we only want to go to a nice restaurant each night to eat and that is very easy to do as mentioned above. You could spend the whole time at Alu-Bali and only leave the complex in a taxi to go and eat if you wanted and you would still have a great, relaxing holiday.

* There is no direct access to the beach and it is about a 10 minute walk away however, the beach at Seminyak is not exactly fantastic (in our opinion) so you are not missing much. Stay by your pool!

* There is some construction work going on around the villas but nothing that is too disruptive. As the resort is at the top end of Seminyak, it is a developing area and I suppose you have to expect this. This should not put you off booking but be aware that the area will most likely continue to be developed.

* For all the great service that we have been given we have not had anything from the management by way of recognition that it is our honeymoon. The Hilton in KL was much better with this with a bottle of wine and chocolate strawberries on our first night followed by a rose petal bath on our second night. Only a small touch which was very much appreciated and I would have thought that a small resort like Alu-Bali would be able to do something similar for honeymooners.

To summarise, Alu-Bali represents great value for money in our opinion. Its probably not the best place we have ever stayed but it is certainly towards the top of the list. Couple this with the fact that our 10 nights at Alu-Bali will probably be about the same price as our 4 nights in KL and we think Alu-Bali has lots to offer especially if you are looking for a relaxing time in luxurious surroundings close enough to good food and a couple of bars.

Would we come back? Yes but we would probably try and avoid the weekend party next time.

You do get what you pay for but I think it is very fair to say that Alu-Bali represents excellent value for money and, from looking at a couple of other options in the area since we arrived, it must be one of the best choices in the Seminyak area.