My husband and myself spent 6 wonderful nights at The Elysian in January as part of our two week honeymoon. It was perfect, we could not fault anything. l have been to Bali about 15 times over the 20 years, l have stayed all over the island but l can't think of anywhere that could surpass the Elysian for a romantic and private escape. All the staff were welcoming, always smiling and so helpful and prompt with any request we had for them. Our villa was divine, we never wanted to leave.It was my husband's birthday during our stay and Annie (guest liasion) arranged for a cake and candles to be delivered to our villa...it was no trouble and such a lovely surprise! Location was great, within walking distance or a very cheap cab ride to everything and being down the laneway only added to the whole Bali experience for us....no crazy traffic zooming past at all hours and it is why we chose to stay in Seminyak and not in Kuta or Legian! My only fear is that everywhere we go from now on, we will compare to our perfect stay at Elysian, and l worry that no where else will be up to scratch! We will go back and we can't wait!!!

We just landed back in Sydney this morning after 6 nights at the beautiful Elysian. We were recommended this villa resort by friends who regularly frequent Bali and had seen it being built on their last trip, so coupled with the wonderful reviews we read on TripAdvisor, we decided to book our stay.

We were met at the aiport by Wayang, a friendly guy with a big smile, who drove us in air-conditioned comfort (and provided us with cold, wet towels and chilled water to accompany us on the ride) to the Elysian.

Unlike the reviewer below, even though the reception area was simple, we were suitably impressed and enjoyed our welcome drink on arrival.

We were then shown to our villa, which certainly matched, let alone exceeded, our expectations. The villa was true to the pictures and description we had seen on their website.

We thought the private pool was a perfect size for 2 - and the villa itself is light, airy and has high ceilings. We loved the size of the bathroom and the shower area. We also loved being provided with an iPod full of tunes that we could put on to the iPod deck provided. Nice touch.

Everyone we encountered at the villas were extremely helpful, friendly and efficient.

We wandered down to Ku De Ta most nights for pre-dinner drinks and then on to a variey of nearby restaurants. We would highly recommend La Lucciola which is just a bit further on from Ku De Ta on the same road.

Also on this road is BodyWorks which is the best massage place in Seminyak (in our opinion). Amazing massage, facial, and other treatment options...in beautiful surrounds.

We chose to organise our own private driver for a trip to Ubud, for white water rafting, but the Elysian can arrange this for you at a cost of US$50 for 4 hours.

The staff are capable and more than happy to assist you with any request or query.

We really enjoyed our stay and recommend the Elysian to any couple wanting some quiet luxury in the heart of Seminyak.

Wish we were back there now....

We stayed at the Elysian over the Xmas and New Year period and had a wonderful time. Booked direct withe hotel on website and arranged VIP pick up at airport ($45pp). This worked perfectly apart from Qatar Airways deciding to offload my Business class luggage last. Side step the touts and into the aircon vehicle for drive to hotel. First impressions are not much - the reception is a very ordinary affair - absolutely no wow factor. Drink, cold towel and check in smoothly done, then show to villa.

The villa is wonderful. No description needed as wysiwyg on website and reviewers photos that show perfectly rooms and pool in the villas. Very hard to be critical of any aspect of the villa other than the Broadband service in villa is dire. If you are relying on voip to talk to family back home you will be sadly disappointed. Breakfast, cleaning, facilities all top notch.

Bali itself was not at its best over Xmas. The western monsoon blew leaving the beach in a dreadful state. Venturing out on foot to the local spots is easy to do. Some directions:

For Ku De Ta turn left out of the drive and keep following in the lane all the way down for 10 mins and you arrive at the entrance to Ku De TA and Oberoi. The worst (and most expensive) Pina Colada i had in Bali was at Ku De Ta it had enough ice to sink the Titanic.

For Seminyak (square) bars & restaurants is a 5 min walk if you do your homework on google earth and work the route out. Come out of the drive, turn left and after 5 paces immediately right (it is the lane that is block paved in grey. Just follow this round past the guy with the most scarecrows per sq/in you will ever see brings you to a line of very nice suites/villas that lead onto bars and restaurants.

Turning right out of the drive walk down hill for 5 mins until road really narrows to single lane at houses. Turning right here gives another access point to the beach if you want to avoid the bums and hawkers at Ku De Ta. If you don't turn right, keep going straight past the back entrance to Sofitel until you come to road (you can't miss it, there was always guys sitting there offering taxis.. Turn left and that will lead up to lots of bars and restaurants including Bahiana.

In conclusion The Elysian is a terrific place for couples of all ages and genders. It has an ambiance that gets you in relaxed and in the holiday mood perfectly.

We arrived in the evening after staying in fabulous places in Bangkok and Singapore we thought we could chill for a few nights before our long journey back to Europe and home.
We love Asia for the servic and style.... very much lacking here.
Apart from being disappointed in Bali after not being there for 5 years we found it very dirty and the service in the shops was a little lacking i.e. none.

We shall never go again as it ruined our holiday.
The management at the hotal was non existent and we could not even pay our hotel bill in Euros a major currency they would only except the US dollar / they did promise us that ythey would change this but that remains to be seen.
There was only 1 waiter who made our stay bearable.

We do not want to say more as it is not fair but booking this hotel through the Design hotels of the world where we have stayed at very many it does not deserv to be reprisented by them as we are now dubious of booking with them again.