Villa Bendega Rato

I arrived with high expectations and leaving with those expectations well and truly exceeded. This is a very beautiful place; in fact so much so it was three days before we opened the front door to walk outside and around the village. The staff are excellent; the service discreet and superb; the meals are great; the pool is refreshing and the villa is simply the best! The only downside is packing to leave. Whilst the cost is high end the return on how you feel makes Bendega an investment in body and soul.

We came to Bendega Rato for a two-week holiday to spend quality time with our family, which is spread across four countries on three continents. The villa couldn't have provided a better venue for our reunion and is an oasis to enjoy a high degree of privacy, while having access to every amenity of a five-star lifestyle. There are 16 staff, including two chefs, butlers, security, gardeners and management. If you want pampering, this is a great place for it. With most of our group being passionate foodies (to the degree of almost obsessed), this was a particular area of scrutiny and focus for us. We were positively surprised, with the chefs recommending local dishes and delivered a consistent run of outstanding food. Even for the few fussier eaters (at least in terms of tolerance to hot local chili peppers) among us (and the 11-month old baby), there was a wide range of options to enjoy restaurant quality food multiple times per day. In terms of villa amenities, there is all you can wish for, with 950sqm of housing that embeds three massive, luxurious bedrooms, an air conditioned library (well stocked with interesting reading) and TV room, a large living area that contains a large kitchen, dining area and sitting area (with a large Javan couch for max relaxation). It must also be mentioned that the interior design and art work are simply exquisite. Outside is a large pool (I'm guessing 25 meters and nice for laps and enjoyment). There is a well equipped pavilion by the pool, where we celebrated a birthday party, and it contains a large dining table, a small kitchen and fridge (for the essential poolside refreshments) and a large couch to snooze on for the afternoon siesta. There are also multiple sun beds and umbrellas by the pool for max relaxation during the hot days. When it comes to staff, we fell in love with the crew at the villa. These are the friendliest bunch of staff you can imagine and were also great with our little baby. He played peekaboo all day with all of them and had a blast. Credits to the chefs for looking out for him too and made local dishes without the hottest chilies and salt. Also, when an air conditioning unit faulted in one of our bedrooms, the staff organized for another room in the neighboring larger (and very impressive) Villa Nui for the night while the unit was fixed. As a gesture of apology for the inconvenience, we received a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand). 10 points for attentiveness and service! Most of the staff are right up there with what you would encounter at typical five star hotels (polite, attentive and effective), although we felt a much stronger personal connection given how long we stayed at the villa and got to know the staff. One thing worth mentioning is that there are trainees that are still learning the ropes and might not have the same English language competencies as the lead staff (this might result in the odd coffee order going missing in translation, but nothing too problematic). As indicated above, the villa was amazing for our purpose (i.e. a family reunion where we could enjoy all day within the villa compound). The only thing that might not be ideal for everyone is the distance to Bali's stunning swimming beaches. The local beach is a surf beach that is filled with dark sand and large waves (and full of rubbish after a big storm). The closest proper swimming beach where you can check into a beach club or be a day guest at a nice hotel is the Seminyak beach (W Hotel is there). A bit further away is Kuta beach. However, if you want a pristine beach for swimming then the resort area of Nusa Dua is the pick of the bunch. The Nusa Dua resort area has a stunning beach that is great for swimming and is scattered with 5-star resorts. It is however a gated community and not a reflection of the real Bali (and is also the most expensive area on the island with a menu to suit western palates wanting to eat food from home). We checked in as day guests at the Grand Hyatt (didn't do much research on the hotels and was underwhelmed but it's a large resort with a great toddler pool and great private beach access). Overall, I would highly recommend Bendega Villa (either Rato or Nui or both) for anyone considering a high-end, relaxing holiday for a group (friends or family) and it is an amazing party venue. It is a place where you don't have to worry about anything and you can just go about relaxing and enjoying your holiday.