Guest Reviews

samar: "Beautiful Retreat"

"This is review is long over due. My husband and I stayed here in April and was blown away by it's charms, service and location. Upon arrival, we were greeting with a refreshing non-alcoholic drink and invited to sit in the the sunken sofa in the lobby area. It was nice not to have to stand around and wait to check in at a counter. The reception came and handed me my paperwork while I was relaxing. The General Manager/Owner came out to meet me and explained that my original room that I had booked had a broken AC and they had offer another room for me to stay instead. All of the rooms are gorgeous, well-appointed and and large. It didn't matter which room we were but it was a nice touch that he would personally delivered that message to me. The grounds is nicely kept and looks exactly like that picture on the website, the location is a bit tucked away but it kept the street noise at bay. It was only a 5-7 min scooter ride to the gates of Angkor Wat. We are dinner there every day and the food was good, avoid the steak, as I think the beef quality in Cambodia can be a bit tough. Breakfast was included with our rooms and it was a la cart and it was very well presented. The bathroom reminds me of an old french colonial style with a claw-footed tubs. However, the amenities (lotion, shower gel, etc) was in a ceramic container. Be careful, Since the shower gel can get slippery, it slipped out of my hand during my shower and the top broke off. Upon checkout, they charged me for a replacement since they said it was imported from Thailand. I didn't questioned it but it seemed a little silly to put a ceramic container in a shower and not expect the guest to drop it on the bathroom tile. All in all, A perfect retreat to come back to after a long and sweaty day touring the temples. Highly recommend it!"

The Cabochon Hotel: "A little Oasis in Bangkok"

"A wonderful stay in a good location with a 10 minute walk to 2 sky train stations. Welcoming and charming in a time warp back to the French 1920's style with great detail and awesome real local food and well priced. Little nooks to have breaky, read and chill were great as was the relaxing pool area. This is an 8 room hotel that can cater to about 16 rooms, truly unique, our room / lounge was superb. We felt like we were staying at friends and with a warm goodbye wave from the GM and staff on the steps confirmed this. Totally helpful staff and English spoken by all made life easy."

Bassac Cruises: "Relaxing way to see the countryside and river"

"We booked a one night cruise and struck lucky as we were the only passengers on board. Even the 4 hour transfer on the first day was soon forgotten when we had lunch on board and cruised along the river and canals. In the afternoon we had a walk around the countryside and sampled some fruit. Everything was explained perfectly by An who gave us a lesson in everything Vietnamese, history, economy, education, social services, you name it, she explained it all to us. Back on board we had a drink followed by dinner. After a nightcap we retired to the small but comfortable a air conditioned cabin with ensuite. Early to rise, we had breakfast on board before transferring to a smaller boat for the final tours of local sugar factory, floating market and rice cake making. Again, expertly explained by An, we sadly said our goodbyes to face the 2 1/2 hour transfer back to Saigon. This was a great way to get to know a piece of the real Vietnam."

Noel Rodrigo’s Leopard Safaris: "You haven’t lived until you’ve seen this! Absolutely Magical"

"I've traveled on 6 continents, from the South to the North Pole, from luxury cruises to great hotels and guess what: Noel Rodrigo's Leopard Safaris is by far among the very best experiences you can have. The stuff is National Geographic-quality, the food is 100X better than you get in any hotel, and everything is made with love and hard work. You stay in the heart of the jungle, the stars in the sky and torches in the ground guide you through the forest at night, you wake up to the music of tropical birds. This is the place to find your inner peace, your wild heart and remember what life is really about. I will be back soon! See you there!"

Tugu Lombok: "The definition of hidden gem"

Hotel Tugu Lombok is absolutely the perfect place to relax and a must-do on your Indonesian vacation. The hotel has stunning panoramic views and amazing sunsets. The beach is serene and quiet (even the three or four children that were there when we were there were well behaved...). While swimming is tough since the shore line is very shallow and rock filled, the hotel provides free snorkel gear and water shoes that make a cool down trip to the water easy and fun. Each room is uniquely furnished with antiques from around Indonesia that gives the hotel a cool vibe you can't find anywhere else...and the rooms/suites are amazing!

Tugu Lombok: "Best ever hotel, would make it 10 stars if I could"

"This is by far the best hotel I have ever visited. First, the settings are absolutely amazing: we spent 4 days there, and were still discovering a piece of art or statue here and there. Our villa was delightful, so are the two pools and restaurant, and the gardens as well as the beach.... absolutely everything is stunning! I took over 300 photos of the grounds, and do not want to delete any. Attention to art and detail is everywhere. Next, customer service was also perfect: from the moment we walked in (and even before as they actually pay attention to nice to have requests at the time of reservation) everybody actually cared about our wellbeing. As an example, our flight was canceled because of a volcano, and hotel manager stayed late at night to make sure we could get a boat to Bali, and booked all taxi for us. Thank you to the full team, I hope we will come back. I will definitely recommend your hotel to friends and family."

YL Residence No.17: "Our wedding venue"

"This was our wedding venue for over 100 people last weekend. Pros: gorgeous location, good lawn to hold ceremony or reception, club house is big enough for contingency plan for 100 pax, good dance floor area and the rooms are lovely. You can sit out on the coconut lawn with your guests staying at the venue (we booked the whole place out over the weekend), it's very relaxing and the staff try their best to cater for your needs. Cons: communication leading up to and on the day of the wedding could be better. A few things went wrong (which had previously been discussed and agreed over emails and after a personal site visit made last August) such as glasses weren't pre filled for the first toast at our dinner, wine wasn't on the tables for guests to help themselves, the projector and audio during speeches broke and the team were very quick to jump in straight after dinner and clear everything out. The night before the wedding a unknown man came into my room at 4 am which was a bit odd - lucky I was in there to ward off any unwanted guests! The day after the wedding (Sunday) I was disappointed to see they had endorsed the next wedding structure to be set up right on the main lawn - we were checking out on the Monday and had just finished our farewell brunch so couldn't use the lawn even though we had booked all the rooms and paid ""location premium"" for exclusive use of the grounds. So it felt a bit sausage factory like - clearly it's a very popular venue! Overall I'd say it was a great wedding, very expensive but stunning location - you'll have to be patient with the emails and be prepared to invest a lot of time in going back and forth organising various members the YL Team and thinking of things that may be obvious - such as clearing the rubbish off the beach that YL overlooks."

tugu malang: "So luxurious"

"Our group of five arrived at Hotel Tugu by train late in the afternoon. We were greeted by very friendly and helpful staff who assisted us to check in. While our luggage was taken to our room we enjoyed the complimentary afternoon tea. The hotel is like staying in a museum. Tours are available but we were short of time. We enjoyed dinner by the pool before going to bed. We were woken at 12.30am and set out on our adventure to see the sunrise on Mount Bromo. This is a spectacular sight and well worth the journey. Warm clothing is definitely required. Don't forget your camera. We returned early morning to the hotel and had a few hours of sleep. That night we booked dinner in the King's room which is absolutely magnificent with so much to look at and so much history. We felt like Royalty seated at the table as we ate our meal. The staff went out of their way to make it a very memorable occasion for us. Next morning, after breakfast by the pool, our stay sadly came to an end we left for the airport. This hotel was one of the best that we have stayed in. We will definitely return again as our stay wasn't long enough to see everything that Malang has to offer. "

Samanea Beach Resort: "Charmingly cosy resort in a great location"

"Thank you to Jonathan and the staff at Samanea for such warm and welcoming service. Samanea is a small well kept resort with a good sized pool and excellent restaurant on the coast in Kep. The resort had a nice calmness about it, so it is a great place if you want to relax. The rooms are comfortable and a good size. It is not top end luxury but superb value and clean and well maintained. I recommend the restaurant and lazing on the loungers by the sea, letting time drift by. We did the TYKA Boat Cruise and it was a really great day out; I really recommend it. A short walk into Kep or a 3$ tuk-tuk. I would go to the Pepper Plantation and Kampot which are both a tuk-tuk's ride away. We will be back next year as we had a lovely time."

Tugu Bali: "Traditional Indonesian colonial style hotel with interesting antique collection"

"Cangu is the new up and coming area in Bali. Now that Seminyak is getting too crowded Cangu starts developing. The Tugu hotel was visionary when it got build 20 years ago. It was the first hotel to set up shop in Cangu and it has a location right at the beach. It is a not a modern style hotel, but a classic Indonesian style hotel build like a colonial building with hardwood flooring and a dark wooden interior. Everything from the light switches to the taps in the bathroom is old looking. I doubt there is any other hotel in Bali that comes close in colonial looks and feel. Room 206 we stayed in was part of a house, which had inside and outside areas. We stayed at the top floor which had views over the garden towards the beach. Below us was room 106 which would not have these views. There were also amazing views of the lotus flower filled pond which had wooden walkways crossing it to link to the honeymoon suite. When we entered we were amazed about the huge open space entrance hall which had a huge wooden statue of a Garuda bird. The hotel is full of Indonesian antiques, with the owner collecting these over his lifetime and displaying them in his hotels. The service in this hotel is excellent with the Balinese people being ever so friendly to assist you. The hotel also has a large grass area which connects to the beach. It is full of statues, beds to chill out on, and at night it is beautifully candle lit with hundreds of candles. This is the perfect place to chill out and watch the sunset. In the mornings you can eat breakfast here as well and this is something I would certainly recommend. The hotel has 2 restaurants, one doing good Indonesian fare. You can also do an Indonesian style cooking class which we did. They have also recently opened the Ji restaurant, a Japanese restaurant which is located in a 300 year old Chinese building which was dismantled in Java and shipped to Bali. They do excellent sushi here, which not many places in Bali do. There is no kids menu here but they can order food from the Indonesian restaurant which does have a kids menu. Outside there is a decent size pool which has a part that is 2 foot deep, excellent for smaller children, and a 5 foot deep area. There is no barriers between these areas, so keep minding the small ones. This is a hotel is OK for children, there is no kids club here and the pool is not necessarily suited for really small children. You go to this hotel to feel part of Indonesia's history. It has been done exceptionally well. I would say go sooner rather than later before Cangu gets fully build up. We noticed a hotel being build right on the back of this hotel, planning rules in Bali are almost non existent. The Tugu was building a large net for climbing plants to provide the necessary privacy."