Dedanau Hotel — Bedugul, Bali

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We were here August 30 - September 2, 2024. No one told us Bali has a little Switzerland! What a pleasant three night visit! Dedanau was a delightful little hotel choice ($77 /night with breakfast) perched just above the volcanic lake on Mount Bratan and a few minutes walking distance across the road to the lakeside Ulun Danu Beratan Temple. This high mountain lake location at 4,100 ft. (1,250 m) is a little gem in northern Bali and, by far, our favorite northern mountain destination when away from the coastal region just an hour’s drive away from Singaraja and Lovina.

Lake Tamblingan, Bali

Ayu Kintamani Villa — Toya Devasya, Bali

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We were here August 26-30, 2024. It’s a water park with day trippers but has a section of large, private villas with a private pool and access to the entire public facility. We were in the Gerbera villa. The ambitious and somewhat dated property is full of frolic with multiple pools overlooking the stunning volcanic lake in a mountain setting at 3,500 ft (1,100 meters).

Nighttime temperatures dip to 59F (15C) with daytime highs in August at 76F (24C). It’s a lot cooler than the oceanside resort we came from an hour away where it was 91F (33C) for highs and 72F (22C) for low temperatures.

We dug warm clothes out of our extra suitcase where they’d been since we left Japan four months before. It was a welcomed change and we enjoyed. Nightly rate on Agoda was US$88 /night including breakfast. See pics and videos below.

Ibis Styles Bogor Raya — Bogor, Java

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We were here one night May 17, 2024. We visited nearby Gunung Panang on May 17th. This was our choice for the quick overnight transit between our visit to this historical megalithic site and our final two nights in the country in central Jakarta. It was a good choice with the beautiful green spaces of the nearby golf course (not usually a go-to destination for us) in the cooler early morning. The bonus was also that we used their rush laundry service!

Hilton Bandung — Bandung, Java

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We were here just one night May 16, 2024. It's possible to stay just 15 hours in a hotel and leave with surprisingly lasting memories. Indonesia's Hilton Bandung delivered! After a stunning train ride across central Java we arrived at the Hilton where we were cheerfully upgraded to a nicer room. Thanks Christopher! Then, we RAN to the excellent in-house Italian restaurant, our favorite! We got top-notch service, extra desserts and made new friends. Thanks Jusuf! Then we slept like babies, awoke to stunning views and were treated to an extraordinary breakfast buffet that included ice cream. We don't often say this but, thanks Hilton!

We were picked up by our special local tour organizer to visit extra-special Gunung Panang on May 17th.

Villa Borobudur Resort - Yogyakarta, Java

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We were here May 13-16, 2024. The resort is located just 10-15 minutes from Borobudur Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in the world. It's about 90 minutes west from the town of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Beautiful property and a perfect accommodation for our visit to the temple. They took good care of us while we created another wonderful memory of our first-time visit to Indonesia's island of Java.

Mimpi Resort Menjangan - Bali

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We were here May 6-9, 2024. We chose this hotel because it was only about a half hour’s drive from the ferry terminal to catch the boat to Java for our onward travel. It was the perfect third stop in the trio of hotels on our northern exploration of the island of Bali. It’s a sprawling resort with 55 rooms set up against the mangroves that make up West Bali National Park. We’d recently been in small, sometimes empty resorts so it was a little shock that the resort was about 70% full.

But we had complete privacy in our private villa with two pools, a cool pool and a hot natural springs mineral pool, with lush landscaping where we could continue our naturist ways with all the water and sun we wanted. We emerged from our room just for breakfast and dinner in the lovely waterfront restaurant. Actually we only had dinner at the shore one night and ordered room service the last two nights.

You can see from the pics below why we didn’t want to come out of our room. We did have massages one afternoon including Paul got the unique offering of the singing bowls vibrational medicine body therapy.

Bali au Naturel - Bondalem, Bali

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We were at this stunning, serene oceanfront gay naturist resort for a week from April 24 to May 1, 2024. We also stayed July 20 - August 4th and August 11-26, 2024 — and September 6-11, 2024. We love it! Straight-friendly, stunningly beautiful, two pools with a terrific staff. There is an onsite restaurant that is lively with a menu we never got tired of — enough variety for us and well done. Variety of rooms at different price points. 10% discount for 3-day stays, 20% for 7 day stays. Total nights can be combined with stays at Laki Uma Villa in Kuta (same owners). Total bliss. Nicest room on the property plus mid-priced dinner was about $100/day (without alcohol). Breakfast included. 23-year old property, with some noticeable signs of wear and tear, has plans for a remodel in the future.

Sunclad / Laki Uma Villa - Kuta, Bali

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We were at this men’s clothing-optional naturist house April 21-24, 2024. Relaxed, colorful gay guesthouse with private rooms and dormitory housing. For our first stay in April we booked a Deluxe room ($27/night without breakfast). For our second stay July 17-20, 2024 we booked the Master room ($40/night without breakfast). Rooms have great beds, good air conditioning, one with a balcony, a refrigerator and shower bath. Colorful and artsy throughout. Only 30 minutes from Denpasar airport. Immediate services are limited and walking along road is doable but area is mostly bike/car-centric. Grab (like Uber) cars available for shopping and dining. Great for a couple days! Stay three days and receive 10% discount. Stay a total of seven days and recive 20% discount. Total days can be combined with sister property, Bali au Natural on the north coast. Management will arrange for affordable transportation between properties. A gem!

We also returned September 11-14, 2024 on our transition out of Bali. This is our go-to 3-night fast-as-possible transition into and out of the, less-desireable, over-touristed for us, Kuta/Seminyak/Denpasar metropolis in Bali from now on.