Gajah Mina Beach Resort

Location was amazing. Design of the property meant that each bungalow/villa was very private. The pool was stunning. Waking up to the sound of birds was lovely.

I had a lovely bungalow all to myself above the pool . Very quiet and peaceful there … hardly any other guests there except on the weekends . There is a wonderful little cove below where driftwood collects and there is a bat cave ( not easily accessed from the property thou) Everyone who works there is really wonderful ( except for one ) and they had tried to get me to have all my meals bought to my room ….. but l really wanted to get out and about and so l ignored their advice . l understood why later (see below )

Balian Beach is not at all accessible from the property and it is located many miles to the South of it . The only restaurant is there at the hotel and it is best to have the food delivered to your room because the guy (Koman ? ) who waits on you is a very difficult person who really would rather you not come into HIS restaurant . I eventually left there because of him . He was very difficult and was in stark contrast to everyone else who worked there who were all very helpful and quite wonderful . The bungalow l stayed in was supposed to have an Oceanview … it did not because their were far to many trees and plants for that to be possible . You can see the water from the pool and the restaurant tho . ( enter the Sea cove at your own risk from the property !!!!!!! ) When l tried to leave there l found out that Grab will not pick you up since they do not service the area . So you have to hire a private car that cost a LOT more . I finally realized that l was fine if l wanted to be in a very isolated place devoid of other guests or any easy way to get away to another place to eat or visit any other sites . I needed to move closer to the more populated areas around Kuta and Denpasar .

Quiet

Nothing

The property is charming, and the pool is great.

The property is very understaffed, so we were left feeling neglected - and our expectations are not very high. There is a feeling of Miss Haversham about the place. Leaving us imagining what it would have like in its hay day. Laundry was 4 times more expensive than anywhere else we stayed and we could only pay that in cash, even though Gajah Mina was on the invoice. We were also disappointed to discover our minimal breakfast options (paid for and included) was a lesser version than other villas. This made us feel like we were somehow less valued than other guests (we booked the last villa available) - so we went out for breakfast after the first day (lots of great options in Balian) and we left Balian a day early. We had to walk past the neighbour's dogs (to get to Balian town and beach) who had developed a 'pack' mentality and one even nipped my daughter! So take a stick/handbag when walking into town and don't ask to borrow the hotel's umbrella if it's chucking it down, as they are "only for use in reception"...