Bali has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. A vacation there just sounded so exotic and relaxing to me. This year I go to cross it off my bucket list with baby! I knew that I wanted to find a resort that’s not in the tourist-y areas like Seminyak since I really wanted to have a quiet relaxing end to our crazy round the world trip. I eventually found The Griya Villas and Spa in Amed, Bali.
OK, so it’s a little far away from the airport (about 3 hours), but if you’re looking to find a nice secluded place to get away from the world then The Griya Villas and Spa is the perfect place! The hotel sent a driver to pick us up at the airport and they provided a car seat for the baby.
This is the nicest hotel I have ever stayed at! It’s like having my own little home in Bali. Each villa comes with a kitchen, dining room, living room and private infinity pool overlooking the mountains and beach.
Our villa was clean and designed beautifully, which makes sense since the owner is Scandinavian and it showed. Also the villas are equipped with mineral water, a stove and fridge (for breastfeeding or formula mamas).
The shower is an open air waterfall shower that looks like it came out of a magazine! I came here with my 10 month old daughter and husband, but I joked that this was like having a honeymoon since me and my husband never took one. The guest manager let us know that most people who stay here are on their honeymoon or family’s looking to spend their time mostly in the villas (like us).
The staff have been so kind and treat my daughter like their own – playing with her and always taking time to say hello! There were tons of times where they played with her so that my husband and I could eat our meals. The Balinese really believe that it takes a community to raise a child and on many occasions found little ways to help us with the baby. The guest manager,Dewi, even bought her some biscuits since she was teething!
The hotel restaurant, Safka, has a beautiful view of the mountains and beach and is quite romantic! The food here is also amazingly good! My husband and I weren’t expecting much since it’s a small island and we figured it’d be hard to get a lot of produce, but we were so wrong! They cook with seasonal and local produce making every dish super fresh. I also really appreciated that they had tons of vegetarian options for my family. They even have a kids menu with purees and finger foods options for kids of every age.
Although we spent most of our time in the pool at the hotel, we decided to venture out a few times. There are a lot of activities nearby like snorkeling, diving, visiting rice paddies, and temples – all of which the hotel provides tours for at a reasonable price. We rented snorkeling equipment from the hotel and hit up the beach. There was a storm before we arrived so the water was pretty cloudy but my husband said he saw a good amount of corals and fish. We also visited Tirta Gangga, an attraction not too far from the hotel.
Tirta Gangga is a former royal palace also known as a water palace. It is a 45 minute drive from the hotel and it’s a great place to take kids! The entrance fee was 30,000 Rupees (~$3) which came with bags of fish food!
We walked around and fed the gigantic coi fish in the ponds. Honestly, I think I was more excited about the fish than Elara. I loved how they circled the stone you’re standing on and how they followed you throughout the water labyrinth.
The Griya also offers spa treatments which are reasonably priced! Originally my husband and I planned on having two separate massages so one of us could watch baby while the other got a massage, but the spa staff offered to watch her in the spa lobby so that we could have a couples spa treatment. This is was so kind of them.The masseuses even let us know how she was doing in between treatments! Rhut and I ended up getting a 3 hours treatment which included a body mask, exfoliation, flower bath and massage. This whole package cost a whopped $99 for the both of us!
Honestly if you’re looking to have some quality family time I really recommend going off the beaten path in Bali and checking out The Griya Villas and Spa. The staff loves kids and are extremely helpful and kind. Our stay there was so relaxing that we are actually thinking about going back with the rest of our family to do a family reunion/vacation.
Disclaimer: Many thanks to The Griya Villas and Spa for hosting my family and I for our stay, and as usual – all opinions are my own!
