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The Balinese Experience at Anantara Vacation Club Bali Seminyak

March 21, 2015 by Jean Holy Smithereens 8 Comments

Nestled in the heart of Bali’s fashionable and chic district of Seminyak, the Anantara Vacation Club Bali Seminyak is a place that makes it easy for you to feel at home.

Authentic and customised experiences are the top key priorities in this vacation property and I was very happy to experience this during my stay last January.

Anantara Vacation Club Seminyak Bali
Anantara Vacation Club Seminyak Bali

Despite being located in busy Seminyak, Anantara Vacation Club Bali is still located in a quiet and private area, away from the hustle and bustle of shops and cafes that Seminyak is known for.

Anantara Vacation Club is a timeshare concept property which is extremely family friendly. I won’t go into further details but the  gist of a timeshare holiday property is “securing your holidays in the future, with today’s market price”.

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The day before we are to check-in at Anantara Vacation Club Bali, I received a phone call from Tiffany, one of their front desk staff. She wanted to confirm our pick up location and approximately what time we will be arriving. After I gave her the details, she advised me that we may have to wait for an hour as their usual check-in is at 2PM. I said that this was not a problem at all and that we were happy to wait.

On the day of our check-in though, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they had worked it all out and we were actually given the room an hour earlier. Big kudos for making the extra effort despite knowing that we were really more than happy to wait!

Anantara Vacation Club Seminyak Bali
Anantara Vacation Club Seminyak Bali

All accommodation at the Anantara Vacation Club Seminyak Bali are villa types so the layout of the entire place is like a secluded neighbourhood, with wide spaces and tall walls in between villas.

Villas

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Villa at Anantara Vacation Club Bali Seminyak
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Villa at Anantara Vacation Club Bali Seminyak

There’s a narrow (but long) pool in the villa, and there are 2 main rooms that are on opposite sides. The living room area (with kitchen, TV, lounge and free snacks) are separate from the main bedroom.

Villa at Anantara Vacation Club Bali Seminyak
Villa at Anantara Vacation Club Bali Seminyak

This is the living room, fully air conditioned and I love the free snacks (along with a cooler of water and soft drinks) and fruit.

I hardly used this room but I can imagine that this will be a hit with families.

Bedroom at Anantara Vacation Club Bali Seminyak
Bedroom at Anantara Vacation Club Bali Seminyak
Bedroom at Anantara Vacation Club Bali Seminyak
Bedroom at Anantara Vacation Club Bali Seminyak

The canopied bed was indeed a good idea as the place does have a lot of mosquitoes, which is expected given the location with a lot of plants not just outside the room but surrounding the entire resort itself. There is a can of insect repellant provided inside the wardrobes and we just remained vigilant in ensuring that we kept the sliding doors shut at all times.

Bathroom

This is what I loved most about the room:

Bathroom at Anantara Vacation Club Seminyak Bali
Bathroom at Anantara Vacation Club Seminyak Bali

The bathroom was light and airy with a separate area for shower and toilet. But what gives it the airy and natural light is this:

Bathtub at Anantara Vacation Club
Bathtub at Anantara Vacation Club

I was told that the glass partition was a new addition. It used to be a window that you can actually open into the pool, but to prevent more mosquitoes from entering the room they decided to put a tinted glass partition, which I thought was really brilliant.

Of course, it provided a lot of entertainment too.

Goofing around: Bathtub that overlooks the pool at Anantara Vacation Club Seminyak Bali
Goofing around: Bathtub that overlooks the pool at Anantara Vacation Club Seminyak Bali

Food

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There is only 1 restaurant at the Anantara Vacation Club Bali – Called the Club Deli, this is the venue for all meals and is versatile to be both a casual and formal dining venue.

Jimbaran Seafood Style Dinner - Anantara Vacation Club Seminyak Balia
Jimbaran Seafood Style Dinner – Anantara Vacation Club Seminyak Balia

On one of the nights we were there, there was a Jimbaran Style Barbecue dinner. It rained cats and dogs that evening, so the venue was covered but this did not hinder the great fresh seafood barbecue dinner at all.

Breakfast

Breakfasts are a casual and leisurely affair. There is no buffet, but rather an ala carte style breakfast.

You can tailor your breakfast. For instance, Zombie loves the traditional Mee Goreng (Fried Noodles) with egg on top. I prefer a Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice) with scrambled eggs. And they catered to this request without batting an eyelid.

Mee Goreng for Breakfast - Anantara Vacation Club Seminyak Bali
Mee Goreng for Breakfast – Anantara Vacation Club Seminyak Bali

 Cooking Lessons

Our dinner the second night was pretty special. As I mentioned, Anantara Vacation Club is very big on experiences.

One of the experiences they offer is a full-course Balinese cooking class.

Spice Spoon : Anantara Vacation Club's cooking class
Spice Spoon : Anantara Vacation Club’s cooking class

This was definitely a very rewarding experience, and I wrote an entire post (including video and recipes!) of it HERE.

Temple Visit

Temple Visit with Anantara Vacation Club Bali's Recreation Manager Pak Barra
Temple Visit with Anantara Vacation Club Bali’s Recreation Manager Pak Barra

Another local experience we were fortunate to have gone on is a Temple Visit with Anantara Vacation Club’s Recreational Manager Pak Barra.

Temple Visit with Anantara Vacation Club Bali's Recreation Manager Pak Barra
Temple Visit with Anantara Vacation Club Bali’s Recreation Manager Pak Barra

We visited the nearby Petetinget Temple in Seminyak and Mr Pak Barra explained to us the Balinese box offering (it was prepared the night before), what each offering represented and what they usually pray for.

I was touched to know that most of the time, they give thanks in prayer. An attitude of gratitude goes a long way, whatever religious beliefs you follow!

Temple Visit with Anantara Vacation Club Bali's Recreation Manager Pak Barra
Temple Visit with Anantara Vacation Club Bali’s Recreation Manager Pak Barra

It was definitely a great experience to have visited this temple very solemnly. No tourist crowds, and we asked a lot about Hindu religion in Balinese culture.

I definitely recommend getting this tour and experience when in Bali, or staying at the Anantara Vacation Club Bali.

Video Tour

Here’s a video tour of Anantara Vacation Club Bali where you can see the entire place and also get to see the room layout, and the public pool.

 

Overall

I would recommend Anantara Vacation Club Bali to families, and a stay here is a definite must if you need some ‘down time’ from the hustle and bustle of Bali. I found our stay here to be really comforting, as we were still in the middle of Bali but definitely felt like we were further away as it was quiet, and privacy was really placed at a premium in the resort.

Management staff are also visible throughout our stay so even if you do not get the ‘full resort’ amenities , I still felt that guests are taken care of in a hands on manner. Staff were all courteous and unobtrusive, and we also rarely ran into fellow guests as you can pretty much do everything inside the villa.

Anantara Vacation Club Bali
Anantara Vacation Club Bali

Are you a member of any holiday Time-Share Concept properties? How do you find it?

Disclaimer:

We were hosted in a One-Bedroom Pool Villa by Anantara Vacation Club Seminyak Bali during our stay but all opinions and thoughts remain ours. 
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Filed Under: Asia, Hotels, Indonesia, Luxury Travel, Resort, Travel Reviews, Travels

About Jean Holy Smithereens

Jean is a lover of luxury travel and adventure, always looking for that "Holy Smithereens"-inducing moment on her travels. Follow the blog and other social media pages of Holy Smithereens to get the ultimate travel ideas for the luxurious adventurer!

Comments

  1. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says

    March 22, 2015 at 10:26 am

    Jean your swimming costume in that last pic is gorgeous-I thought it was an evening gown when I saw the top bit before realising that you were in the water 😛

    Reply
    • Jean Holy Smithereens says

      March 23, 2015 at 10:07 am

      Aw thanks Lorraine! It’s a one piece from Asos 🙂 Yes its probably one of those that can be a top too!

      Reply
  2. A Lady in London says

    March 22, 2015 at 10:59 am

    Looks lovely! I haven’t been to Bali in ages, but this makes me want to go back!

    Reply
    • Jean Holy Smithereens says

      March 23, 2015 at 10:08 am

      Thanks Julie! 🙂 I was only there not too long ago and I’m missing it a little now too!

      Reply
  3. Shikha (whywasteannualleave) says

    March 23, 2015 at 9:12 am

    This looks amazing Jean! The glass partition is such a good idea and the food here looks amazing!

    Reply
    • Jean Holy Smithereens says

      March 23, 2015 at 10:08 am

      Thanks Shikha! I agree the glass partition was a good choice , as opposed to the previous windows. I can imagine the mozzies that could enter the room!

      Reply
  4. vanessa rahn says

    June 1, 2016 at 11:28 am

    Hello– I just found your blog and originally planned on a Bali/Thailand honeymoon but I have been hearing that Bali beaches are littered with trash. When you went did you notice this? I would be going in the month of July. Planning on Seminyak and Ubud for stays. Any information is helpful. Thanks

    Vanessa

    Reply
    • Jean Holy Smithereens says

      June 2, 2016 at 5:48 am

      Hi Vanessa! I have to be honest – I absolutely enjoyed the resorts in Bali, but not the beaches (Well, Seminyak Beach and Kuta Beach ) – those two were the only beaches in Bali I’ve been to and during the times I was there (one in June, one January), they were unfortunately really filthy. I guess it depends on the time you go because I see other travellers having gone to Seminyak, the same beach and their photos look ok and they say it wasn’t littered. Every morning, there would be a massive cleanup happening at the beach but the rubbish comes from the ocean itself (it’s a big rubbish disposal / handling issue with the government) so throughout the day, the beach would start to be littered with trash. Many say you have to go to the undiscovered beaches of Bali to enjoy. I haven’t been. I honestly go to Bali just for the resort experience , spa etc. definitely not the beach 🙂

      Reply

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