"No internet site can truly convey the experience you will have. It cannot show you the little things that make all the difference when on holiday: the atmosphere, the quality of the meals, the attention to details of all aspects of the stay, or the way the staff go out of the way to pamper you. At Villa Waru, all these attributes were exceeded like no other villa we have stayed at before.
We have been lucky enough to have traveled the world extensively over the past twenty years. Even luckier to have visited the same countries a couple of times. In all of this traveling, we have never stayed at the same place twice. Well this has now ended. When it comes to holidays in Bali, Villa Waru will always be our choice."
S.Paddon of Melbourne, Australia

"Our kids have told us several times that it was the best vacation they have ever been on - spending time with their friends and going to the beach – us adults also really enjoyed ourselves."
Doug and Nonie Eu, Hong Kong American family

"Your place is so indescribably beautiful that no words can do justice. There’s something for everyone here, family and friends in one place together, eating, laughing and, by the time we said goodbye, crying. What a beautiful place to celebrate our love."
E. Kim family, American family living in Korea

"The location was one of the best I have seen for team development. Our team enjoyed the great choice for presentations and break out areas. The staff are very supportive and the meals are just right."
M.Darling, Mandara Spa

"For our family, the friendship and capability of the staff made our holiday relaxing for all of us. They made us really feel like home. Thank you Villa Waru."
J & M Argente, Spanish and Hong Kong Family living in Canada

"I can confidently say that we could not have wished for better Home Exchange guests than April, Fritz and their family. They were charming to be with, respectful to our home and generous and warm.
We did a non-simultaneous exchange, and the accommodation (and general experience) they offered us at Villa Waru was superb! So much so that we are desperate to return, even as paying guests! You could not do better than a Home Exchange with this lovely family.
Enjoy it."
Camilla McDowell of Constantia Woods Estate, South Africa, www.constantiawoods.com

"... a wonderful oasis of paradise away from the turbulent world these days!"
The Ferrier-Boulas Family from France and America

 

We stayed at Villa Waru over Christmas 2009. Our group had my husband and I with our 7 and 4 yr old kids from California, my brother-in-law from Singapore, and my in-laws from India. So five adults and two kids. We all fit comfortably into the main house with beds to spare; did not use the Gecko suite which had been set up for us.
We're used to renting homes/villas here in the US, and have stayed at some spectacular properties, but this was among the best we've been in. Everywhere you look is a beautiful montage of lush greenery, traditional Balinese architecture and cheeky sculptures (frogs, gargoyles, dancers, you name it). I ran around with the kids taking a bunch of pictures the first afternoon, as they explored and discovered the Villa, ponds and gorgeous landscaping. For American travelers, the icing on our cake was the presence of a full staff and the personalized service that provided. A manager, cook, gardener and various other staff members - eight total, I think - were at our beck and call. Meals were charged at cost of groceries plus a small percentage for preparation and presentation - a great deal! Wonderful, knowledgeable driver and car (at extra charge). During our stay, I don't think the gardener got much gardening done - the kids recruited him as their chief helper in catching frogs and geckos for their temporary animal collection/zoo. It was great fun to watch the group "sneaking" around the property, and their shouts of glee when they caught a handsome creature. No worries, the kids released all the creatures the evening before we departed, and before that, on a morning when we were heading out on a day trip (and then caught them all again that evening!)
The rooms and bathrooms (including the outdoor ones) are maintained to impeccable standards - how they do this in tropical weather is beyond me. The saltwater pool is pure bliss in the warm evenings, especially once all the gorgeous landscape lighting is on.
The only negative of the property is the location - you can't see or sense the nearby ocean from it, and you have to drive everywhere - but you probably won't mind these; we didn't. ChillCalifornia = Californian Contributor for TripAdvisor.com

A week of decadent luxury can leave one unmotivated to return to real work. This would: a) explain why I'm writing this review instead of a report due tomorrow and b)suggest how wonderful an experience I've had at villa waru.
I could go into the details of what the property has to offer, but their website www.villawaru.com does an adequate job of that so I shan't bother. Instead let me give you a run down of our experience.

The Trip/Villa:
15 of my dearest family (+ kids + domestic help) congregated from all over the world to hang out here. We were all comfortably accommodated, but 14 adults probably is optimal for this villa. There are many "Zen-esque" or more minimalist villas that litter Bali, this is not one of those. Villa waru is a holiday home built lovingly by real people with real personalities. The overgrown bougainvilleas which are intertwined with the mature frangipanni trees may not be to everyone's taste, but we loved it just fine.

Location:
You need a car (or 3) the exclusive housing estate that is Taman Yasa isn't exactly walking distance from anything - really, we tried.

Accomodation:
Oh nice... all the mod cons you need and more. BUT it is not for everyone. one of my cousins had trouble sleeping from the statues that adorn the rooms. Don't get me wrong, the decor is tasteful, but remember that this is a real holiday home with a very personal decorative touch. Then there are the outdoor showers which I adored, but again some didn't take to bathing in the open. All bedrooms nicely are air-conditioned; but appear to work better in the newer pond villas. The main house & gecko suites are showing some signs of age, but I don't think it will be too much of an issue for the next couple of years.

Extra Features:
If you are lucky enough to have also gotten the lucky 8 suite, it comes with a home theater (I think Bose if overrated but who am I to complain), pool table, wine cellar and if you are so inclined a secret upstairs library accessible by the villas large walk-in wardrobe. Each of the other suites have their own living and dining areas too, but were grossly underutilized by us as we congregated exclusively at the pool-side bale and the massive daybed. iPod docks are everywhere - oh and did I mention 2 pools?
In the main house there is the rear-projection TV with blu-ray & DVD players + cable TV+ hundreds of DVDs; I'm hoping the owners trade up to a nice 60" plasma the next time I drop by, but bah - I didn't watch any TV during the holiday - and neither should you.
Here's the real extra feature we fell in love with. our friendly guard dog "Brownie" my 2.5 yr old fell in love with her - and truth be told so did all of my family - dog haters included.

Service:
We thought we may have been in trouble when Komang the butler had called in sick for the 1st half of the holiday, but no. The management company sent someone daily to ensure all are requests were met and 2 staff - Wayan the Chef & Made the driver really stepped up! Wayan did her best to address each and every one of our issues (oh and trust me 15 people had plenty of issues) and cooked fantastic meals to boot! I would also have no qualms about recommending Made to anyone - he saved us millions (currency exchange notwithstanding) by securing deals in restaurants, tours and massages for us. regardless of where we stay in the future, we will be calling on Made for his services (maybe we'll try and poach Wayan too :)
Made's contact is +--------- (in Bali -----------) - phone call or SMS
Oh another thing about service - we wanted to watch a world-cup match so what did they do? erect a 15ft" free to air TV antenna so that we could catch the matches we wanted. Now that's service.

The Experience:
Honestly, we tried to do too much on this holiday. We ventured out once a day (we tried to eat out once a day for variety, went shopping, sight seeing, spas etc etc.) when in fact we should have just stayed in and relaxed. Wayan's cooking beats every single culinary experience we went out to try an get. Also, there seem to be no limits to what can (or cannot) be done here at villa waru.

We wanted to have a gala dinner to celebrate our getting together; so out came the celebratory Balinese flags, they got a a lil' gamelan band and dancers (albeit amatuerish - but nonetheless fully decked out in traditional costumes) and get this - we got an entire Babi Guling (roast pig) brought in! (which unfortunately was as uneventful as Ibu Okas). What we appreciated however, was the creation of the wonderful atmosphere under the stars with warm candlelight.... and of course, our family, together. Sejok - Singapore Contributor for TripAdvisor.com