Askara Villa

We live in Bali and stayed here a week while we were moving house. I'm sure this property was once very grand, but it's fallen on hard times, and despite the lovely staff, our week-long stay has been painful. When we arrived, I thought it curious when the housekeeping staff directed us to two different fuse boxes - it turns out this was vital info. On the first night, the AC in the bedroom, which the staff noted on our arrival "had some problem", rattled, wheezed and clonked every time we turned it on, with gushes of water, soaking the towels we laid out. The next day, the AC was serviced, only to begin shorting out the villa's electricity supply by 5 pm - 19 times before we finally fell asleep, exhausted, hot and very bothered, by 2 am! Each time this happened, we needed to unlock the bedroom door and venture to one of those two fuse boxes in the dark to get the power back on. The following day, we were told the parts were not available to fix it and that it would take an additional day until it could be fixed properly. When I asked about the hotel comping us the nights that were affected, given that they knew there was an issue but still sold us the room (which are comfortable when cool but ghastly when hot - the loud music, singing and later crying from the village across the fence, which went late, didn't help:)), they just smiled and shrugged. Overall, the villa is pretty old and worn and given its fairly out-of-the-way location (don't read Canggu and think Canggu, you'll be disappointed), the maintenance issues, and the unwillingness of management to act on them beyond simply taking your money, there are many, many other villa properties I would suggest before you consider Askara.

Pros: Great size, well-appointed and very private. Walk through the gates to your private property to an abundance of space including a well-airconditioned bedroom and dressing room, a beautiful outdoor bathroom, a separate outdoor kitchen and large inground swimming pool. Staff were all very friendly. Introduction and short tour on arrival with a glass of fresh orange juice. Daily housekeeping to keep the property quite clean. 24 hour security at the property gates. Property was out of the main town so was quiet in terms of street noise and people. They offered laundry services (additional charge) which was handy. Clear and easy communication via WhatsApp. Cons: Rooster at neighbouring property close to our villa starting at 3:45am every morning made for a very poor sleep! Also, the location was good for a bit of peace and quiet; but it was a little inconvenient as you couldn’t just walk into Canggu. We also learnt the hard way that many businesses (including this Villa) label themselves as being in Canggu but they’re not technically; which confuses the drivers. There is multiple Askara properties and two of our drivers went to the wrong one. If you stay here, make sure you reference it as Askara Villa in Dalung.