I spent 2 heavenly weeks in Dua Gils, (part of East Bali Villa), where Wayan and her staff looked after me superbly. My room was simple but luxurious, with air-conditioned bedroom and bathroom downstairs and a comfortable open living area upstairs where I could watch the sunrise on one side and the sea on the other.
The restaurant specialises in traditional Indonesian dishes, but with a bit of notice the chef can cook anything. She's fantastic. Guests can choose to mingle in the restaurant or keep their privacy.
Candi Dasa is smaller, quieter and cheaper than elsewhere in Bali, but I still found a wide variety of bars and restaurants. The shopping is great (cheap!). You can walk or get public transport into the main part of Candi Dasa from East Bali Villa, but it's also simple for Wayan to arrange transport. Some of the local restaurants will send a car to collect you and drop you home.
I was able to organise reservations, tours, snorkelling, cooking classes, etc from East Bali Villa. They also have their own spa with Balinese massage, healing massage and beauty treatments using a range of locally produced organic products. I tried everything and my favourite was the carrot treatment!
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If you come to Bali to get your hair braided and buy Bintang T-shirts, East Bali Villa is not for you. For the rest of us, it's paradise. We've already organised to go back next year for a family celebration and I'm counting the days.
