One Week of Luxury
We decided to treat ourselves to a resort lifestyle in Bali after living in a camper van for a month in NZ. We spent one week at the Komune Resort and Beach Club, which boasts two pools, two restaurants, full bar, spa, hair and nail salon, air-con gym and yoga classes. Everything you can dream of for a week of luxury. Also, Komune hosted the surf contest at Keramas that Shaun competed in, so it was super comfortable and convenient to stay on-site for early morning heats.
The Komune Resort spoils its' guests with two pools! The first is situated adjacent to the Beach Club restaurant and bar. You can even order up all the booze and appetizers your heart desires directly from your lounge chair. There's also bean bag chairs and picnic-style tables on a grassy lawn all around the pool area for extra seating. This area got pretty packed to the point of not finding any empty seats, but the surf contest is to blame for that.The contest was sponsored by Bintang (Indonesian beer), Alben's (hard cider) and RedBull- each giving away free drinks for a "power hour" every day. It was a huge party scene (with DJ and all) but can you imagine a better place to watch the surf? This pool comes right up to the black-sand beach with the waves crashing less than a hundred feet away.
Pool two: much more tranquil! The sign at the entrance reads for "ADULTS ONLY" and "Shhhh.. Chill Only" (bottom photo). This area was soooo much more relaxing, compared to the DJ and free beer scene at the Beach Club. The lounge chairs half deep in the pool was the cherry on top of the cake- it's so damn hot, it's perfect to tan & lounge while staying cooled off in the water.
The Health Hub: My favorite spot!! Right next to the chill zone, adults only pool. Facilities included... an air-conditioned full on gym with every machine/weight/accessory you could ever need, hardwood floor yoga pavilion that could hold at least 100 people, and a super cute restaurant open breakfast + lunch + dinner with uber healthy options (lots of quinoa, kale, feta, free range chicken, raw ingredients and macro-bowls etc.). We indulged in different juices and smoothies every day here! Yummm
Of course, the initial reason we booked the Komune was for the surf contest, May 3 - 7th. Even though it was only a QS1,000 ranked contest, it attracted a couple of the guys on world tour - Joel Parkinson, Taj Burrow also Bruce Irons. You can't blame them, because this contest venue is hard to beat. Taj ended up taking it out- for the second year! (bottom photo)
Last but not least (although lacking photos) is the Komune spa. They offer dozens of treatments- massages, facials, body scrubs, mani/pedi, deep conditioning, haircuts and styling, etc. Reasonably cheap compared to USA, but semi-expensive compared to Bali (think $25 for an hour massage).Luckily, we purchased the "Eat Play Surf" package with our 7-night stay. It was only $15 on top of the regular room price ($105/per night versus $90/per night) and it included:
- 7 thirty-minute massages
- 5 yoga classes
- Daily cocktails for two
- Daily breakfast for two (incl. coffee + juice + meal)
- 1 complimentary dinner (incl. starter + main meal + dessert, each person)
- 2 night surfing sessions (they have stadium lights on the ocean- didn't end up using them since the contest was happening)
So worth it. Even if it only included the free breakfast and cocktails it would have been worth it. Komune offers a mix of different packages, and I highly recommend considering one! If you wanted to do just a couple yoga classes and a couple massages, it would already cost you as much as the surplus on the room charge.The only downfall is a feeling of isolation (and/or feeling locked up) at the resort- there is not much to explore in walking distance around Keramas, especially when you have everything at your fingertips at Komune. Our first night there, we felt like oh my god, we could stay here forever, but by our last night we were ready to leave. One week is perfect. Even though Komune was fabulous, there's so much more to see and do outside of the resorts. Explore real Bali, local Bali.We're off to Uluwatu!!