As the last destination of my 10 day Bali trip, I wanted to stay in Uluwatu or somewhere in the southern end of Bali to experience the surf culture, beach life, and spend some time in the sun relaxing after running around Nusa Penida the last two days. While looking for nice Instagrammable hotels in southern Bali, I was going to book a hotel near Seminyak again when I realized it takes almost 1.5hrs to get from Uluwatu to Seminyak. So in the end, I concluded that I should stay in Uluwatu instead and use that as a starting point for my travels. I looked around for a very long time, I scoured over Instagram, Pinterest and Little Red Book and in the end, I came across Gravity Hotel.
Gravity Hotel is a four star high end boutique hotel, with views overlooking the Bali sea. The hotel comes with four different pool sections, one main pool right by the check-in area and restaurant. Three small pools linked together in the lower section by the cottages. The hotel is Santorini-themed, with white walls with thatched roof villas in a quiet oasis in Uluwatu, Bali. As you stand from the lobby, you are welcomed with an infinity pool, vast green fields with the Bali ocean to the far end as your enter.
Before coming to Gravity hotel, I conducted a lot of research on the type of room I wanted. There were so many room types, I was going back and forth between their Instagram account and their official website to see which one I wanted the most. Even their bathrooms for each cottage were different as well! Some cottages had a balcony and I believe their highest tiered cottage had a private pool. Otherwise, all the other cottages shared the pool space outside.
Drones were not allowed as some of the showers were open-aired. Meaning you could stare at the stars in the sky above while taking a shower! This made complete sense but I couldn’t help but thinking what a pity. It would’ve been a nice spot to get an aerial shot of the three lower pools together. A couple were flying their drone for at least 10 minutes before being told to put it away. That’s plenty of enough time to get your shots *wink!
At the end, I settled with a Suite Bungalow room ( Suite No. 7 ) because it was right by the lower pool area which allowed me to get a photo with the bungalow and pool.
How to get here
Like anywhere in Bali, the best way to get to Gravity Hotel is by transfer by taxi, private driver, or if you don’t have too much luggage, by scooter. Gravity Hotel is a comfortable 60 minute drive from Denpensar Airport, and private driver should cost around 150K- 180K. I came to Gravity Airport from Sanur Ferry port (after returning from Nusa Penida) and I made a private car hire booking + ferry ticket which was a combo price of only. This was a great deal, the only downside is, the transfer is a group transfer which meant you may be stopping at different locations along the way. But given the price I paid, I didn’t complain at all. If you are travelling from Sanur Ferry port, then I recommend using this link from Klook!
How to get around
Gravity hotel provides scooter-hire at 75K IDR/day (24-hour hire). This was considered cheap as we were hired scooters from 100K IDR/day from another hotel. The scooters provided by Gravity hotel was better QUALITY than before and there was already oil in the tank (luckily!) If not, you can buy a bottle of oil nearby or go to a street gas station to top up (usually 3K-5K). Ask first which color oil you should add as there is green, yellow and blue oil @different prices!
Nearby the hotel
- Bingin Beach– Quite a crowded beach as it is very popular for surfers. I didn’t go to this beach because I was looking for a quieter beach, but come here if you are a fan of surfing!
- Suka Espresso– We came on a lunchtime and it was full of people who wanted a quick bite before heading to the beach. This place is great for a hangout and provides a wide range of healthy food, salads, smoothies, acai bowls as well as really unhealthy smoothies. I ordered a huge OREO smoothie which I regretted greatly after seeing the girl beside me order a chia pudding smoothie (which looked 100% more healthier than mine).
- The Loft Uluwatu– Prices for this restaurant are bit higher end as the restaurant is cleaner, nicer and more formal than Suka Espresso. I had a falafel and Felix had a burger, local specialities cost more so we did not try them. The meal ended up to be 90K for two mains, come if you’re looking for a
- Ulu Cliffhouse – trendy and pricier beach clubhouse located in Uluwatu. Come early for nearly-empty clubhouse which gives you an advantage to take photos without people (the pool will be empty too!). If you are here just for drinks, you can sit in their restaurant to the right without a minimum charge, or else it will be a heafty min fee of 750K IDR for their lounge spots. Ulu Cliffhouse has their own small beach for those who are adventurous and willing to walk down all those 300+ steps. I’ll be writing a more comprehensive review for Ulu Cliffhouse soon — stay tuned!