Element by Westin Bali Ubud

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Element by Westin in Ubud was an excellent choice of hotel for our stay earlier this April. The location is nice – a quick car ride to nearby restaurants and local shops.

Ubud itself is lovely and the heart of Bali for it’s culture. In hindsight, I would’ve extended my stay here than spending more time in the south, as I ended up doing.

Coming back to Mariott‘s hotel – it was beautiful. Clean, neat and big rooms with balconies. Lush green views from my room – absolutely stunning. It has spa, pool, a little temple, and restaurants and a very polite staff.

I’m not a fan of breakfasts at hotels, except when it’s Asia. Then you’re talking so much more than just the breads and waffles and pancakes. Read savoury and bursting with flavours. I had a ball of a time eating those spicy sambals for breakfast!

Live local music to go with it only added to the whole experience.

It’s a green hotel – so no plastic or individual soaps and shampoos, which is great. Any other toiletry or self-grooming stuff is available on request. One day, when I asked for moisturizer, they said they didn’t have it. Not sure if it was lost in translation (body lotion vs moisturizer), but that was a bit of a turn off, but not a deal breaker. The thing is, if I’m booking four star+ hotels, I don’t lug my everyday toiletries with me.

The hotel itself was priced much cheaper on Expedia. I called Mariott‘s customer service team to match the price right then, but they said I could book it online and then submit a claim for the lower price.

The funny thing with that claim process is that the lower price should be available when they’re checking – which could be a day late or more. And the price could’ve gone by then. Which was the case with us. And the representative who responded to my emails later wasn’t the politest. So, I’m not sure if their matching program makes any sense at all – more because they don’t even bother checking your screenshots and time stamp from when you made the reservation. And you cannot be hoping the other sites have the same price till their representatives get time to check it for you?

But, coming back to the hotel – it was all things good. I’d highly recommend and let the pictures talk! Coffee and a very nice lime / lemon and ginger elixir, if you will – available all day. Water bottle refill stations were available (the green bit – thumbs up). Overall – so much more value for money than say a five star resort, which I stayed at later. My two cents!

Pool