Aung Villa

Aung Villa is a 2-bedroom, 3-bathroom private villa in Ubud, Bali, with a private plunge pool, two king bedrooms, air conditioning, a full kitchen and free covered parking, sleeping up to 4 guests, from IDR 1,612,524 per night.

Start with the geography. Ubud Palace is six minutes away by car, the Art Market seven, Monkey Forest and the Campuhan Ridge Walk ten, Tegalalang Rice Terrace and Goa Gajah fifteen, Tegenungan Waterfall twenty. Close enough that you can have breakfast at the villa and coffee in central Ubud without making a plan. But Aung is not on the road that carries all of it. Bob, one of the first guests here, said it best: "just far enough from the main road and the hustle and bustle, making it very quiet in and around the house. It is easily accessible by motorcycle and taxi." Ubud's restaurants, cafes, yoga studios and spas are a short ride away; you come back to a lane where the loudest thing after 10pm is insects.

"The house was nice and clean, just far enough from the main road and the hustle and bustle, making it very quiet in and around the house. It is easily accessible by motorcycle and taxi. The host is nice and responsive."

What you see is a walled tropical garden at ground level, and from the upper terrace an open outlook across a dense canopy of coconut palm, banana and elephant-ear, a valley beyond, tiled rooftops in the distance. The rice fields are a walk, not a view: head out through the lanes and you are among green sawah and ordinary Balinese village life.

You arrive through a carved timber gate off the lane, into a walled courtyard built around the pool. Green mosaic tiling, dark stone coping that curves at one corner, a built-in entry step and bench to sit on. The villa forms one side of it, a white boundary wall trailing vines and ferns the other. No neighbour overlooks it. At dusk the underwater lights come on and the whole courtyard glows, which is the single best hour of the day here. Be clear on the scale, though: this is a compact plunge pool, for cooling off between trips into town and sitting in with a coffee at eight in the morning. It is not a pool you swim laps in, and we would rather you know that now than after check-in.

The living pavilion sits directly on the pool deck, and its glass wall retracts, so the room either has a fourth side or it does not, depending on what you want from the afternoon. Open, it is a covered terrace with a timber ceiling, ceiling fan and warm cove lighting. Closed, it is a room with a Smart TV, Netflix and a sound system with soundbar and subwoofer. The open-plan kitchen runs off the same space: fridge, freezer, a two-burner gas hob, microwave, toaster oven, blender, rice cooker, French press, kettle, a water dispenser with free drinking water, crockery and cooking basics, plus a complimentary coffee, tea and sugar tray. No full oven, so plan around roasting. Meals happen at the terrazzo breakfast bar with three stools, effectively an open-air breakfast bar with the garden right there.

Both bedrooms have a king bed, air conditioning, an electronic safe, room-darkening shades and a floating teak desk with a chair. Neither is the consolation prize, which matters when you are splitting a villa with friends. One sits on the pool level. The other is reached by an external stone staircase, and it is worth the climb: two full glass walls, and its own rattan-furnished terrace over the palm canopy. Be clear-eyed about that staircase: outdoors, stone, and the only way up. If stairs are a problem for anyone in your group, or you are travelling with a toddler, put them in the ground-floor bedroom and take the upstairs one yourself. Across the three bathrooms: a freestanding stone soaking bathtub set against a garden window with a small Balinese stone shrine beside it, a walk-in rain shower with a handheld sprayer, a terrazzo vanity, a slatted teak wardrobe. The bathtub is one of the nicest corners of the villa.

Honest about the rest. No washer and no dryer, so budget for a laundry service; several are minutes away. No heating either, which nobody in Ubud misses. This is a lush tropical plot, so small insects and lizards turn up, especially at night; the team cleans regularly, but that is Bali, not a fault. And Aung is a new listing: three reviews so far, all five stars. That is real but it is thin, so lean on the host's record instead. I Nyoman Suardika is a Superhost with 437 reviews at 4.87 across his villas, three years hosting and a 100% response rate. Daniela had first booked another of his houses, was offered this one instead, and wrote: "the villa was beautiful. Everything was beautifully decorated with flowers." Markus kept it short: "Very nice villa and nice host!"

Check-in is 14:00, with self check-in and someone available 24 hours to let you in; check-out is 11:00, four guests maximum. Housekeeping is included; parking is free and covered. Pets are welcome with prior approval, smoking is in the designated outdoor area only, parties need the owner's approval, and quiet hours run 22:00 to 07:00 for the neighbours. Children need supervision at all times, around the pool and on the stairs. Message us on WhatsApp at +62 859-3524-3151 with your dates and we will confirm availability and send a quote, usually within the hour.