The Chillhouse in Bali: A True Retreat

I’ve been wanting to stay the Chillhouse in Bali for quite some time. I first saw the video that Brooke of World of Wanderlust did with them, and fell in love. I hadn’t even really been that keen on going to Bali until then! When Elissa and I realized we could match our summer vacations this year, we decided to go for a week.

I’m so happy it lived up the hype I was giving it. You know how you make something better in your head than it probably is in real life? Okay, well this place is not that. It’s awesome, and if you don’t believe me, you can ask all the different people who choose to stay there year after year! It has such a quiet, relaxed vibe, the decor is bright and cheerful, and their whole motto on life is awesome.

BED

So comfortable! We stayed in the Pisang room and paid for an extra person. We actually wound up falling asleep in the room a lot in the afternoons, especially after our bike ride and the sunrise hike. The mattress is like sleeping on clouds– even my brother, and his total princessy tendencies when it comes to his bed,–would approve. Someone comes in each day (usually around breakfast) and remakes it and everything. There is also a mosquito net just in case.

BATHROOM

The bathroom is beautiful. It’s partially outside and covered in stones. If we hadn’t arrived at night and immediately unloaded everything in there, I would have some really pretty pictures of it. The toilet is in its own little nook, and, yes, you do have to throw away your toilet paper in a trash bin. However, someone cleans that out every day as well.

The shower did turn a bit cold towards the end of our stay, but it was so warm outside that we didn’t mind or think to ask the front desk about it. Water pressure is also perfect– not too hard or soft. Ours came with a thing of homemade shower gel, and you’ll get a big and small towel per person. The sink area also comes with a pitcher of filtered water and homemade hand soap.

OTHER AMENITIES

FOOD

In your room, there’s a mini-fridge with snacks and drinks. Each day whoever cleans your room will also tally what you’ve taken from the fridge. But… that’s nothing compared to the amazing breakfast and dinner that come with what you pay for with accommodation. Yes, both, and they’re actually amazing. Breakfast starts at 6 a.m. You can get cereal, fruit, homemade bread (shout out to that delicious milk bread!), homemade jams, peanut butter, and coffee. You can also order egg and pancakes. At 9 a.m., they then have two plated options to choose from– some sort of fruit bowl and something more savory. You can choose one or both and get seconds if you’re really hungry.

Dinner-wise, holy cow. First off, let me just say this is how awesome this place is. We arrived from the airport at maybe midnight. Everything was closed, and the security guards met us to show us our room. Before we went, they actually asked us if we wanted dinner, meaning they had leftovers for us hours after mealtime had ended. Anyhow, dinner is amazing, and we cleaned our plates each night. They change style each day. One night was a buffet and a few nights were sit down and served, but my favorite was when we had a huge barbecue. Like, if I had known, I wouldn’t have eaten lunch to prepare myself. There was a lot, and everything was insanely flavorful.

Side note they do have lunch options as well, and the prices were pretty low and comparable to nearby restaurants. We grabbed lunch there twice, and thoroughly enjoyed the smoothies and food. Totally recommend the curry cashew chicken salad. Holy mama, was it good.

ACTIVITIES

I know, I just wrote an essay on the food, but I also have to mention the fact that they have a ton of activities. I mean, it’s a retreat after all. Their three main activities are surfing, yoga, and mountain biking tours. For something more relaxing, they also have massages and manicures/pedicures.

Elissa and I decided to do the easiest mountain biking tour through rice fields in central Bali. Keep in mind, easy is the operative word, and neither of us was quite prepared for how hard it was going to be. My friend who had gone a week earlier warned me she fell into one of the pits and cut her ride short. With this warning in mind, we opted for walking our bikes through some of the more difficult areas. Our guide was awesome, though, and always encouraged us. He really wanted to make sure we’d be able to enjoy the views.

While I don’t know much about the yoga or surfing, a lot of the couples we wound up having dinner with really enjoyed them both. I remember someone telling us that the surfing coaches were much more hands on and helpful than other surfing classes they’d taken.

*Disclaimer: Our bike ride was sponsored, however opinions and memories of sore bums are all my own ;). 

DAY TRIPS

Oh yeah, there’s more. If you do want to venture out of the Chillhouse, you can head on one of their many day trips. They have specific tours laid out for Ubud, Central Bali, and Uluwatu. If you don’t, they can help you hire a transport service and make your own tour. A full day was 600,000 IDR ($45), half day was 450,000 IDR ($33) total. You could plan your own itinerary with the driver. We joined a girl to Ubud our first day in and then did our own half day tour later to see some other sites we missed.

WHERE TO HANG OUT

I know, there’s more. My “Other Amenities” section is usually a quick list, but this is really its own post! There are two pools to hang out around, and the pool by the dining area has this fantastic nook with books and board games. On the second floor of the dining area is a quiet room. It’s awesome for work or falling asleep when you try to do work… *cough*. There’s also a little area for hanging out on the 3rd floor (more like a little loft). If you do want some alone time, the second pool past the yoga area and by the massage rooms was totally empty each time we saw it!

HOST

Fantastic. Easily some of the best I’ve ever had. From the cooks to the receptionists, everyone was super kind and attentive. They helped us set up everything that we wanted to do, and even took the time to get to know everyone’s names. Before we arrived they emailed us with how to get to Canggu from the airport and even made sure we knew prices so we wouldn’t get scammed. When they ran out of seconds for one guy at dinner, they tried to make up for it by offering him extra dessert! Honestly, if this whole place had wound up being totally crappy, the customer service would have saved it by a twofold.

LOCATION

It’s a little far from the main part of Canggu. They do have pushbikes that you can rent for free, but we got a taxi for about 60,000 IDR to get to the beach. It’s actually quite nice because it doesn’t feel busy or crowded, so it really does feel like a retreat.

PRICE

For Pisang, a Deluxe Single Room, we paid IDR 1, 100,000 ($83) and added an extra person for IDR 528,000 ($40).

You can see their full rates for the different rooms here.

WHERE TO BOOK THE CHILLHOUSE

Check here to compare prices

OVERALL RATING

10/10, more like 1000000/10

Guys, as you can tell I really loved this place. Easily one of my top places so far, maybe even more than La Maison Bacana B&B in Paris, which has held the top spot in my accommodation heart by a landslide for years.

Have you been here? What’s your favorite accommodation?

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