Toyabali Resort, Dive & Relax

This resort is small and simply excellent. The views are gorgeous, and the villas are beautiful, clean, and spacious. The staff are friendly and helpful, and the manager arranged everything for us, including a pick-up at our prior hotel, and a lovely sightseeing trip on the way back to the airport. Breakfast is included, but we actually ate all our meals there because the food is quite good and you simply can't beat looking out over the ocean while you eat your meals.

We chose this resort because my husband is a diver and I wanted a place to meditate and read a book following a work event. We stayed for four nights. Unless you are a keen diver or want to learn, this location may not be for you. The area is very quiet, with only a couple of small grocery shops and restaurants. Besides this it is mostly dive shops and dive hotels. It is off the beaten track, so some interesting roads to navigate, but once you get there you will find beautiful ocean views and tranquility. There is no ATM locally so unless you have transport you may need to take cash with you. Most places including dive shops accept cards with a 3% charge. The Toyabali is a lovely resort of only a few bungalows, each one well secluded by clever landscaping. If you have a lot of luggage the staff are quick to help bring it to the resort, which is helpful as there is a walk to reception and it is not easy to wheel a case. When we arrived we sat in the bar for a drink and the owner (a lovely lady) asked if we wanted to dive. My husband told her he would be diving. Within thirty minutes we were joined by the owner of a local dive shop and my husband had arranged his first dive, all while drinking a beer, great service. My husband continued to use this shop during our stay and liked the service and dives. The food was good with enough choice for vegetarians. I had a tofu curry one night and the spring rolls were lovely. My husband recommends the satay chicken. The bungalows are great, well equipped and spacious, especially the outdoor shower area which was amazing. The service was excellent. At breakfast we were asked for our key so that the room could be cleaned. By the time breakfast was over, the room had been cleaned. It is a well oiled machine, and all of the staff were friendly and welcoming. We arranged a driver through the resort to take us to our next destination Ubud. It was a 2.5 hour journey at a very reasonable cost of 600,000 (USD 40.00).

If you are looking for an absolutely relaxing stay, pampered with freshly prepared meals, an attentive staff, immaculate grounds, ocean vistas at all around, and magical snorkeling and diving steps from the beach in front of you this is the place. Yes, the road in is a little confusing, but once you arrive you are in an enchanted landscape. The cabins are gorgeous. Ibu Made and her team take care of everything. I will definitely come back again.