2 BDR villa, walking distance to Seminyak beach.

Villa Merdeka was a short walk to lots of shops and cafes/rests in the busy streets of Seminyak, and a 10 minute walk down to Seminyak beach and beachfront restaurant Chez Gado Gado which is always bustling with people, live music and lovely food. The villa had a lovely open living space, bringing the outdoors indoors, and whilst it only sleeps 4 people it certainly has enough space to be able to entertain larger groups. The villa was clean upon arrival and we were met by Sigma, who was sweet. As we were only staying for two nights with an extended late checkout (due to having a late flight home), when asked we advised Sigma that cleaning the villa on the second day was not necessary, however upon reflection providing additional clean towels would have been welcomed (we could’ve messaged staff to ask for this, but it wasn’t a real issue). There was a lovely fresh fruit basket in the kitchen which was a nice touch. Whilst we didn’t do any cooking, the kitchen appeared to be well equipped, but honestly I didn’t look through any of the cupboards haha. I liked the use of the old windows and other features throughout the villa for decorative/non-functional purpose - brought some of the old into the newer style. The pool was clean and quite deep the whole length, which is great for adults, though anyone under 5’7 would struggle to touch the bottom and keep their head above water 😁. We didn’t get to use it as much as I would have liked due to the heavy rains we had but it was certainly a draw card for us, and was still nice to sit by of an evening and have a drink and dip our feet into. Down the long laneway to the villa, there are a number of different businesses including massages/spas, tattooist, laundries and shops that sell alcohol, cigarettes and snacks etc making it convenient to access some services without having to go very far if needed.

The villa was in a nice quiet location, despite it being in close proximity to a busy area, however the laneway where it was located was quite dark of a night time and there was no lighting down this area. It is quite a narrow space and whilst cars can drive down here it doesn’t leave much room for pedestrians so you really have to be careful. A couple of our Gojek deliveries got a bit lost trying to find the location but it all worked out in the end. The bathrooms are very basic - the shower floor was a little odd - white painted, covered and sealed stones kind of thing and were a little dated. From the window of the upstairs bedroom you can see into the backyard of the villa to the right which is in disrepair- so the view was not pleasant. That being said, I’m pretty sure on our first night, there were people in the villa working very late at night, and then again on other occasions so some banging and other noises may be noticeable.

This is a hard review to write. We spent a month in Bali with our two small kids, this wasn’t our first trip like this and it won’t be our last. The property was probably amazing a year or two ago… it isn’t any more. It does not look like the photos and needs serious TLC.

The mosquitoes here are insane. The worst we had the whole of Bali, no amount of deet, repellant, coils or sprays helped. It was unbearable and it was this that left us to check out early, management offered to fog but it was too little too late. They did give us a refund for our unused nights. We essentially barricaded our selves in the bedroom for the two days we stayed. The living kitchen dining area are not enclosed so there’s no relief for mosquitoes or heat. We attribute this to the abandoned villa next door, with a pool full of green water. Also the garden in this villa was not well maintained. The pool deck has nails sticking out and dangerous. There was green mould all over the fences and it looked as though this place had sat vacant for some time. The ceiling over the dining area had cracks through it so during downpours everything got soaked, and the floors became dangerously slippery. The stairs heading upstairs are dangerous, the banisters loose and the stairs uneven. We didn’t even use the room, it felt so unsteady. Also the upstairs bathroom taps and shower only had brown water coming out. The house is not suitable for kids. The pool man literally came unannounced through the locked front door, I was not fully dressed and neither were the kids - he just walked in and started talking to us - super awkward! The pool is so deep it felt uncomfortable to swim in… my husband is 6ft and he could barely touch the bottom. Nothing was very clean…also it’s a bit of a stretch to say this is walking distance to the beach. Bean bags are ripped up and old, bathrooms were okay but really slippery.. the list goes on. The staff were helpful, but there’s more going on here that needs to be resolved.

The villa is modern and has a great, open layout.

When we arrived and jumped in the pool we noticed it had green algae (refer to photos) which is unsafe to swim in. After contacting the manager of the property and waiting for the pool maintenance man we lost 2 days of being able to swim in the pool. We have 2 kids and only staying for 5 nights. The whole point of us booking a villa was to have our own pool. The next day something happened with our water. We had none! I wish I was making this up. But no we had no water to turn a tap on or even flush a toilet (again see photos). Organising and waiting for the plumbers to work it out resulted in one of us parents being at the villa and missing out on family time. It was a disaster, we requested a refund for the time left over. We wanted to book somewhere else. The owners refused and offered a complimentary breakfast for our inconvenience (please see photo). After it was all sorted out we had a great time. Hopefully we just had bad luck. P.S We are regular travelers and have always left fantastic reviews… again, hopefully we had bad luck

Villa was beautiful

It was perfect

The Villa was lovely. Close to the beach, restaurants, shops and bars but in a nice quiet location. The Villa was very clean and tidy. The photos show exactly the Villa and contents. The staff were very friendly and helpful especially Sigma. Nothing was an effort for her. Always available if we had a question.

There was nothing we didn’t like. The one problem we had which was out of their control was sorted very quickly.

This place was so much more then we expected Usually the pictures make it look bigger than it actually is. The living area was much bigger then expected

The pool

Noisy neighbours construction happening early right next door wasn’t advised over. Milk in the fridge would have been good.

We had a wonderful stay at Villa Merdeka! The villa was spotless and looked exactly like the photos. The location was perfect — peaceful and relaxing, yet close enough to everything we needed. The pool felt resort-like and was such a highlight of our stay. Communication was super easy from start to finish, which made everything even more stress-free. A special mention to the housekeeper, Sigma, who was absolutely lovely, friendly, and very accommodating — even helping arrange laundry to be taken to the laundromat for us. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience and would happily stay here again!