Review : Sthala, Tribute Portfolio Hotel, Ubud Bali | Marriott Bonvoy

During our visit of Ubud, we wanted to try the different hotels Marriott Bonvoy which are in Bali. We hope you will find the right hotel for you with our reports!

We were thus able to try 3 Marriott Bonvoy hotels in Ubud, which we will gradually make the complete photo reports:

• Element by Westin Bali Ubud Hotel
• The Sthala, Tribute Portfolio Hotel, Ubud Bali
• The Westin Resort Spa Ubud

Here is our opinion on the Sthala – a Tribute Portfolio Hotel – Ubud Bali.

The hotel Sthala – a Tribute Portfolio Hotel – Ubud Bali is located 15 minutes from the center of Ubud and 60 minutes from Ngural Rai International Airport. It is located in the lush hills of Bali, and offers a magnificent view of the surrounding jungle and the Wos River.

Compared to the other hotels, this one is more distant from the center of Ubud. After our visit of Ubud, we chose it for its price, as well as for its location wanting to discover the activities of the area before arriving on the east coast.

Ubud is the flagship city of Bali, it is considered the cultural and spiritual center of Bali. There are various yoga retreats as well as a multitude of local craft shops. You will have understood it, it is unavoidable if you want to discover Bali.

Here are some pictures to give you an idea of the surroundings of Ubud and make you travel:

In the vicinity of the hotel we recommend the Bali Bird Park. Admission to the park may seem expensive, but it is well worth the detour. Indoor parking is available.

The children really enjoyed the exotic bird shows, the opportunity to touch and feed them. A secure play area is dedicated to children on the terrace of the bar, so you can take advantage of it to take a break and drink a cocktail before getting back on the road.

You will find as other parks in the vicinity of the hotel :

• the Bali Zoo. The Zoo is currently under construction but remains open. It offers many attractions such as water games, a children’s area to feed the farm animals or the pony ride or elephant back. For this last activity, I don’t recommend it, but the choice is yours,
• the Kemenuh Butterfly Park will appeal to butterfly enthusiasts,

Coffee lovers, we suggest you try “Kopi Luwak”, one of the most expensive coffees in the world, whose manufacture will surprise many: in Indonesia, coffee is harvested from the excrement of civets (or Luwak)!

A number of shops offer you to discover their coffee, choose carefully so as not to pay more than you should.

When you step inside the hotel Sthala – a Tribute Portfolio Hotel – Ubud Bali, you will feel as if you are immersed in the Balinese culture. The reception hall is majestic and authentically decorated.

We were greeted, with music, by the reception staff. A duo of musicians played a typical instrument from Bali, the Rindik, made of bamboo pieces. We received a very nice welcome.

I’ll wait with the children in the lounge of the hall while Jean-Maximilien will take care of registering us. The staff will provide personalized attention to the children and offer a welcome drink to all of us.

The hotel organizes wedding receptions, in the hall there is a stand promoting this service.

Several small lounges with clean atmospheres are available to rest or wait quietly. The whole is airy, very pleasant with this surrounding jungle. The pictures are a little dark, the rain having just fallen.

Our receptionist will lead us to our room through somewhat dark corridors and finish giving us all the information that will help us to enjoy all the facilities and services of the hotel.

The access to the room is like a live feed, no real hallway. I must say I was no more blown away by the room than that. I found it ordinary, somewhat narrow even though it was well arranged and with beautiful local wooden furniture.

At the entrance, in addition to the access to the bathroom, an ironing board is hung on the left wall, while on the right are hung bathrobes. Practical but not aesthetic: it is a pity that these are not rather in a closed cupboard.

A full foot mirror completes the small entrance as well as two umbrellas, the rains are frequent on the island. Finally a cabinet to put our suitcases and another hiding a fridge, a safe and an ice cube bucket.

A plasma TV was also installed on the wall, above the tray devoted to the classic morning “refreshments”: coffee, tea and bottled water.

The bathroom is immediately at the entrance of the room. It is modern, all ceramic and glass, but cramped. A frosted glass door completes the room. Let’s go around it quickly.

Shower, toilet and washbasin unit with a large mirror on the wall. We turn around to find a display cabinet with bath products, towels and water bottles. A sliding blind allows you to isolate yourself from the room.

Our upgrade allowed us to obtain a balcony overlooking the pool and the green plains. A breath of fresh air.

Thanks to our Titanium Elite status, we had no out-of-pocket expenses for breakfast and were able to enjoy a discount at the hotel restaurant in the evening, as well as accumulate points!

And of course, we paid our final bill with the Marriott BonvoyTM American Express^MD Card to earn 5 Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar.

The long breakfast room with a green wall and a sound bar center, was on the ground floor and lit by daylight only. So the room was still pretty dark. It’s a bit of a shame when you want to see what’s being presented to us.

The environment is nevertheless appreciable, open to nature with the river below.

Fancy some eggs? Let’s order. This gave the cooks time to prepare our dish while we served ourselves at the buffet.

For the record, we wanted to have dinner at the Naga Rooftop Bar, on the beautiful rooftop terrace. When we get to the bar, the waitress will tell us it’s not possible. The bar does not serve food other than cocktails and we had to go to the Sungai Restaurant located one level down.

Problem, the children discovered the bar’s swings: impossible to pull them out of the swings without the risk of our daughter having a big crisis. Seeing our dismay, the waitress finally agreed to make an exception that evening for us by bringing us the menu of the Sungai Restaurant. We will be blessed and grateful for this favour.

The swings were not very convenient for children to eat. We’ll make the complicated ones to be moved to a table at the right height. Our waitress will bring us drawings and pencils and quickly bring us something to eat to calm our little monsters of the evening.

The main infinity swimming pool (there is a second one at the other end of the hotel) is on two levels: the first level allows you to go for laps and the other one allows you to enjoy the waterfalls of the first one and the view on the plains.

The access to the second swimming pool is by a long stone staircase, monkey statues greet us as we pass by.

The second swimming pool is just as nice and allows you to feel calmer. Deckchairs and pool footstools made room along this one.

Both swimming pools have an open bar. A staff member is there to provide towels.

A list of all activities was given to us at the beginning of our stay at the hotel. Among other things, the hotel also has a yoga room and a shuttle bus to take you to different points of interest such as the Monkey Forest. In addition, Balinese cooking and dance classes are offered for example.

Finally, the hotel was in the middle of a KidsClub development project. A positive point for the future.

Let’s just say it right now: the training room is pretty sad. The essential equipment is there: dumbbells, abdominal bench, running mats or bikes, balls, etc.

The hotel Sthala – a Tribute Portfolio Hotel – Ubud Bali will not have left us indifferent. The hotel lobby is a majestic room.

Our room won’t have impressed us, nor the buffet.

On the other hand, we felt pampered all along. The service by the team is outstanding and we enjoyed the pools and the rooftop terrace bar.

A hotel that stands out from the others in the Marriott group.