Asteger
July 3, 2024
This is still a new place, built within the last 5 years on what was once a lovely, fairly pristine area of sawah (rice fields) in Kemenuh, roughly between Gianyar Kota and Ubud. (Do not be tricked, as despite the name, Sujiwa Ubud is *not* in Ubud but in Kemenuh.) Sad to say that, since my last visit up this road in 2020, much of the beauty of this area is a memory. Villas and guest houses are going up all over, the sawah are not cared for as they used to be, and the scenery and ambience have been lost.
Sujiwa itself is a nice enough building, with a little pool and rooms which could be comfortable with their nice furniture and balconies. Unfortunately, the place is not managed well. The two staff we saw, I think, lack training. Unusually for Bali, one was not fairly unfriendly and we never say him after the first day. The other, who does most of the work, is nice and friendly but, doesn't seem to understand how to be available, deal with guests, or to clean rooms.
Our washroom stank, the shower drain was mostly blocked, and the toilet reeked of urine. Mould on the walls too. Our bedcover smelt mildewy. Shelves were dusty. The cleaner does not seem to understand how to clean. Meanwhile, our balcony on the upper floor had a bamboo railing that had been eaten by termites, to the point where it was flimsy and dangerous - certainly not safe if our daughter were smaller.
Outside, the pictures you will see of Sujiwa no longer match the current reality and were probably taken soon after the place was built, but not recently. There is now a villa behind, there is a construction project happening at the far end of the pool, and another project on the non-pool side. Sujiwa is now surrounded on three of four sides, and building is underway on two of those sides. Instead of the sounds of birds or the breeze, you hear tools and banging from early in the morning. Sujiwa might have added this warning to their CTrip description, but they have not.
The wifi was inconsistent, until I pressed the staff to fix the main account we could receive upstairs. After 2 or 3 excuses about the weather or the construction affecting the wifi, it turned out that the wifi could be fixed and it was.
There is little nearby in immediate walking distance, just the road, the formerly lovely sawah, and tourist accommodation being built. There is a simple warung about 200m down the road where we saw staff cleaning dishes in the roadside ditch.
Female travellers, particularly those alone, may not feel comfortable. Due to the construction, there are a number of builders staying along the road who have few options for entertainment than to hang out along the road in the evenings. One or more would also sit by the Sujiwa pool and smoke at times. The roadside ditch was being used for bathing as well, which you do see in rural parts of the island still. The workers seemed friendly to myself and my family but, as said, I might feel different if female and alone.
Overall, Sujiwa might have been a nice place when it first opened, but it has been neglected. It is a shame this natural area has been disfigured for the sake of building indifferently run places like this. We paid a low price for 3 nights, but the price reflects the disappointing state of affairs.
