85. Candidasa

The following morning we checked out and moved on to Amankila, our next hotel. Amankila is a long, 3 hour drive east of Ubud, on the very empty eastern coast of Bali. It was probably our favorite hotel of the three, although again not without drawbacks. Service was fantastic, again partly because it's an Aman, and partly because we were almost the only guests. In fact, a couple of Amans located in the main Indonesian island of Java had temporarily closed up and the managers were helping to manage Amankila, so I think there were more managers than guests during our stay. This is also the only Aman on a beach in Bali, which is quite strange considering Bali is synonymous with beaches for most people. Being on the water meant great views all around, from our room, the restaurant, and the pools, although getting to the beach itself was a bit of a chore. The resort is built high above the water, so the walk down to the beach takes about twenty minutes, and walking back up takes considerably longer. The other drawback of the beach is there's some sort of cement plant or refinery to the right of the hotel. It's quite far away,but definitely noticeable as you soak in the views.