This 5-star jungle valley resort is amazing for couples!
We spent two nights in the Aksari resort, located in a jungle valley roughly 30 minutes north of Ubud. With 30 rooms, the Aksari is not a massive resort, but it has all the amenities couples on a honeymoon could desire: A Japanese fine dining restaurant, a great spa, candlelight dinners, and villas with private infinity pools overlooking the jungle.
You won’t get bored here. Most nights there are arts and music performances in the main restaurant. The morning yoga classes are complimentary and hosted on a rooftop with spectacular views, and the hotel features multiple infinity pools, a hottub and a gym. Both the famous Hindu Tirta Empul Temple and the rice terraces of Tegallalang are only a few minutes away from the resort, and within 30 minutes drive you can reach central Ubud.
We have yet to find a resort that makes it easier to shower your partner in love than the Aksari resort. With a range of offerings from a candlelight dinner, a flower bath, a custom message written in flower decorations or a refreshing morning floating breakfast in the pool, anything is possible here! The staff is extremely friendly and super keen to make your stay perfect. Check all the romantic packages here.
Our Grand Royal Villa
The Aksari offers multiple rooms and villas. We stayed at a Grand Royal Villa, which featured a private infinity pool, a bathtub and a large king-size bed. In addition, we had a large outdoor area with pool beds and a gazebo to relax on. These villas get booked far in advance, so check the Aksari website for availability. Alternatively, there are other accomodation options too, including the more affordable but still very luxury Forest View Suites (which don’t feature a private pool).
When we visited the Aksari, most other visitors were couples too. It seems like the hotel really caters towards honeymooners. You can opt to be welcomed with a “Happy Honeymoon” flower decoration, a flower bath or a romantic floating breakfast. Some couples might find that too cheesy - don’t worry, it’s all optional!
We loved the Kojin Teppanyaki Restaurant
The best restaurant choice at Aksari is Kojin Teppanyaki Omakase. That’s quite a long name, lets unwrap it: Omekase means Chef’s Choice menu, meaning that they offer set tasting menus. Teppanyaki is the Japanese word for meet, fish or veggies that are prepared on a steel fire grill. The setup at Aksari is very cozy: guests are seated at a bar around the chef’s kitchen area, meaning you can see all food being prepared up close.
Olivia chose dishes from the a-la-carte menu, while Dirk enjoyed the 8-course Sushi Omakase. Olivia’s starter consisted of delicious grilled scallops with salmon roe and she enjoyed Wagyu Rib Eye skewers for her main. Both were grilled on the firegrill right in front of us, by friendly chefs that were keen to explain everything.
Dirk’s sushi tasting menu started with potato hokkaido. Interesting was that the sushi here was not only made with seafood: there was bacon pork enoki, asparagus nigiri and even some wagyu. We really enjoyed the Nigiri assortment, which we can only describe as a large “staircase” with different types of nigiri sushi (the blue fin tuna was the best!).
As dessert, Dirk had the strawberry coffee roll that was part of the Omakase menu. Olivia had the Yuzu Custard. We recommend both, don’t skip dessert if you’re staying here.
In summary, this is a very unique dining experience. Definitely worth going here if you are staying in the Aksari resort or elsewhere in the Tegellalang area. Check the Kojin website.
Romantic Candlelight Dinner
The Aksari resort makes it possible to enjoy a romantic private candle light dinner, either in your own villa, or at the bamboo yoga platform. We opted to have the experience in our room, and enjoyed three courses surrounded by candle lights.
The dinner started with a soup. We both ordered a different one, but the Broccoli cream soup was our favorite. For main Olivia had Salmon while Dirk went for the Wagyu steak, which both were very well prepared. The brownie and chocolate dessert was very enjoyable too.
Rijsttafel at Ankhusa Restaurant
The Ankhusa is an a-la-carte restaurant with a wide variety of Indonesian and international dishes. This is where cultural performances are happening at night (we saw a traditional Balinese dance performance). For dinner, we tried the “Rijsttafel”, a tasting of many different traditional Indonesian dishes which is great for sharing. The Bebek Betutu (a Balinese dish with grilled duck) and Rendang Sapi (A coconut beef stew originating from Sumatra island) were our favorites.
You can check the full menu on the website.
Svaha Spa
Svaha Spa is an absolutele bliss! We experienced the tropical package for couples, where we were being massaged next to each other with a beautiful setting of tropical lush forest and sounds of a river flowing in the distance. When we arrived in the Spa lobby we were handed an healthy ginger shot and a nice cold towel to clean our face which was so refreshing after a long drive from our home in Canggu. We were then given a sample of all the different oil scents to choose, something we had not experienced in a spa before. There are eight options, from soft floral to black pepper. Dirkjan chose floral oil and Olivia has her favourite rose oil. We were then escorted to the spa area passing through a beautifully decorated pond with three swans hanging peacefully.
The session started with a cleansing and foot bath where our feet were filled with warm water mixed with flowers, sea salt, and lemon. Massages were done very professionally and both masseuses were very attentive to our wishes yet very friendly. Afterwards, we had a flower bath to ourselves, Olivia’s favourite overlooking the jungle’s tranquil views! During the flower bath, we were offered a refreshing rosella tea with some addictive ginger candies. Showering in the private facilities afterwards is such a pleasant experience as the amenities are complete including shampoos, conditioner, shower gel, and body lotion, all with a very Balinese scent.
Definitely check out Svaha Spa if you’re staying at Aksari during your Ubud honeymoon. We felt so revived afterwards. See all available options at the official website.
Conclusion
If you are a couple on a honeymoon in Bali, we believe staying a couple of days at the Aksari is a great choice. The resort is beautiful, the staff very friendly, and there’s plenty to explore nearby, like the Tirta Empul temple and Tegalallang Rice Terraces. It is a little bit further away from Ubud than some other resorts, but this means you are staying in a calm and authentic region a bit further away from the crowds - and that is probably what you want for a honeymoon anyway!
Written by Olivia & Dirk
Hi! We have put together this guide with a lot of care, based on our own experiences. As a couple, we have lived in Bali for the past 5 years, and we fell in love with the island. We have visited every corner of Bali, especially the romantic places ;-). While our articles do contain affiliate links, you can trust us to recommend only the experiences that we love.
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