Where can you find the best infinity pool in Bali?
High in the hills of North Bali hides one of the best luxury resorts the Indonesian island has to offer. Nestled amongst a working coffee plantation, Munduk Moding Plantation (or MMP) is a quintessential escape from the typical hustle and bustle of other tourist hotspots. Plus, it boasts probably the most famous, and best, infinity pool in Bali. We were hosted for two nights at the resort, and all our opinions in this blog post are our own. Read on for an honest review of our stay, and what you can expect should you choose to experience your own slice of paradise at MMP.
Location and getting around
We hired a private driver to get us from Ubud to Munduk. It cost us 700,000 IDR, which is about £38, for the two-hour drive in an air-conditioned car for just us two. As we were on a pretty tight schedule, we opted for a driver instead of relying on other modes of transport like buses. Plus, in Ubud and other areas of Bali, drivers from sites like Grab are discouraged in favour of supporting the local taxi drivers.
The hotel is tucked away in a pretty out of the way area, which we loved. We woke up to the sound of chickens and goats from across the hill, and there was pretty much no road noise whatsoever.
On the drive up, we passed Wanagiri Hidden Hills and Handara Gate, as well as a fair few waterfalls. If you wanted to stop off for the perfect Insta-shot, you’d be in luck. There were a few people queueing for photos at Handara, and Wanagiri was surprisingly quiet.
Once we arrived at Munduk Moding Plantation, we actually didn’t leave the resort until we checked out. Which, if you know us, is very unlike us. But we just couldn’t tear ourselves away! We spent our first full day there exploring the working coffee plantation that surrounds the hotel, and relaxing at one of the most spectacular infinity pools Bali has to offer.
The views are as good as they seem on Instagram. We were completely blown away at every time of day, and left the resort feeling completely refreshed and recharged from being up in the clouds, away from it all.
Rating 9/10
Amenities and facilities
The hotel boasts not one, but TWO breathtaking infinity pools. You can enjoy a quiet dip surrounded by swooping swallows whilst admiring the views out over the Java Sea and distant mountains.
Guests can also use a jacuzzi, which is situated between the two pools. There is an onsite spa and a gym, plus a phenomenal restaurant and pizza oven. Massage options at the spa start from $22USD, and go up to $40USD. We didn’t use the spa when we were there, as we just didn’t have enough time.
One of the amenities which took us by surprise was your very own mobile phone to use during your stay. As the resort is situated so high up in the mountains, it’s difficult to get a landline installed. Instead, guests can use the provided mobile from anywhere in the grounds of the hotel, or simply Whatsapp Reception. We loved being able to use Whatsapp to order a cheeky bintang or two to our room!
As MMP is also a coffee plantation, guests can sample some of the different types of coffee produced at the onsite coffee roasters in the magnificent Bamboo Hall. We opted for the Natural Roast, although we were seriously tempted by a Honey Roast. It’s beautiful coffee, and very strong! It powered us up for our 45-minute wander around the plantation itself.
The plantation has been designed by award-winning architect, Popo Danes, with a real emphasis on privacy,
Rating 10/10
Dining
The hotel is home to two restaurants, MiMPi (Balinese for dream) or the Plantation Garden Restaurant. Both restaurants share the same menu, however the latter does have the advantage of the wood fire pizza oven and the second infinity pool in eyesight.
The MiMPi is where you go for breakfast, which is an unlimited breakfast buffet. They serve breakfast between
For those of you who don’t know, Lak Lak is rice cake (but not those gross dry ones people on diets eat), combined with grated coconut and palm sugar. Sam went into double figures for eating these.
There is also an egg station, where you order the type of egg you desire. Plus their range of fresh juices, teas and coffee really give you that extra kick start in the morning.
When we travel, we often skip lunch in favour of a big breakfast and a good dinner. We’re usually too busy exploring to catch lunchtime! If you are a bit more of a ‘three meals a day’ person, you’ll be glad to hear that lunch is served from 11.45am until 4.30pm.
If you fancy a little something-something before dinner and can’t take yourself away from the insane infinity pools, complimentary afternoon tea is offered at 4pm. It includes Ginger Tea or Balinese coffee, plus homemade cookies. It’s an absolute treat, and not to be missed.
Dinner is between
Rating 10/10
WiFi
Being so high up in the hills, we had very low expectations for the WiFi signal at the resort. However, considering that room service is contacted through Whatsapp, it was surprisingly strong. We posted multiple stories and photos to Instagram during our time there, and never had any problems.
We probably wouldn’t recommend relying on Netflix working every time, but the hotel does have a small collection of DVDs you can borrow to watch in your room during your stay. Or just watch the incredible sunsets instead.
Rating 9/10
Staff
We cannot say this enough – we ADORED the staff members. They were so, SO kind and amazingly genuine. We never felt that they were asking us about their day because they felt they had to. They greeted us both every time they saw us, wherever we were, and at any time of day.
Munduk Moding Plantation works very closely with the local people, and all of their staff are Balinese. They encourage local hospitality students to learn from and work with them, and everyone we met was always smiling and actually seemed to love their jobs.
We’ve stayed at a number of places where the facilities are amazing but the staff looked like they’d rather be anywhere other than at work. It was the complete opposite at MMP, which really made such a difference during our stay.
Rating 10/10 – we wish it could be more!
Value for money
We stayed in a Garden Suite, which came complete with a huge four-poster bed and big folding windows offering views out over the coffee plantation and surrounding hills. The room costs around $217/£170 per night. For the two of us, it was plenty big enough.
As well as the bedroom, there was a dressing area and a bathroom with a rain shower and a big bathtub. By this point our wardrobe was depleted, so we used the bath to wash our clothes in on one of the days we were there! The glamorous side of travelling hey?
MMP also offers one and two bedroom pool villas, which have their own private pool (duh). These cost around $379/£295 and $607/£470 per night, respectively. There are also some one bed villas available, which are bigger than the Garden Suites but don’t have their own pools. These are around the $250/£195 per night mark.
We didn’t go too over the top with dinner, opting for just a main course on the first night and a starter and a main on the second night. Prices range from 95K to 120K IDR (that’s only around £5 or £6) for a main dish, which were generously portioned without being stupidly huge.
In terms of our budget, this sadly would have been out of our range on a normal backpacking trip. However, for a romantic break or a honeymoon, we totally would have splashed out a bit to stay here. It was perfection from start to finish, and there isn’t one thing we would have changed
Rating 9/10
Summary
Would we go back: In a heartbeat. We were gutted to leave, and at our last
Perfect for: Couples; Honeymooners; those looking to escape everything for a few days.
Important bits: The surroundings are pretty hilly – they provide golf buggies to get you to and from your room when you check in and out, but be prepared for a mini-hike to dinner and to the pools every day. It’s not far though, just steep!
Overall rating 10/10
To book your own stay at Munduk Moding Plantation, click here.
We received a complimentary 2-night bed and breakfast stay at Munduk Moding Plantation in exchange for writing this review. All of these opinions are our own.
Looking for things to do in North Bali?
Why not take a look at this Wanagiri Hills, Waterfall, Hot Spring and Buddhist Monastery tour in North Bali? The Instagrammable opportunities are rife with this one!
Fancy visiting a traditional Balinese rice terrace during your time in North Bali? Check out this tour!
Why not check out some of our hotel reviews from around the world?
For our Great Ocean Road hotel review, click here.
For a review of one of the best luxury hotels in Nusa Lembongan, click here.
Cheers, all the best.
Sam & Kez x
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