Hidden Paradise Cottages

We stayed up the road at the sister hotel Coral View villas, walked along the beach to have lunch at the restaurant at Hidden Paradise Cottages. A beautiful fresh lunch, the peanut satay was delicious. The whole grilled fish meal was beautifully presented and equally as delicious. Service was great and the view overlooking the beach just made a perfect day.

Lovely location (other than the rooms near reception backing on to a farm which had a very active cockerel - a real problem for us as we had a busy itinerary). Traditional buildings with pretty grounds. Pool lovely, small but clean and warm, very few sunbeds. Snorkelling from the beach ok but not spectacular. Had two beers which we shared (I asked to sign bill but not necessary), and then on checkout they tried to charge us for three.

We were a family staying across four rooms. The air conditioning in one room kept cutting out and was eventually fixed after several attempts. Some of the beds were actually two beds pushed together but were still comfortable. The hot water in my shower suddenly stopped, but this was fixed as soon as I let staff know. The pool was great and kept very clean. Breakfast was an excellent variety of hot food (both Western and Indonesian) as well as fruit, yoghurt and toast. There was tea, coffee and fruit juice available and you can order a cappuccino for an extra cost. The toilet area in my room had a consistent smell of urine that lingered even after cleaning. There is sun loungers around the pool and on the beach which would really benefit from the addition of mattresses. You can rent snorkeling gear very close by on the beach.

We stayed 6 nights. The bungalow is traditional, clean and spacious, set in a lush well maintained garden. The pool area is amongst the garden with shady trees. The staff at the restaurant which, overlooks the beach, are extremely friendly and helpful. Included is a daily complimentary buffet breakfast, and choice of eggs or pancake between 7am-10am. We ate lunch there most days as well, after we returned from diving. Unfortunately there is no ceiling fan and the room was extremely hot due to no airflow, so we had to keep the aircon on. Everywhere else on our trip we haven’t needed aircon. The shower water pressure is extremely low and it took a long time to wash conditioner out of my hair. I like having a quick shower, so was a little frustrating, but not the end of the world. However, we didn’t have any massages because we knew we wouldn’t be able to wash the massage oil off. We would of had a few otherwise. The checkin lady was lovely. I asked about taxis and she said she could call one for us if needed, which are Rp200,000 return. A couple of days later we went to reception and was greeted by a man, he told us it was Rp250,000 had to be paid in cash to him and can’t be room charged. If just sounded a little deceitful to me. I said I would prefer to pay the driver myself, but he insisted I had to give the cash to him. At the end of the trip the driver was waiting for the payment from us and was surprised we had given cash to the hotel instead. Some restaurants like Sails will send a driver to pick you up and drop you home again, which was convenient. There is a small supermarket almost next door. We found the location very convenient for diving each day and walking to other restaurants. Griya restaurant is only a short walk and is lovely for sunset drinks followed by dinner and Balinese dancing. The restaurant at Bukit Segara is close and stunning. You can snorkel on the reef, stunning coral on the left and lots of turtles on the right. The black sand gets a little hot to walk on in the middle of the day. Overall we loved our stay at Hidden Paradise and found all the gardening, housekeeping, F&B, front office staff (except one) extremely friendly and helpful.