Yama Balian

Our adult family of four ate here, in this lovely open air pool and river side restaurant amongst their impeccably kept gardens. The ambience was superb, as was the food, and the staff. We had veggie tacos to start then the local noodle dish, a veggie burger, their pictured tuna and octopus followed by lovely desserts accompanied by rose wine. Everything was exceptional and we intend to return before our stay in Balian beach ends. We were not staying here but from what we saw it is a lovely little resort.

We enjoyed a magical experience with a delightful stay. All waiters and service were truly awesome, exhibited exceptional patience, understanding, and a warm welcome, making our entire experience unforgettable. The owner, Juan Carlo’s, felt like a friend to us. This is clearly an oasis within Bali. Would recommend to anyone

We stayed at Yama for a yoga retreat. They have their own yoga space, and the rooms were very clean and minimalist. The staff was so helpful and friendly. They absolutely made the stay even more memorable! Our food the entire stay was vegan, and being someone who ISN’T vegan, I can say that the food was awesome. I only wish I could eat like this back home. One thing to note is how far this place is from the airport. It is quite a distance! But it’s absolutely worth coming back to.

Yama Balian is a perfect hotel in every way: location, rooms, staff, restaurant, and spa. The beach is just a 2-minute walk through a palm forest, with beautiful black sand and plenty of driftwood. The spacious rooms are thoughtfully designed, with comfortable beds and nice touches like bug spray and incense sticks. The pool overlooks the river, and the restaurant serves delicious meals (try the tacos!). The staff made our trip amazing. Thank you!

Our experience with Yama unfortunately was very upsetting. The hotel itself is absolutely beautiful, right living concept, and it is a shame that with all the surrounding splendor, we’ve had the worst experience in Bali. Yama is supposed to be a place of tranquility and peace, where you come to be with yourself and nature. Because the hotel is so beautiful, it understandably attracts bloggers, which isn’t bad if the bloggers are sensible and considerate. However, this is not always the case. The videos with professional equipment are constantly taken and the use of drones, I also could not relax in the decking of my room, because the bloggers were doing webinars / video calls on their decking, very loudly, with no headsets or anything. I tried giving them a look so they can be more considerate, which didn’t help much. I then ask the hotel staff to ask them for some peace and it didn’t work either. During my last night, I could not sleep as the bloggers were noisy doing their video calls after 10 PM, so I had to get out of bed and ask them to stop or to go inside as I am trying to sleep. I couldn’t sleep after anyways, no basic relaxation. The staff were friendly but not always too considerate. My husband and I, were having massages with the river view, which was lovely, however the staff decided to install a fire pit into the ground, hammering metal which was very loud, only a few meters away from massage beds. During scheduled Yoga Sessions which are supposed to be sacred and relaxing, the staff plays loud music next to the Temple, with loud conversations and vociferous laughs. Lots of delicious food choices on the menu in the restaurant were sadly not available as they didn’t have certain ingredients, it’s been for days and I have also noticed the same thing in the other reviews about Yama. From the website and reviews, there was an expectation of total peace and tranquility form Yama, almost like a retreat, instead we received scenes like on National Geographic channel that you don’t want to watch. It’s NOT Yama’s fault, but everyday during our 3 night stay, on the other side of the river, they were destroying the trees. All the jungle was cleared and no nature left. While “trying to relax”, we had to see and hear how big escavators were killing nature in front of our eyes, how trees are falling painfully and all insects and animals losing their homes. So somebody out there can build villas. You can't do anything to help in this particular situation, you have nowhere to run (since you’re in the hotel) and you can't skip the channel. Again, it’s not Yama’s action - but everything whilst our stay has just been inconsiderate: from those who destroy nature, to blogger guests and sometimes hotel staff. The concept of Right Living is great, but unfortunately it’s not practiced here.

While I so enjoy the quiet sanctuary of Yama in Balian, this beautiful space deserves a 5 star review. From the location, to the beauty of the buildings, to the warm funny and hip staff, to the delicious food and imported wine. I love Yama and so glad it’s only a 90min drive from home.