May 2010
The Tjampuhan lays claim to be the oldest hotel in Ubud, and in places it looks it. The hotel was founded in 1928 as the home cum stdio cum hotel of Walter Spies, one of several foreign artists who flocked to Bali in the 1920s with the encouragement of the King of Ubud, whose family still owns the hotel, along with the Pita Maha.
The hotel is built on a steep hill-side above the Oos river, where the falling water forms a white noise for the fan-cooled rooms. Most rooms have air-conditioning, but there are a few inexpensive fan-only bungalows. The bungalows are very Balinese in style, with stone floors, carved wood furniture and woven palm leaf ceilings. The room decor often looks exceedingly tired, but the hotel is generally well maintained.
Photos of the Tjampuhan Spa & Resort. Click on any of the thumbnails to see the full size image.
Swimming Pool
Walter Spies Suite
Fan Room
A/C Twin Room
For my stay, I had a fan-only room. I did not know this when I booked the room, so be a bit careful when you book if this is important to you. Some of the booking sites are not clear about the room types. The room was large, with big screen windows letting air flow through - whether I wanted it to or not. The bathroom was exceptionally large, but the fixtures were quite old. They may have dated practically back to the hotel's 1928 opening! The room was very dark, which made it seem a lot more tired than it really was.
The hotel has two swimming pools, although they are rather small. One of the pools has a small café. There's also a spa carved out of the cliff-face down by the river. Some of the hot pools are in fancifully carved grottoes, some of which frankly looked a bit creepy.
Breakfast was served buffet style in the hotel's main restaurant. The selection was quite limited, and the quality was not that good, although it was more than adequate.
Hotel Facilities include two swimming pools, restaurant, pool-side café, pool bar, spa and tour desk. There is free wi-fi Internet access in the lobby and restaurant.
Rooms feature a hair dryer.
Pluses: Very good location near the heart of Ubud, within walking distance of many sights and restaurants.
Minuses: The hotel is definitely not handicap accessible. Even those with mobility problems would have problems with the many stairs, which can be slippery. The fan-only rooms are not recommended.
Rooms at the Tjampuhan Hotel may be booked through Agoda, or use Hotels Combined to compare rates for the resort from dozens of online booking sites.