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Nothing quite prepared me for the Royal Pita Maha. Wherever Wayne travels, people greet him with open arms; they are all old friends, it seems. So when we arrive together, we get the royal treatment. But I arrived at the Royal Pita Maha alone; Wayne was out making new friends or enjoying old ones.
The taxi driver drove into the main gate, where we were stopped and a man crawled under the car, presumably looking for... explosives, drugs, or stowaways? Then we eased our way down the curvy lanes until we arrived at a huge statue; apparently this was the front door. The statue was bigger than the one announcing the city of Ubud.
A small flock of hospitality people met us, grabbed my bag, and escorted me to the front desk. I felt a little awkward, showing up in rather well-worn clothes and toting a backpack. I am who I am, and I don't see much point in putting on make up; and I think inside I measure up pretty well. I told the people at the desk I was looking for Wayne, and they told me he was out and wouldn't be back for a few hours. But as with everywhere else I went where Wayne had preceeded me, any friend of his is a friend of theirs. I was given a traditional "Welcome drink" and showed into one of the restaurants, an open-air affair overlooking the steep valley where the hotel is located.
Wayne had told me to ask for a person named Alit if he wasn't there, so I did. A short while later Alit glided in, gave some instructions, and soon we were eating delicious desserts and discussing the world. It turns out Wayne had befriended Alit some years ago, and now he was the manager in charge of the staff at this new hotel.
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| Entrance Statue | Foyer | Foyer Pigs | Foyer Frogs |
When Wayne arrived, the three of us continued our conversation, and eventually I told Alit I couldn't possibly afford his wonderful hotel. But as with everywhere else in Bali, people are starving for business. Inexpensive or top of the line, none of the hotels had more than 5% occupancy. Partly because I was a friend of Wayne's, and partly because they needed the business and Alit is an astute businessman, and partly because I figured I might never have such an opportunity again, I stayed for two nights. It was well worth it...
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| Wayne and Alit |
The Royal Pita Maha occupies one side of a small gorge. It consists of about 56 separate bungalows, cared for by over 400 staff. I'm not used to being waited on, let alone at that kind of a ratio.
Each bungalow has its own private pool, about 20 feet by 8 feet, screened for privacy. The things that look like low bushes at the edge of my pool are actually the tops of trees about three stories tall.
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| My Bungalow |
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| Sleepy View |
There was only one thing wrong with this picture. I was here by myself. This is definitely a honeymoon / second honeymoon / celebration of some kind kind of place.
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| Sitting Room |
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| Bath | View from Bath |
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| Blessing on Pool | Pool Blessing | Room Blessing | View out Bedroom |
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| Pool | Flowers in Pool |
There is a tower with an elevator to get from the upper bungalows and restaurants and large pool to the lower bungalows, bar, restaurant and grounds by the river.
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| Elavator tower | Elevator From Restaurant(s) | A Lower Pool |
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| Falls from Elevator Tower | Bungalows from Elevator Tower |
As everywhere in Bali, there was a profusion of flowers, in shapes and sizes that were truly amazing. Wouldn't it be fun to have the job of "flower designer?"
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| Pink Flower | Red Leaves | Cool Red Flower | 'nother Cool Flower |
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| Red Flower | Trumpet Flowers | White Flowers | Pink Flower |
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| Tiny Trumpet Flowers | Violet Flower |
There are a number of quiet pools on the lower grounds. This one seemed like some sort of medatative area, although since there was a stack of towels perhaps it was for relaxation as well.
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| Pond Entrance | Entrance Guardian | Towels at Pond Entrance | Pond |
We had breakfast one morning down by the river. We felt a little guilty having the staff shuttle all that food down from the kitchen way up top. On the morning we ate there, the river was high and muddy from a night of hard rain.
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| Riverside Restaurant | Floor Pattern | Gary Getting Stuffed | Wayne Getting Stuffed |
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| The Long Pond |
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| Upper Restaurants | Near Riverside Restaurant |
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| Riverside Restaurant | River near Restaurant |
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| Grounds near River | River after Heavy Rain |
The Royal Pita Maha is partly owned by a Prince from the local village. About 80% of the employees are from the local village. They still use the gorge as they always have, raising rice, gathering firewood, and catching shrimp. The hotel itself is situated partly on the steep gorge sidewall, on otherwise unusable ground. There are still rice fields in the bottom, although some have been displaced for the restaurant and some of the bungalows. It's not where I would choose to build a hotel; I would rather see the whole gorge left untouched. But it is a wonderful place, and I highly recommend it. The chef is outstanding, the staff is outstanding, and it is centrally located.
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| Rafters | Women Gathering Firewood | Shrimping |