Experienced World Surfaris team member, Josh Allen recently returned from his annual trip to Indonesia. This time deciding to keep it simple with a quick trip to Bali. Here is his review of Komune Resort Bali.
Of all the places I visited during this trip, one stood out to me for our clients and made me wonder why the East Coast of Bali is often forgotten about or not considered in the first place. Komune Resort Bali is a slice of paradise I had been to before but only for the day to check out their beach club and suck back a few Bintangs as I watched Keramas peel away from the infinity pool. Also back then half the resort was still being built and very little tourism ventured much further than Sanur.
My wife and I had 5 days to really discover this beautiful resort and as much East Coast we could in the time we had. I left all the negativity I had heard about Bali at the front door when I left Australia and went in expecting nothing but good things.
This is what I got and more. The trip started well. We were picked up for our transfer on time and didn’t have to carry a single bag no matter how hard I tried to help. On arrival we were welcomed by 4 smiling faces, checked in and showed our room within 20 minutes. We had opted to pay a little more and get the Beach Pool Suites which would give me surf break views of Keramas and of course a plunge pool to escape the busy main pool if we wanted. The rooms are spacious and luxurious, a great option for a couple or a twin share couple as well as families who can make use of the interconnecting doors.
The second choice for accommodation are the lead in resort rooms which are located at the back of the resort set amongst amazing greenery and landscape architecture. Its a tropical oasis and still very close to all the resort facilities. Perfect for solos, couples and families.
Komune Resorts health hub is also an amazing addition to an already brilliant resort. The heath hub is for resort guests only, giving you an escape from the busy beach club and restaurant. The health hub features a huge open air yoga studio, 35 metre lap pool, healthy food restaurant and one of the best gyms I have ever seen in my life. This gym has everything from rowing machines, treadmills, chin up bars, battle ropes, bosu balls, weights and so on. The gym manager Mark is a top bloke and surfs in his spare time. Mark coordinates daily PT sessions, spin classes and helps out with fitness retreats who use the Komune Resort facilities during their weekly stays.
Komune Resort is also an amazing option for families! My wife and I don’t have kids just yet but we both said when they come along Komune will be very high on our list for family holidays. After seeing the kids club, I wanted to wind back 15-20 years and jump right in. As you walk through the front door, to your left are 4 trampolines, chicken coup which provides the resort with its daily eggs, food truck, swings, slippery slide, basketball court and the cherry on the cake…probably the best skatepark I’ve ever laid eyes on! You can leave your kids here for about $12-$15 per child, per hour and they are guaranteed to have a ball. If your kids are a bit younger, Komune also offer babysitting in your room or in the kids club.
For mum and possibly dad there is a state of the art day spa which offers a variety of treatments from 30 mins – 2 hrs 30 mins and ranging in cost from $15 – $80.
For dad and possibly mum & kids the surfing options are endless. Keramas is the reason many people travel a few hours from around Bali just to surf it. Its an epic barreling right hander with a lot of punch. It breaks directly out the front from the beach club and you can hear the tunes pumping while you surf.
10 minutes walk North is one of the funnest waves ive surfed in Indo called KFC’s. This is a peak breaking in front of another hotel (not finished) off a small rivermouth. The wave is really punchy and works on any tide but is probably best on a rising and falling tide and from 3-6ft! Any bigger and it starts getting really heavy and closing out in the bay. Bring a board with paddle power as you are usually fighting a bit of a current sucking you out of the takeoff zone and due to the outgoing rip sucking up the face of the wave, you need it to paddle in easier.
10 minutes walk South is Cucukan beach. I didn’t get to surf Cucukan during my stay as the vortex of Keramas kept sucking me in for more but I am told it is also an extremely fun right hander that handles larger swells a bit better than Keramas and KFC’s due to the headland that pokes out blocking some of the swell.
So in summary, Komune Resort Bali is an amazing choice for your next solo, couple, boys, girls, family holiday. It literally has it all and they have thought of everything! I now call it the “box ticker”.