Villa renting for first timer in Bali

#1 (**permalink**) IP: 85.157.106.116 03-25-2008, 04:26 PM

Hello!
We are going to Bali on December 2008 and looking for 4 bedroom villa
from seminyak or jimbaran area.
I have a couple of guestions to ask:

What should be considerred when renting villa?

How can you prohibit that you wont get fooled?

Which sites are the most reliable sites to book the villa?

Tim

markadmin · #2 (**permalink**) IP: 81.193.51.88 03-25-2008, 05:22 PM

Ask for a copy of their operational permit.
Ask them how they are paid; if they say all to a non-Indonesian account, be very careful.
Ask them who owns the villa (is it Indonesian - if they say foreign, foreigners can not own villas in Bali, only Indonesian citizens and companies can).

Only pay a deposit, not the full amount is as best as it will get as villas are not like hotels with excess rooms to be able to take "no shows".

Don't book with an agent, they are generally dishonest, book direct with the villa. Agents / management companies will often tell you they have an operational permit for their villas, but Indonesian law requires each villa operation has its own license.

They are closing unlawful villas, do not get caught out!

#3 (**permalink**) IP: 85.157.106.116 03-25-2008, 06:47 PM

How about the sites? There are dozenz of them.

-Tim

markadmin · #4 (**permalink**) IP: 81.193.51.88 03-25-2008, 07:31 PM

As I said, book carefully (check they are legit) and direct with the villa (not through an agent); there are not that many.

#5 (**permalink**) IP: 85.157.106.116 03-26-2008, 03:11 PM

So can you suggest 4 bedroom villas in Jimbaran or Seminyak area? Our topmost price is 450$ per night. My friend are so hazy that they wont listend to me when I say that they must be careful. My friend have sent a couple of emails with one agent and he sayed that the villa owner is foreing (alarm bell?). Any site suggestions?

-Temec

markadmin · #6 (**permalink**) IP: 81.193.96.126 03-26-2008, 05:14 PM

see what is on Travel Ethos - check each villa to see if they have completed the ethics statement (includes asking them if they are licensed; be advised, they can elect to say nothing or report things not as they are). I can not recommend any particular villa, no, sorry. I truly do not know which ones are legal and which are not. Some foreigners set things up properly, so, you really need to do some research. At the end of the day any legal and ethical villa will be able and want to show you their operational permit AND tell you what they do for their staff and the local community; I reckon less than 5% of villas provide health care / maternity benefit to their staff in Bali.

DavidB · #7 (**permalink**) IP: 124.171.85.14 03-27-2008, 08:35 AM

So tricky, all of this! Time for a bali-ite to set up a site with honest and ethical intentions to help honest local villa owners. I wish that could be me!

Regards,
David

markadmin · #8 (**permalink**) IP: 85.243.35.160 03-27-2008, 04:53 PM

Not me thanks; although someone in Bali could make a very good living out of this if they actually went to each villa they were to list and took their own photos / checked the operational permit was there at the main entrance where it legally must be displayed. To be candid I am a bit sick at the number of hotels and villas that are cheating on the site as it is, including not paying what they owe to the charities. I did what I could to allow villas and hotels to declare their ethics, etc. but it seems a large number do not want to do this! I am not surprised unfortunately, I know the Balinese get a very raw deal out of their employers. I will not get on the soap box right now, but it really does sadden me; the reason every says they are going to Bali for, claiming they are supporting, really get diddly squat in 99% of cases.