The Honeymoon - Part 3: Our Resort, The St. Regis Bali

Going into this whole thing, we knew the St. Regis Bali was going to be an incredible experience and an amazing resort. I don't think we were actually mentally prepared for what that meant. The St. Regis experience began the second we were off the airplane. I was surprised to see a hotel representative standing there with a sign with my name on it right at the gate. He immediately welcomed us to Bali and explained he'd be helping us through the airport. That began with whisking us to the visa-on-entry booth where he walked past the line with our money (interestingly enough, it's $35 USD per person, regardless of where you're from or where you connected to get to Bali) and bought our visas. After that, we got to basically skip the immigration line. And by skip, I mean he escorted us through the Diplomat line. I'm not gonna lie - that was really cool. We collected our bags, and he transferred us to another hotel representative who took us to the car that would be bringing us to the resort. Even the car was really nice, with comfortable captain's chairs in the back and foot rests.

Upon arriving at the hotel, we got through the first security checkpoint (a "thorough" check underneath and inside the vehicle) and got to the open air lobby. The staff opened our car door and greeted us by name. Clearly, they have incredible communications to know exactly in which car we'd be arriving. We were greeted with a cocktail at check in, and our butler drove us via "buggy" (ok, it's a golf cart) to our villa. We were fortunate enough to be in one of the Strand Villa, which is an experience in its own. The butler gave us a tour of our villa before departing. We were in absolute awe with how incredible it was. Flowers and all kinds of chocolates were waiting for us in our room as a honeymoon welcome gift from the resort.

The villa consisted of a living and dining area, a small kitchen, butler's quarters, a giant bedroom, a giant bathroom, private gardens, a private infinity pool, and a private stretch of beach. It was all nothing short of remarkable. All of the lights were operated with buttons on panels that could be removed and carried around with you, allowing you to operate any light in the villa from anywhere. The living and dining area consisted of a round table (where we ordered room service way too much), a couple gorgeous chandeliers, a comfy couch, and a TV that retracts at the touch of a button. All of the shades were electronically operated, revealing a view of - and doors to - the pool and garden. The garden had several lounging areas including our own cabana, but they call it a Bale Bengong. The plunge pool was a little more than a typical plunge pool. It was a good 30 feet long and 10 feet wide, and had a picnic table with a seat in the pool. It was perfect for a quick dip to cool off. The gardens were meticulously kept and lead to our private stretch of beach. Our beach chairs were waiting for us each day, and every time we sat down, a butler would immediately come over with waters, a cloth soaked in Florida water, and to make up the chairs with towels.

The bedroom was over-sized with a canopy over the bed. The doors also opened to the gardens and pool. Perhaps the most impressive part, though, was the bathroom. It was by far the biggest hotel bathroom I have ever seen. It had a claw-footed tub, a separate rain shower, a large walk-in closet, and a double vanity. We discovered another hotel gift - the tub was filled with red rose petals with white ones spelling out I <3 U. It was a nice touch. I guess there's not a whole lot else to say about the villa, so check out a bunch of pictures from the room and garden.