Mawa House

Situated in a quiet location a short walk from the Sacred Monkey Forest, the tiny Mawa House feels a lot like a Balinese home. The two-floor guest house features classic Balinese architecture and interiors, with traditional furnishings and ample natural materials like teak, stone, and slate. Guests enter to an open and airy lobby with carved-wood doors and window frames, yellow and red walls, beamed ceilings, and a marble-topped reception desk. Guests can immerse themselves in the local culture -- the hotel offers wood carving, numerous temple ceremonies, and Balinese craft making. A small swimming pool with a waterfall feature is an inviting and refreshing place to cool off from the intense heat. The pool is set in a dense and lush tropical courtyard with native trees, bushes, shrubs, and flowers. The grounds also feature Hindu statuary and shrines, and Balinese carved stone. Mawa House tends to draw European couples, and offers honeymoon packages with massages and romantic candlelight dinners.

Mawa House is on a small road outside the village of Nyuh Kuning, less than a five-minute walk from the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. A few restaurants and warungs (convenience stores) are a five-minute walk away in Nyuh Kuning village. It's about a 10-minute drive to the center of Ubud, with its shops, restaurants, cafes, and yoga centers. The area with the Ubud Market and Ubud Palace (Puri Saren Agung) -- the home and temple of the local royal family -- is a 15-minute drive from the hotel. Ubud is known as the artsy center of Bali, and the hotel is just over five minutes by car from the Agung Rai Museum of Art, which displays Balinese, Indonesian, and European artists and has botanical gardens. It's a 15-minute drive from the Museum Puri Lukisan, exhibiting modern and traditional Balinese paintings and wood carvings, and the Blanco Renaissance Museum is a 20-minute drive from the hotel. Guests coming from Ngurah Rai International Airport should expect about an hour's drive or taxi ride to reach the guest house. 

Housed in a two-floor building with no elevator, the eight spacious rooms get good natural light and air, and pack in plenty quaint style. All have a distinctive Balinese look, with dark-wood furnishings and Balinese decorative motifs on the doors, wardrobes, and window frames. The color palette consists of rich golds, reds, and browns, with white cotton bedding with brown decorative throws and cushions. Rooms are clean, well maintained, and quiet due to the hotel's secluded location away from the center of Ubud. Wooden four-poster beds are outfitted with mosquito nets, which always look romantic despite being utilitarian. Rooms have ceiling fans, in-room safes, free Wi-Fi, and balconies or terraces with garden and pool views, but they don't have TVs, minibars, or tea- and coffee-making facilities. The private bathrooms are well-lit and spacious, with ample counter space around the sink. Some bathrooms have open wet room-style showers rather than walk-in showers with curtains, so expect wet floors. 

As a tiny property, certain leisure facilities are limited, but there is a small swimming pool in a lush tropical courtyard. The restaurant serves a breakfast that includes options such as eggs and sausage, banana or pineapple pancakes, and Indonesian items like mie goreng (fried noodles). Unfortunately, it's not included in room rates. A light lunch menu features curries, salads, and sandwiches. The hotel also serves a poolside barbecue dinner and romantic candlelight dinners. Room service is available. 

Guests can learn how to make sarongs, braid hair, or give daily offerings in prayer. The hotel also offers Ubud market shopping trips, Balinese cooking classes, and free Gamelan (Balinese musical instruments) lessons and painting lessons. The Mawa House provides massage services for a fee, though there is not full-service spa. The list of features is rounded out by laundry services, a 24-hour front desk, a souvenir stand, scooter and bicycle rental, and a lobby cooler with cold beverages available for purchase. Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel.