Stayed at the Villa Aqua for 3D2N from 16th-18th June. Communication with the hotel prior and during the stay was easy, they are very responsive via Whatsapp. Do note that there is no complimentary transfer from the ferry terminal. I decided to get the hotel to arrange taxi for us, however, due to its remote location away from BBT, the price will be quite high (450k IDR for one way). The pick-up from ferry terminal by their staff was smooth, the driver whom I believe to be 'Dika' was very warm and friendly from the start. He stopped by a minimart for us to get drinks and snacks for our stay, and even offered to make a quick stop by the beach on our way to the hotel, but we declined as we wanted to check-in quickly.
Upon arrival, check-in was fuss-free and quick. We were led to our Villa by buggy despite it being a short distance away. The room that we got was generally clean albeit lacking proper scrubbing of the water taps and shower heads in the toilet (there were obvious soap scum which I believe can be properly removed with better cleaning supplies). The bathtub was also not very clean, when the water jets were turned on, I noticed some introduction of dirt into the tub water. The water tap on the bathtub was also very loose and could easily be yanked out. In the shower area, we noticed a distinct fishy smell which we attributed it to be coming from the drain (as our villa is near the sea, with fishes/crabs in it). The private pool was filled with dead flies when we came, but we got the housekeeping staff to clear the insects which he did a thorough good job. At night, we also realised that the duvet had a patch of reddish brown stain to which we called up housekeeping for a change. The housekeeping staff was very polite during the exchange and handed us a clean set of duvet which smelled nice.
During our stay, we managed to order room service which is basically food from the restaurants there delivered to your room. The food prices are surprisingly very reasonable, and they tasted nice as well. My husband really enjoyed their hazelnut latte. It was a pleasant stay until the 2nd day in the evening when we came back from a short outdoor tour to our private pool being visibly green and polluted unlike the 1st day. When we called front desk, they said that it could be a filter problem, and that they would have to drain the water out and refill the pool, the whole process taking approximately about 3 hours. When I started to lament the duration, the staff suggested for us to take a dip in the hotel's public swimming pool instead. However I was not very happy with that solution as having privacy in our own private pool was one of the main reasons why I had booked that villa in the first place. I questioned the staff again regarding this, and he said that he would need to check with his superior and get back to me. It took them close to an hour before I had to check again with them to know the update. They eventually offered a switch to another room of the same type of villa, which I accepted. After that we had to wait for another half an hour for them to get the room ready before we finally moved over. The new villa we got was slightly less clean that our original one, with more visible stubborn stains on the floor but thankfully the pool was clean.
On our departure day, I had requested for a slightly late check-out time at 12:45pm (from original 12pm) to fit the schedule of our ferry nicely. However the front desk informed that an additional hour of late check out would cost IDR 250K. I was slightly appalled at the lack of leniency given the hiccup with the pool that we experienced the previous day. I brought up that due to the hiccup, we lost some wasted hours waiting for the pool issue to be sorted out and that they should offer some generosity by allowing the reasonable late check-out which I had requested. They eventually relented and agreed with the request. Check-out process was again smooth, and the taxi which I had requested in advance came punctually.
All in all, it was actually a peaceful and enjoyable stay at the hotel, the views from our villa especially at sunrise were unforgettably beautiful. Each water villa has a paddle boat which we had a great time using it! The staff were all so polite, helpful and always greeting us with a smile. I definitely would recommend this hotel to others, just that the hotel should consider to improve the maintenance of their hotel rooms, especially the toilet fittings, and also to figure out a way to reduce the incidence of dead flies in the private pool. The room itself is wonderful and it would be a waste for it to deteriorate with the lack of proper maintenance. Given that it is relatively still new (2 years), it is a surprise as to how some things in the room seemed a little worn out. They should also look into improving their service recovery when hotel guests experience hiccups during their stay.