Vishwa Yoga Journeys
Our Bali Guesthouses
Something unique about lodging for our trainings and retreats is the ability to choose among several providers. Through the years we have made good friends and alliances among the neighbors of our yoga shala and, therefore, can give you many options at many price points and with additional discounts through our affiliation as well. We can even offer you amenities at one place that you may not have at the lodging place that you actually choose. For example, Puri Bayu is gorgeous but does not have a swimming pool, but you can use the pool at Gora House which is right next door.​​​​
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To inquire or book any of the places below, simply do a Google search under the guesthouse name + Ubud, Bali (For example: "Gora Guesthouse, Ubud, Bali"). Depending on when you do this, you might find a better price than those estimated below; which is another reason why we do it this way.​
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You are also free to find lodging options of your own, but we require you to be within a 15min walk from our training campus.​
Kausala Guest House
Advantages:
Kausala is not only the headquarters of our training and retreat, but also has large guestrooms, large bathrooms, and a refrigerator. There is a little porch outside the entrance with a table and chairs; Or better yet, go up to the Kausala cafe that overlooks a serene rice field.
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Another advantage is that if you try to book it online it will cost about $36 per night, but booking it thru us will be just $18 per night. And, in fact, you don't even have to book it. You would just add $18 x the number of nights you'll be staying. (For example, our yoga retreat is 14 days & 13 nights / 13 x $18 USD is $234. For our Yoga Teacher Training, which is 27 nights, it is $486 / $18 x 27. Our Acu Thai massage training has 3 duration options but is, nevertheless, $18 per night.)
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Disadvantages:
The swimming pool is quite small. (However, our neighbors at Gora Guesthouse, allow our guests to use their pool. See Gora below)​
Gora Guest House
Advantages:
If you like to swim or hang out by a pool, Gora will be the better choice. They have, not 1, not 2, but 3 pristine swimming pools. (2 small and one large). Rooms are about as nice as Kausala just a little smaller. They have a small refrigerator and the 3rd/top floor (if you can get one) have amazing views*. The price at Gora is about $18 (same as Kausala).
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Disadvantages:
The rooms at Gora​ are smaller than Kausala and only have showers, no bathtubs. Also, unlike Kausala, you will have to book Gora on your own. (Nevertheless, if you mention that you are on our retreat they may give you a discount).
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Typically about $18 per night.
(2nd floor views are nice as well (just not the same), and will save you from walking more stairs, but most people will like to get a 3rd floor room for the amazing view of the mountains in the distance!)
Puri Bayu
Puri Cantik
Advantages: ​
Puri Bayu is literally our next door neighbor. The owner is a great cook and the accommodation also offers free breakfast. The rooms are really nice, and if you like the idea of an outdoors-like shower or bath this is the place for you. The price will usually be around $24* per night, but mention you are with our retreat group and you might get an extra little discount.
*They have another place called Puri Cantik (pictured) that has some gorgeous rooms for $36/night, as well as a beautiful apartment option for $36 that has a living room, kitchen and outdoorsy style bathroom.​
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Disadvantages: Luck will need to be on your side to get a room at either place. They only have 6 rooms.
No Swimming Pool (However, you can use the pool at Gora or Kausala).
Casa Luna
"Honeymoon Guest House"
Yes, I suppose it is a bit strange to show a deluxe bathroom pic for HGH but it does show an attention to detail and uniqueness from entrance to exit. However, if you are interested in staying here, first you're going to want to go to their website
to choose a "room" and, next... I hope you are already assuming that it will be a bit more expensive. however you might be surprised. Although a place like this in the US or Uk would probably be several hundred dollars per night, they have many rooms under $75 that are fabulous. Furthermore, as our friend and neighbor, HGH offers our guests 15% off whatever room they choose. They also have many price points and all of the rooms are different.
Note: "Standard" rooms at HGH are definitely nice but, frankly, not much nicer than the rooms provided at Kausala, Gora, or Puri Bayu; esp for the money. In other words, it is when you opt for the "Deluxe" & "Superior" rooms at HGH that you will experience something extraordinary.
In Da Lodge
Advantages:
This is an international backpackers hostel; and It really is as gorgeous throughout as its entrance suggests; and rooms are only about $9 per night. There are other hostels in the area which are less (maybe around $6 per night) but In Da Lodge is a special place. If you have a few more dollars to spare, it is well worth the extra $3 per night you might pay over other hostels. And, besides having a beautiful campus, they have a well kept pool and a nice restaurant with good prices. Laundry is just a short walk down the green alley, and it's only a 2 minute walk from our training campus at Kausala.
Disadvantages:
You will have to share a room with others. However, it is usually not more than 6 in a room and the people -being international travelers- are probably among the most interesting you will ever meet!
Important Notes & Agreements: (Required Reading)​
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We think our lodging options are the best value in the area and most of our guests seem to agree as most of them also tend to stay at their first choice for lodging for the whole event they are attending. Nevertheless, you may want to seriously consider opting for only half of your stay at one of the locations listed above - or any place for that matter you choose - as you will be seeing all sorts of awesome options in terms of beauty and price all around the area that you may want to switch to. However, if you choose to continue staying where you are, you should check with your current host to make sure your room hasn't been booked beyond the dates you have already reserved.
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Although it is rare that you will be asked for a deposit and your final payment will only be requested at the end of your entire stay, nevertheless, it is bad form to book for any number of days at one lodge and then move out as soon as another guesthouse or villa catches your eye; especially considering that you are likely to be getting a better than usual rate because you are a part of our group. Of course there are exceptions where unusual circumstances simply make more sense to move to another guesthouse, but untempered fickleness harms our partnerships and creates budgeting difficulties for our friends as well. Therefore, if you opt to stay 1 or 2 weeks at a given location then, please, stay the whole 1 or 2 weeks before you opt to move somewhere else.
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Typically, people who move to another guesthouse do so because they want to spend most of their time in a less expensive place but also have a few days at an extraordinary (and more expensive) place. If this sounds like something you'd like to do, then we highly recommend you opt for making a move to an extraordinary place at the end of your stay, not the beginning. ~As my father once said, 'luxury is very easy to get used to'. And once you get used to it anything less starts to feel like a huge downer. We've had guests enter our guests houses and be amazed at how nice they are -esp for the price. And we have also had guests stay in palace-like accommodations in the beginning and then switch to our accommodations, only to continually go on and on comparing the two. Furthermore, it is also bad form to move to a more luxurious accommodation and keep reporting back to the group how much nicer it is than where everyone else continues to stay.
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If you have a problem with your room you will find that the hosts are prompt to fix it or recompense you for any trouble. But, please, take such issues to the guesthouse host/staff. The staff of Vishwa Yoga Journeys are responsible for helping you with training or retreat issues, but we have no skills in handling something like a plumbing issue in your room or in helping the cooks ensure your morning coffee or free breakfast is arriving on time.
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How to make the most of a stay in paradise:
Bali can enlighten, but it can also spoil you. Avg income westerners can live like queens/kings in Bali, but that doesn't necessarily mean they should. Remembering that the average Balinese worker makes about $5 per day (not per hour) should keep the western mindset humble ~ and more appreciative of the little things.​
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Luxuries are like desserts, good to have once in a while. But if you have them all the time they not only lose their appeal, but rot your teeth; and yet you will still tend to crave them all the time.
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There is a Chinese proverb that says, Don't build your house on the mountain. Some think this about safety as they compare it to the saying to never build on sand, but there is another take on it that says if you do this you will never have a good view. This is the take I often attribute to Bali. For after nearly a decade of visits, I have stayed in all sorts of gorgeous and humble places. In those humble places, I got out and about more often, and it seemed everywhere I visited had something amazing to it. In those ritzy places, I didn't leave the grounds nearly as often, didn't see as much, and often when I would go out I would just think to myself, well this is nice but not as nice as my villa; which reminds me of a scripture,
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"Whatsover surpasseth the limits of moderation ceases to expert a beneficial influence."
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"The middle path" that the Buddha spoke also comes to mind, and many similarly wise quotes you can contemplate with nearly every choice you make in life. However, in the current context I will just go ahead and state the most obvious implication: With our lodging options you will often see far less beautiful and comfortable options that make you really appreciate what we offer ~and~ you will also see places far better, like palaces, and far pricier, that you could only dream of staying back home or in some other country. But in Bali, you can dream and, for a time, you might even be able to live in the dream. But, similar to success without doing any work, or having precious dessert without first having any hunger, and living the dream without first having and holding the dream is to miss out on the exciting stage that lies between. Moderation and the Middle Path enables one to better appreciate where they are as well as all the possibilities they see ahead. It also keeps life fresh and unspoiled. However, living continually ahead of the middle path (or on the mountain) so to speak, has a wilting effect. Each day becomes harder to see as better than the last and more numbing instead. ~And this is often when people turn to drugs & alcohol, in hopes to re-enliven an experience that they know should be awesome, but can't figure out why it somehow went stale.
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Purpose
As someone who has experienced the negatives mentioned above, particularly over a 3 month stay, I can tell you from experience that, besides moderation, a sense of purpose for your retreat will not only keep you on the middle path but also help you to enjoy your time even more.
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Intention
...is another way of looking at (or finding) and acting upon a purpose before, during, and after your retreat. And, in fact, although there is not much chance that you will become all that melancholy during this time away from home, the majority of those who come -whether it is our training or our retreat- have a difficult time transitioning back to the ordinary world upon their return. In fact, we often hold little therapeutic reunion for the folks back in Cincinnati about 2 weeks after we return. (Those who are not from Cincinnati will sometimes come in thru video chat as well.) A big part of what we talk about is 'What are you going to do now with this game changing experience that you have had?' To which many have answered, 'Well, I wish I had thought about that before I even went.' Don't get me wrong, however, no one regrets going and many immediately start to make plans to go again, but now with intention, with purpose. ~I could elaborate much more, but I don't want to plant any ideas for intentions for you as it could be anything under the sun. Nevertheless, if you do take this advice to heart, then do consider yourself ahead of this challenge that most people face upon their return from any of our Vishwa Yoga Journeys.
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