In Reply to: a good way around this was probably posted by max _payne on Saturday, 24. April 2010 at 06:02 Bali Time:
but hindsight can be a wonderful thing.
As I said I had been through a difficult year & we just wanted to have a nice quiet holiday in Bali without rushing around.We thought by staying in this villa we would be comfortable with all the facilities we wanted,be able to have our quiet time - yet at the same time be not be too far away from our local friends & also be within a reasonable distance of where many of our Aussie friends were staying.As you are all aware by now we go very little of what we had expected,been promised or paid for.
With the photos I had seen on 2 websites & the friendly & detailed emails I received from the owner - well what else can I say other than I got conned big time ! I like to think I learn by my mistakes & the whole purpose of doing these posts is so that everyone here will also learn by my mistake & not go through what we did !
In hindsight the mistakes I made (this might sound a bit harsh to some of you but once bitten ,twice shy)
If you do your own bookings-unless it is a big establishment or organisation that is well know & been running a long time & has a good reputation & positive feedback -Don't take anything at face value or believe what you are told.Don't believe photos on web sites.If you have local friends make sure they check out the place.If things are wrong or not what you were promised & paid for when you arrive - walk out there & then & don't be so trusting if you are told things will be fixed.If the owner didn't care enough to have things right for when you arrive it's unlikely that they care enough to bring things quickly up to standard.
Putu Les made some very good points at the top of this thread about there being a lot of unscrupulous people operating unlicenced villas & suggested a way to make sure you don't get stung like I did & get this practice stamped out.I suggest you read his post if you have not already.
Les has been a friend for a very long time & we keep in touch.I had been talking to him a short time before we went to Bali,maybe I should have also spoken to Les about the villa we intended to stay at !