Soulshine Bali is located in Ubud and it is the perfect little paradise where you can truly unwind and feel at peace. The resort is located literally in the middle of the rice fields and the Ayung river flows right next to it where the locals bathe and wash their laundry. The entrance is gorgeous in itself with bamboo trees and a pathway leading to the main building with positive messages.

Soulshine Bali + www.thetravelpockets.com

The resort mainly hosts retreats and I found an amazing yoga retreat led by Soul Searchers. I was immediately interested in this retreat as it offered everything I wanted and more:

THE PROPERTY

I was blown away by the beauty of this place. Everything was so clean and colorful with words of peace and inspiration engraved on the grounds. You truly felt like you were in a world of zen and this is just what I needed.

There are two buildings on the property: Lotus which has 7 double occupancy rooms and 1 single room with shared bathrooms; and Terrace which has 5 premium double occupancy rooms with ensuite bathrooms. This building also houses the lobby, open air yoga studio and massage room. The cafe and pool is located right next to it.

The property accommodates up to 25 people, so it was a very intimate retreat. There were only 15 of us and we had the whole place to ourselves!

THE ROOM

There are several different types of rooms at Soulshine. The rooms at Lotus are all the same design and size with shared bathrooms. The rooms at Terrace are all different sizes with private bathrooms. I always like to have my own balcony if available, so I chose to stay in the Firefly room at the Terrace and the room was absolutely beautiful. The room was very spacious with a king size bed, two night stands, a desk, dresser cabinet and a gorgeous bathroom with a rain shower head.

THE STAFF

All of the staff members come from nearby villages and were very friendly and spoke perfect English. They always made sure to address us by our name, which is always a nice touch when it comes to superb customer service.

My favorite staff member, by far, was Agung. He used to be the General Manager of Soulshine, but recently became Transport Manager and drove us around for most of our stay in Bali. He has been with the resort since it opened in 2011 and some of his family members, like his daughter, work there as well. He and his family were so lovely and taught us all there is to know about the beautiful Balinese culture. A few of us became so close to Agung that we’re now Facebook friends!

THE AMENITIES & SERVICES

Soulshine provides free wifi access throughout the property, which was fairly fast wherever I went on the grounds. They also have an open air yoga studio, a gorgeous infinity pool, free coffee and tea 24/7, and indoor/outdoor lounge spaces.

The staff also helps and organizes any activities you’d like to do whether it be a half day tour of Ubud, sunrise trekking at Mt Batur or a beach day. In addition, they provide laundry service and massages at very affordable prices. I don’t normally use laundry service, but it was so cheap that I figured why not? I was starting to run out of clean clothes anyway, so it was perfect.

Their Soul Kitchen was amazing! So many great selections and just about everything is healthy with lots of gluten-free options. All of their produce is organic and comes from their own garden at Soulshine or from local markets nearby. I loved having their fresh juices every morning. The papaya lime was the best and I miss it so much.

The best part about my stay was experiencing the cultural dinner with Agung’s family. This is a real inside experience about the Balinese culture and Agung and his family welcomed all of us into his home. Agung gave us a tour of his house, his wife prepared a delicious buffet, his twin daughters performed a traditional Balinese dance and his eldest daughter made amazing cocktails. It was such a splendid time and I will remember the unique experience forever.

OVERALL

I truly enjoyed my stay at Soulshine Bali and highly recommend this resort to anyone who’s looking to visit the Ubud area. The property is stunning, the rooms are magical, the staff is amazing and the food is exquisite. Make sure to check out their page to see what retreats they will be hosting next.

Camera equipment used: Canon 5D Mark III, Sony a7S II, Canon EF 50mm f/1.4, Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm f/4