The Difference Between Luxury Resorts and Villa Resorts

When it comes to traveling the world, Southeast Asia is a definite hot spot, with Indonesia as a destination on the rise. According to Styling You, while prepping for an Indonesian vacation may take a little more pre-planning than may seem usual, the amazing culture, excellent activities and breathtaking sights make this one of the most worthwhile vacation spots today. The best way to experience the wonders of Southeast Asia, of course, is by staying in comfort and style—all the amenities of home, and more, with none of the responsibilities. This, of course, means staying in a resort and avoiding the backpacking scene, for a change.

I understand not everyone that follows my travels wants to live a life of backpacking, camping and hostels. If you want a luxurious vacation, there’s no better choice than a resort. However, choosing the right resort for your needs and preferences can be difficult without an understanding of the differences between resort options. Different types of resort offer different rooming options, different amenities and even different overall ambiance, making it important to make the choice that seems most amenable to you. It may seem that the obvious best choice for your Southeast Asian getaway would be a luxury resort, but this may not be the case at all.

What’s a Luxury Resort?

According to WiseGeek, the thing that sets resorts apart from something like a hotel, even a luxury hotel, are the amenities offered. While hotels are designed primarily for travelers looking for a place to sleep in between other offsite activities, resorts offer visitors a plethora of activities in-house. These range from tennis to full-service spas and beyond, but all have one thing in common: luxury.

Resorts are more expensive than hotels, but offer much more in terms of room service, dining and other services than you’ll get anywhere else, making them an excellent choice for international vacations. Since these locations are designed as a vacation destination for travelers from all over the world, you can expect more conscientious, higher quality care from the staff.

Another point worth mentioning in favor of resorts is safety. The inclusion of so many activities to keep you entertained all through your vacation is a definite bonus to resort vacationing, but adds the benefit of being able to see the sites and experience the country without having to worry about wandering around a foreign country alone and unguided. Instead, with a luxury resort, the fun is brought straight to your doorstep, making resorts a safer option than any hotel. In Bali, I stayed in Lovina at the Puri Bali Resort.

Villa Resort

Villas take the safety and comfort of a resort and kick it up a notch by opting for separate structures, like self-contained houses, for you and your party to room in. These villas offer privacy, peace and quiet, and a number of personal amenities that you can’t get from a standard luxury resort.

A few of the benefits of villa resorts include:

• Fully functional kitchen, allowing you to prepare your own drinks, food, and even your morning coffee or tea between those beautiful Indonesian dinners on the town.
• Multiple bedrooms, making it easy for groups and families to room all together, maintaining privacy and personal space without spreading everyone out over multiple rooms and suites. This also eliminates the added expense of reserving suites for everyone, including kitchens and other homelike amenities, instead localizing them all into a single central hub of the villa.
• Personal pools and Jacuzzis in many villas, allowing you and your traveling companions to enjoy a swim and a soak without anyone else interrupting your fun or dampening the mood.
• Private spaces, within easy walking distance of resort activities but far enough out to escape the noise and other interruptions. This gives you a place to retire at the end of the day that is truly your home away from home.

There is some overlap, of course. A Karma Luxury Villas Bali location offers the amenities you’d expect from a luxury resort with all the privacy of a villa; locations like this often offer live music, beachfront entertainment and much more, making them excellent choices for anyone looking to get away from it all. As stated by Lonely Planet, the mental image of Bali for many international travelers is that of a tropical Southeast Asian paradise, and that’s just the beginning. This stunning location offers some of the best villa resorts and views in Indonesia; if you’re trying to choose a destination for your upcoming vacation, Bali may be just what you’re looking for.

Making the Choice

Once you know the difference between a standard luxury resort and a villa resort, it can be hard to choose the former over the latter. While villas do incur added expense, it’s worth every cent for the comfort, privacy and even the added space of a personal vacation villa. As you prepare for your upcoming Indonesian vacation, keep all your options on the table in terms of location and cost—but remember what it is you’re looking for in terms of noise, location and action. You’ll find the perfect place for your vacation in no time.