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First Impression of Bali and Mandapa
Bali has been one of the places my mom has spoken of for quite some time. She’s a very spiritual woman with an innate curiosity towards faith and world culture. Somehow after taking her to Beijing, my dad and I were still able to surprise her with Bali as a destination on our surprise Around the World birthday trip. What made the surprise even more extraordinary has been Mandapa. This is one of the few places on the trip that we are actually paying for the stay. We used a great Virtuoso rep who helped secure us a very special experience, including an upgrade to a Rice Paddy Pool Villa and welcome birthday cake. In planning the trip we debated Mandapa ( A Ritz Carlton Reserve – 1 of 3 in the world), Amandari, and Four Seasons at Sayan. Ultimately we choose Mandapa and could not imagine a better stay.
Ubud is the cultural center of Bali. Peace, serenity, spirituality, and healing are the reasons to visit. You’ll even see monkies 😉
The downtown area of Ubud has become quite developed and touristed. Escape from the city center to spiritual refuges like Mandapa to clear your mind, body, and soul. Healers abound.
Overlooking the Ayung river Mandapa has 25 villas and 35 suites.
Words. Pictures. Emoticons. Nothing does this place justice. The people, my goodness, the people. Gratitude, graciousness, and joy radiate from their being.
We were given Villa 11.
Mandapa isn’t even 2 years old, yet the entire property feels ancient.
We arrived very late after a 5 hour delay from Singapore. Instead of a traditional check-in we hopped straight in a buggy and did an in-room registration. We were upgraded from a Mandapa Suite to a Rice Paddy View Villa. Incredible to say the least. MILES WAS SWINGING FROM THE TREES!!!!!
Kubu is rated #1 on the island. We dined in a cocoon overlooking the ayung. The artistry, technique, and design should be in every world’s best discussion.
My folks were pretty happy with Miles’ planning 😉
On Easter we had healing sessions, enjoyed Easter brunch, and relaxed as a family. Miles deserved his mimosa 😉
More to come.
I’m still on the trip and am trying to get a post out every day. Mandapa deserves a complete review which will come when I arrive back in the states, but until then…if you’re looking to unplug, relax, celebrate, and enrich your mind, body, and soul – look no further. You can follow the story on my instagram too: @zacharyburrabel or on Miles’ @milesthemonkey
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card went through a major refresh in 2026 adding new bonus categories, travel protections, statement credits, and remains one of the best travel starter cards in the market. It earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott. Note that Hyatt is now a 4:3 transfer partner
Welcome Offer
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account openingÂ
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
Earn
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travelâ„
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on gas and EV charging
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on vacation homes at top brands
- Cardmembers will earn 3x points on vacation homes at these top brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plu Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 2x on all other travel
- 1x on everyday purchases
- 5x points on Lyft rides Earn 5x total points on eligible Lyft rides including ride share, bike and scooter rides and subscription and membership products through September 30, 2027.
- 5x total points on Peloton equipment Earn 5x total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027.
Benefits and Credits
- $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travelâ„
- NEW: $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit Cardmembers will receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the card.
- NEW: Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:Â
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.Â
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is great starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex®  and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Chase Ink Business Cash® , Chase Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into the Sapphire Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee remains quite low at $95 a year and if you use the $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travelâ„ you’ll wipe out that annual fee every year. It has great bonus categories and other useful statement credits to enhance your travel.
One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3.Â
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