Reviews from our students
Real testimonials from our accommodation.
Highly recommended :)
So far I am very satisfied with the study programme. The organisation is good and if you have any questions there is always someone on site in the office on campus (i.e. during opening hours). There are also lots of leisure activities on offer. Unfortunately, there are mainly Germans on the programme. But this is likely to change somewhat in the next few years, as GoBali is trying to become more international. But you should be aware of this... Bali is not paradise. There are paradisiacal places and beautiful beaches, but Bali is a developing country. You shouldn't forget that. Many people here are very poor, there is no rubbish disposal and you are often confronted with badly beaten up street dogs.... these are just a few examples that do not make Bali a paradise. I don't want to scare anyone off, I just want to prepare them for it ;) Overall, I can highly recommend GoBali and a semester abroad in Bali!
Go for GoBali!
With GoBali you are definitely in very good hands. Jan and Marko and their team organise everything perfectly so that you don't have to worry about university matters. The university takes place 3 days a week, which leaves enough time to explore Bali and the surrounding area. The GoBali building is very modern and equipped with air conditioning (not standard at university). In addition to the university, various activities are also organised, such as rafting or a boat party. All in all, a highly recommended study programme :-)
GoBali Programme
Perfect! Very well organised and a lot of free time: )
Top study programme!
GoBali was founded by 2 former students who also spent their semester abroad in Bali. With this background, they try to adapt their study programme to us and definitely fill the gaps of other study programmes such as IBSN. The information system should be emphasised here. This runs online and offers the possibility to adjust your own master data, download BAföG notifications, check attendance and you even receive notifications about cancelled lectures (this happens very often and is usually sudden). I can only recommend Go Bali.
Great!
I had a great time here during my semester abroad. Besides university, I had plenty of time to explore the island and more of Indonesia and was able to experience the culture and country up close. Bali also offers an incredible number of opportunities to organise your free time and get to know people from all over the world.
Great semester abroad
I spent a semester abroad in Bali in Batch 35 with Studiesnetwork (at that time still IBSN). It was the best time of my life so far and IBSN contributed to that. Everything was well planned and ran very smoothly. I could contact someone by email at any time and the IBSN office on campus also helped me with any problems. I can only recommend a semester abroad in Bali to anyone. I can also recommend Studiennetwork with a clear conscience, I have only had good experiences with this organisation.
Awesome programme!!!
I'd totally recommend GoBali to all students who want to study abroad
Study in paradise
GoBali is a programme founded by 2 former Bali students. They themselves have had the experience in Bali and are trying to improve the programme with the help of their own experience. The GoBali building makes a good impression and is air-conditioned! The information system is better than at my domestic university. I would recommend a semester abroad in Bali to any student, you gain an incredible amount of new experiences.
Super organisation and academic background
I spent my semester abroad with IBSN or studiesnetwork at Udayana in the summer semester 15. To say it up front: I will never forget my time there. So many new impressions, people and a look behind the "tourist scenes" of the island. Really brilliant! I probably don't need to say much more about the location itself ;-)! About the study programme: on the whole, I was really very satisfied. Although it took a little while before the start of the semester for questions to be answered, I was ultimately helped competently with regard to credit transfer etc.. Based on what Prof Passon told me, I could be really sure that my courses in Bali would also be recognised at my home university (and in my eyes that is the decisive point!!). There was an answer to every question regarding visas and accommodation. You could tell that they have been looking after this for years and have gathered a lot of useful information over time. Well, to sum up, I can only recommend this programme from my experience (and from my batch's point of view).
Great accommodation near the university
We had a great time in Hastinapura and it really felt like home to us. We would definitely come here again! The accommodation looks exactly like the pictures. The staff who look after the house are still very young, always friendly and helpful! The only thing to complain about is the kitchen as it's not that clean and the slow wifi.
Warmadewa awaits!
I will be going to Warmadewa University in just a few weeks, and I have to say I have been very happy with how everything has worked out so far. The acceptance to the university was very quick, all my questions have been answered by Asia Exchange and the travel prep is now done. I got the courses I wished for, so I am good to go.
"Villa" Sonny
Review of "Villa Sonny" I lived here for almost 4 months in WS 16. The villa is a simple villa. A better description would actually be simply "house". There are 6 adjoining rooms, an open-plan kitchen and a pool, which contains a lot of chlorine and is cleaned almost every day. The rooms are cleaned every day except Sunday. The cleaning lady is very friendly and even tidies the rooms. There was absolutely no need to worry about anything being stolen. Even if money was just lying around somewhere. The bed linen was always changed on request. I had the last room in the corner, where the WiFi reception was very poor or didn't work at all. However, the WiFi in the "villa" is very poor and slow anyway. We mostly went to cafés to watch films, skype or upload important things. As the rooms are cleaned every day, the pool is cleaned and the property is kept tidy, there are always "strangers" on the property, which I found annoying. A few times there was also a boy (estimated to be 12/13 years old) looking after the garden and pool. The landlady apologised that he was working so slowly, she had to train him properly first. When the rainy season started and it often rained heavily, I unfortunately had water in my room and water stains on the walls. At one point, water dripped through the ceiling UF onto the bed. When I returned to my room after 2 weeks in Australia, the room was damp and musty. Even my clothes had absorbed the moisture and the sheets on the table were already curling. I couldn't sleep in the room and moved in with my flatmate for a week. Immediately after I told the landlady, she and her "stuff" took care of it. At least they tried. Because a few days later I had water in my room again. Even the curtains were completely wet in the lower third. So they came again and tried again; to fix the problem. But they couldn't get the problem under control until I moved out. For the last 3 weeks I slept in a damp room that always smelled unpleasant, even when my mattress and bedding were changed. I also contacted Semester Abroad Bali because we had booked the villa through them. The contract also stated that we were entitled to a rent refund in the event of water damage. I asked for this for the month of December. However, I was refused and told that the refund would only be made in the event of water damage, such as a burst water pipe, earthquake or similar. However, this was not explicitly stated in the contract. I tried to talk to our landlady and the Semester Abroad Bali office and find a compromise. However, they were not prepared to discuss this at first. I kept getting answers like: "If you move into the room on the corner, you have to expect something like that", "It's the rainy season at the moment, so things like that happen", "There are water stains on the wall in almost all houses in Bali. That's normal", etc. In the end, I got almost 70 euros back for the days I couldn't stay in my room. Overall, I regret moving into the "Villa" Sonny. The rent is rather expensive for what you get, even compared to other villas. You also have to pay extra for the electricity. That's another 15 to 20 euros more. There were often minor and major problems with the house. Most things were actually "fixed", but the bigger problems, such as the water in my room or the smell in my flatmate's room, couldn't be dealt with. It smelt unpleasant in her room for the whole of her stay because something was wrong with the drain. In the end, Semester Abroad Bali even accused her of somehow causing the stench on purpose so that she could move out and get her rent back. But you can only move out if everyone moves out. If you want to move out on your own, you won't get your rent back. You also have to pay the rent directly for 2 months. That's smart, of course, because you stay for at least 2 months and can't move out after a month, even though you've realised that it's not the best place to rent. When I was looking for accommodation for my semester abroad in Bali, it was always pretended that there were almost no houses left. As a result, you felt quite pressurised and somehow forced to rent a villa without giving it much thought. The main thing is to have something. But it's not really like that. There are plenty of other and better villas than Villa Sonny. I was glad when I was finally able to move out.
More house than villa
I lived here for just under 4 months in winter semester 16. The villa is a simple villa. A better description would actually be simply "house". There are 6 adjoining rooms, an open-plan kitchen and a pool, which contains a lot of chlorine and is cleaned almost every day. The rooms are cleaned every day except Sunday. The cleaning lady is very friendly and even tidies the rooms. There was absolutely no need to worry about anything being stolen. Even if money was just lying around somewhere. The bed linen was always changed on request. I had the last room in the corner, where the WiFi reception was very poor or didn't work at all. However, the WiFi in the "villa" is very poor and slow anyway. We mostly went to cafés to watch films, skype or upload important things. Because the rooms are cleaned every day, the pool is cleaned and the property is kept tidy, there are always "strangers" on the property, which I found annoying. A few times there was also a boy (estimated to be 12/13 years old) looking after the garden and pool. The landlady apologised that he was working so slowly, she had to train him properly first. When the rainy season started and it often rained heavily, I unfortunately had water in my room and water stains on the walls. At one point, water dripped through the ceiling UF onto the bed. When I returned to my room after 2 weeks in Australia, the room was damp and musty. Even my clothes had absorbed the moisture and the sheets on the table were already curling. I couldn't sleep in the room and moved in with my flatmate for a week. Immediately after I told the landlady, she and her "stuff" took care of it. At least they tried. Because a few days later I had water in my room again. Even the curtains were completely wet in the lower third. So they came again and tried again; to fix the problem. But they couldn't get the problem under control until I moved out. For the last 3 weeks I slept in a damp room that always smelled unpleasant, even when my mattress and bedding were changed. I also contacted Semester Abroad Bali because we had booked the villa through them. The contract also stated that we were entitled to a rent refund in the event of water damage. I asked for this for the month of December. However, I was refused and told that the refund would only be made in the event of water damage, such as a burst water pipe, earthquake or similar. However, this was not explicitly stated in the contract. I tried to talk to our landlady and the Semester Abroad Bali office and find a compromise. However, they were not prepared to discuss this at first. I kept getting answers like: "If you move into the room on the corner, you have to expect something like that", "It's the rainy season at the moment, so things like that happen", "There are water stains on the wall in almost all houses in Bali. That's normal", etc. In the end, I got almost 70 euros back for the days I couldn't stay in my room. Overall, I regret moving into the "Villa" Sonny. The rent is rather expensive for what you get, even compared to other villas. You also have to pay extra for the electricity. That's another 15 to 20 euros more. There were often minor and major problems with the house. Most things were actually "fixed", but the bigger problems, such as the water in my room or the smell in my flatmate's room, couldn't be dealt with. It smelt unpleasant in her room for the whole of her stay because something was wrong with the drain. In the end, Semester Abroad Bali even accused her of somehow causing the stench on purpose so that she could move out and get her rent back. But you can only move out if everyone moves out. If you want to move out on your own, you won't get your rent back. You also have to pay the rent directly for 2 months. That's smart, of course, because you stay for at least 2 months and can't move out after a month, even though you've realised that it's not the best place to rent. When I was looking for accommodation for my semester abroad in Bali, it was always pretended that there were almost no houses left. As a result, you felt quite pressurised and somehow forced to rent a villa without giving it much thought. The main thing was to have something. But it's not really like that. There are plenty of other and better villas than Villa Sonny. I was glad when I was finally able to move out.
Would definitely stay here again!
The villa is very nice. There is plenty of space and the pool is very large. The villa is in a very nice location with lots of warungs and restaurants nearby. You can easily get to different places by scooter. The best thing about the villa in my opinion is the staff. They are so friendly and nice and always helped us when we had questions or problems. We knew we could trust them 100%. However, the kitchen could be better.
The best staff ever
Very nice villa with lots of space and the best staff! Thank you Louis, Arwin and Roman for the great time! (Shower in one room didn't really work), but this is the only negative thing to criticise. Book Villa Chandra for sure!
Pleasant stay, very nice staff
- Large rooms - beautifully maintained grounds with a lovely pool - located in Batu Belig, lots of taxis, close to Canggu and Seminyak which is a big plus (nightlife, cafes, restaurants)
Beautiful villa with lots of space
The Villa Nineteen is a very spacious and generously proportioned accommodation in which is easy enough space for 5 people. Smaller problems were always easily solved and the housekeeping lady is super nice and very attentive. It is a pity that the pool has no possibilities for sun bathing. The WIFI is nevertheless one of Bali's fastest connections.
Very friendly staff and good, clean rooms
Beautiful accommodation with a great location. Everything is accessible. Very friendly and nice staff. The rooms are very clean.
To be used with caution
Location: The location is without question very good! You can get everywhere in a relatively short time and find everything you need in the neighbourhood. Cleanliness: However, the cleaning is absolutely inadequate. During our stay, the pool was unusable 1/3 of the time because the filter system kept breaking down. In addition, the cleaner did not fully understand what "cleaning" actually means. During the day, she lingered on her chair in the driveway and took selfies. Only after several requests did she start wet mopping instead of just sweeping the dirt under the towels used as doormats. Around 2 rooms was her maximum daily workload, so cleaning was done once a week on request. Clean towels were limited and rarely washed. Rooms: In the so-called deluxe rooms it rained in the bathroom, as well as in the bedroom with every major shower. As a result, it smelled musty after every rain and mould was guaranteed to be present in the false ceiling. Basically, the rooms are not clean at all and compared to other villas are at best a 4th class. Kitchen: The kitchen is filthy and regularly ransacked by various cats. The request to keep the door closed was unfortunately not followed. Kitchen utensils are very limited and sometimes so dirty that they can no longer be cleaned. For the price, the villa is definitely not recommended! Only the people who look after the house are friendly and helpful (with the exception of the cleaner, who is friendly but doesn't understand English or do her job).
Definitely NOT recommended!!!
- This villa or "house" cannot be recommended. At first glance, the low price may seem attractive, but this does not include the electricity, which adds up to a lot, as the fridges and air conditioning consume a lot of electricity. We paid almost another IDR 400,000 per person per month on top of this. This makes the price of the room far too expensive for what you get. In addition, the constant charging of electricity is very, very annoying. - My room stank during my entire stay as there was an indescribable stench coming from the drain and as the bathroom is directly connected to the bedroom, my entire room stank. I didn't get any changes or help because the landlady didn't recognise the cause of the problem and at some point she didn't care because she already had my money. Likewise, Auslandssemester.bali didn't really help, which is why I recommend booking accommodation without this site, as you are much more flexible and independent and not tied to a contract with these money-hungry people. - There was also a lot of water damage in the rooms. The first mould had already formed in my room. In another room, after it had rained for days, there was water in the room and the room was uninhabitable!!!! - The water pressure for the shower and tap must be switched on separately, i.e. if the water pressure button (which is at the back of the villa) is not switched on, you can't shower and have no water. This is also very annoying and this water pump also consumes an enormous amount of electricity. - After just a few days, the pool was no longer clear but cloudy and looked really uninviting. - The kitchen and the whole complex is definitely too small for 6 people and the price is therefore too high again. - The landlady seemed really nice and helpful at first but after a few weeks you quickly realised that she was only after your money, which she told me straight to my face when I had problems with my room. --> Unfortunately I cannot recommend the villa and strongly advise against staying here! It's better to look for a villa privately by travelling around or googling on the internet. You'll get a better price, can move out monthly and are much more flexible. Auslandssemester.bali is a pure rip-off and unfortunately you won't get any help, and the fact that a German is a co-founder doesn't change anything. So don't let that convince you either.
To call Villa Sonny a villa is a bit of an exaggeration. Very simple house with old-fashioned furnishings
I lived here for just under 4 months in winter semester 16. I think the pictures of the villa you see here are a bit older. The villa is a simple villa. A better description would actually be simply "house". There are 6 adjoining rooms, an open-plan kitchen and a pool that contains a lot of chlorine and is cleaned almost every day. The rooms are cleaned every day except Sunday. The cleaning lady is very friendly and even tidies the rooms. There was absolutely no need to worry about anything being stolen. Even if money was just lying around somewhere. The bed linen was always changed on request. I had the last room in the corner, where the WiFi reception was very poor or didn't work at all. However, the WiFi in the "villa" is very poor and slow anyway. We mostly went to cafés to watch films, skype or upload important things. As the rooms are cleaned every day, the pool is cleaned and the property is kept tidy, there are always "strangers" on the property, which I found annoying. A few times there was also a boy (estimated to be 12/13 years old) looking after the garden and pool. The landlady apologised that he was working so slowly, she had to train him properly first. When the rainy season started and it often rained heavily, I unfortunately had water in my room and water stains on the walls. At one point, water dripped through the ceiling UF onto the bed. When I returned to my room after 2 weeks in Australia, the room was damp and musty. Even my clothes had absorbed the moisture and the sheets on the table were already curling. I couldn't sleep in the room and moved in with my flatmate for a week. Immediately after I told the landlady, she and her "stuff" took care of it. At least they tried. Because a few days later I had water in my room again. Even the curtains were completely wet in the lower third. So they came again and tried again; to fix the problem. But they couldn't get the problem under control until I moved out. For the last 3 weeks I slept in a damp room that always smelled unpleasant, even when my mattress and bedding were changed. I also contacted Semester Abroad Bali because we had booked the villa through them. The contract also stated that we were entitled to a rent refund in the event of water damage. I asked for this for the month of December. However, I was refused and told that the refund would only be made in the event of water damage, such as a burst water pipe, earthquake or similar. However, this was not explicitly stated in the contract. I tried to talk to our landlady and the Semester Abroad Bali office and find a compromise. However, they were not prepared to discuss this at first. I kept getting answers like: "If you move into the room on the corner, you have to expect something like that", "It's the rainy season at the moment, so things like that happen", "There are water stains on the wall in almost all houses in Bali. That's normal", etc. In the end, I got almost 70 euros back for the days I couldn't stay in my room. Overall, I regret moving into the "Villa" Sonny. The rent is rather expensive for what you get, even compared to other villas. You also have to pay extra for the electricity. That's another 15 to 20 euros more. There were often minor and major problems with the house. Most things were actually "fixed", but the bigger problems, such as the water in my room or the smell in my flatmate's room, couldn't be dealt with. It smelt unpleasant in her room for the whole of her stay because something was wrong with the drain. In the end, Semester Abroad Bali even accused her of somehow causing the stench on purpose so that she could move out and get her rent back. But you can only move out if everyone moves out. If you want to move out on your own, you won't get your rent back. You also have to pay the rent directly for 2 months. That's smart, of course, because you stay for at least 2 months and can't move out after a month, even though you've realised that it's not the best place to rent. When I was looking for accommodation for my semester abroad in Bali, it was always pretended that there were almost no houses left. As a result, you felt quite pressurised and somehow forced to rent a villa without giving it much thought. The main thing is to have something. But it's not really like that. There are plenty of other and better villas than Villa Sonny. I was glad when I was finally able to move out.
6 out of 5 stars :-)
I can only agree with my predecessors. Couldn't have imagined better accommodation. Ketut and his guys are super helpful and take care of every little ailment! Definitely a recommendation and 6 out of 5 stars!:-)
Beautiful complex with a hotel feel
I spent the winter semester 2016 together with several friends in the "Angel Villa", where we generally enjoyed ourselves. About the rooms: The "villa" is more like a hotel, as described above there are two living areas separated by a pool, at one end there is an open but covered seating area, at the other end the entrance area, where a member of staff or security can be found at reception around the clock. A kitchen is also available and can be shared, but it was very dirty during our entire stay. No problem, as we never cooked ourselves anyway. Incidentally, there is a warung right next to the kitchen where you can order cheap food. The rooms are comfortably furnished and include a wardrobe and a small fridge. The king-size bed is very comfortable and the air conditioning is very powerful, making it a good place to stay. Unfortunately, there is no desk, but we simply did the few things we needed to do for university at our desks right outside the room door. The bathroom, which adjoins each room, is really nothing special, but fulfils its purpose. Unfortunately, there is no common room - apart from the seating area at the back. The villa has several super nice employees who are present from morning until late in the evening and always helped us when we needed something and with whom we also enjoyed just chatting. Contrary to the description here, the rooms were cleaned every day, the beds were made (and occasionally changed) and toilet paper, for example, was provided free of charge throughout - the same also applies to drinking water, which can be filled free of charge in the kitchen. The main points of criticism for us were that - contrary to expectations - there were no students in the villa apart from us when we moved in. This was a decisive factor for us when looking for accommodation, which is why we were very disappointed. Fortunately for us, two other students found their way into the villa at the beginning of the semester, but the five rooms opposite were permanently occupied by tourists, which we found annoying to some extent, as on the one hand privacy suffers and on the other hand the possibility of a child running around the pool at 7 o'clock in the morning cannot be ruled out. On the other hand, the location is very positive: many other students live nearby, it's not too far to party and it's not too far to the beach either. There are also lots of good places to eat in the neighbourhood. If the villa is fully occupied by students - which I would recommend clarifying in advance - I imagine living in the villa would be very cool. :)
Not villa - nice area - high price
The villa is located in a nice quiet street, where you can relax at a nice pool. The rooms are fine and the staff is very nice. At the beginning there were some problems with the internet connection, but after a few weeks the connection was okay after we told the problems to the staff. All in all, the stay at the villa was very nice. The staff is good, but you also have to pay a lot of money. I would recommend the villa to other people and friends, who have enough money.