Review: Mountain Peak, Kintamani

Mountain Peak Kintamani is a row of four (soon to be five) modern cabins that stand on the volcanic crater rim overlooking mighty Mount Batur in northern Bali. We stayed here in November 2023 and paid around 800,000 IDR for one night, with breakfast included. Here's our full review.

Location

Mountain Peak is located halfway down the inner crater of Mount Batur, Bali’s second-biggest volcano.

The cabins take full advantage of this picturesque location, with large floor-to-ceiling windows that give you an unobstructed view directly over the volcano.

With nothing but Mount Batur and lush wilderness in sight, the area is very peaceful and makes a great escape into nature.

However, getting to the accommodation is a little bit of a challenge. There is a road, but it’s verrrry steep. There was no chance that we'd attempt this ourselves on the bike. We took advantage of the free shuttle service provided by the accommodation and had them collect us from the meeting point.

The journey from the meeting point in Kintamani village down to the accommodation took around 10 minutes in their 4WD truck.

There are staff around 24/7 and two 4WD trucks, so you can catch a shuttle up and down to the town as much as you need. You just need to ask. The staff are super accommodating!

The Accommodation

The mountainside cabins definitely have that initial "wow" factor. Each large cabin is two stories high, with a cosy corner sofa and living space downstairs and a mezzanine with a bed upstairs.

The metal and concrete frame gives the cabin a cool industrial chic feel that you might expect in a big city, whilst the Balinese decorations add a homely touch.

Despite the cabins' remote location, they are well-contained and remain bug-free compared to other bamboo lodges we've stayed in in other rural areas of Bali.

The large double bed sits on the mezzanine level, with spectacular views out through the massive window in front.

The bathroom was indoors but had pebbles covering the floor to create an outdoorsy feel. We were super grateful to have hot water, which is not always a given in remote accommodation like this.

The apartment had WiFi which was good enough for light use but not for streaming movies etc. There was no kitchen or fridge, but bottles of water and a kettle with tea and coffee were provided.

While the cabins don't have air-con, you don’t particularly need it in Kintamani where it gets quite cool in the evenings. There is a fan if you need it. However the temperature inside the cabin was perfect throughout our stay.

One of the only downsides of the cabin was that the curtains didn’t cover the entire glass windows. So, if you’re a light sleeper, the sun may wake you up early.

Secondly, the soundproofing isn’t great and the cabins are only a few feet from one another. Of course, the sound of nature is to be expected out here, but the sounds of our neighbours were less welcome. Especially when they woke up early to do the Mount Batur sunrise hike.

If you are a light sleeper, pack an eye mask and earplugs to avoid these issues and you'll have a great stay.

The Staff

The staff at Mountain Peak were in regular contact with us from the moment we booked the hotel, arranging our pick up from the main road upon our arrival and checking in to see if everything was okay during our stay.

Some of the staff didn’t speak much English, but this didn’t stop them from being chatty and trying their best to have a conversation with us during the shuttle journeys. On arrival at the accommodation, they showed us our room and bought out a welcome drink which was a pleasant surprise.

There is no restaurant at Mountain Peak but the staff did offer to take us back up to Kintamani for dinner whenever we liked. You can easily text them whenever you need a lift up and down to the hotel.

If you have specific requests, such as dietary requirements for breakfast, you may struggle to communicate this easily with the on-site staff. We recommend having Google Translate installed with Indonesian downloaded before you stay.

What Else is Included?

Mountain Peak Kintamani doesn't yet have its own on-site restaurant, which makes sense as there are only four cabins.

Although the staff offered to drive us up to Kintamani for dinner, we declined and decided to head to nearby Black Lava Camp. This is a glamping site just a few minutes walk down the road (the only other accommodation in the area) with an on-site restaurant that's open for walk-ins.

With the same picturesque view as our hotel and the addition of an infinity pool, Black Lava Camp is a fantastic spot for a sunset drink and dinner. They even light a few firepits around the restaurant after dark.

The food at Black Lava Camp was a little pricier than other places in Kintamani, but it was our only choice at this point so we went ahead. And we were not disappointed. Our Chicken Parma and Nasi Goreng were served quickly and were delicious.

In the morning, breakfast was served straight to us on the small terrace outside of our cabin. Breakfast was included in the price, with the choice of typical breakfast dishes such as eggs on toast, omelette, and pancakes.

With no onsite restaurant, it must have been cooked elsewhere and transported to us as it was a little cold by the time it arrived. The food was nothing to shout home about, but when accompanied by the beautiful view of Mount Batur glistening in the morning sun, it was still a breakfast worth remembering.

Of course, we can’t forget to mention Lilo, the owner’s adorable and friendly dog. Unspurprisingly she turned up at the same time our breakfast arrived and left soon after! Yes she got a bite, who could resist those puppy eyes...