Ubud is known for its vibrant culture, picturesque rice terraces, and beautiful landscape. With the rise in tourism, there have been many gorgeous pools built at Airbnbs, hotels, and resorts, providing guests with a refreshing escape between exploring the surrounding jungle, wandering the streets of the city, etc. Cretya Ubud is a club that has gained a lot of popularity for its “Insta-worthy” pool overlooking the lush Alas Harum rice terraces.
Most attractions around Ubud have become pretty touristy, and this is definitely one of them. If you’re looking for a quiet pool day and a peaceful walk through the countryside, this isn’t the place for you. But if you’re in search of a bustling pool club experience and to walk through some pretty rice terraces, you may want to check this spot out!
It was Lia’s sister’s birthday, and Cretya Ubud was on the list of things she wanted to do to celebrate. After a sunrise hike on the Campuhan Ridge Walk and breakfast at our hotel, we headed to the day club.
Getting to Cretya Ubud
Cretya Ubud sits about 15-20 minutes from the heart of Ubud. This can vary a bit depending on the traffic. It is located in the Tegalalang area, which is very popular among tourists looking to see some picturesque rice terraces.
People commonly rent bikes/scooters to get around. If driving yourself, there is a parking area onsite.
If you don’t have your own scooter or car, you can easily hire a taxi or Grab/Gojek. Note that the “taxi mafia” is prevalent in Ubud, so Grab and Gojek drivers may only pick you up in certain areas of the city to avoid issues. If you’d like your driver to return to pick you up, ask beforehand and agree on a price. If you plan to call a Grab or Gojek for the return, you may have to walk a bit outside the parking area for pickup because ride shares aren’t always permitted to pick up here due to conflicts with taxi drivers. We don’t recommend having Cretya call a taxi for you or hailing one from the parking area as we’ve heard these are way overpriced.
Planning to see a few sights in the area? You may consider hiring a driver for a half-day or full-day excursion. We wanted to make a few stops in the area, so we opted to hire a driver. It was also very affordable and convenient for the five of us. There are various Bali companies that advertise their driver services online that you can reach out to or book through. We just asked our hotel if they knew of somebody to drive us and they provided contact info for us to reach out via WhatsApp. We used the same driver for excursions on other days as well.
Fees & Hours
The basic entry fee for Cretya begins at IDR 150,000 per person. This is labeled as the First Drink Charge on their site and includes entrance plus one drink. This doesn’t include any seating, so you’re limited to the few chairs around the pool that don’t require a minimum spend.
If you want to secure seating at a daybed, one of the hammocks, cabanas, etc., there’s a minimum spend of IDR 3-5,000,000. This is in addition to the IDR 150,000 First Drink Charge. Before reserving, note the maximum capacity for each of the seating options.
If you want to secure your seating or aren’t planning on arriving early, we’d definitely recommend reserving online in advance as this is a popular spot and options do sell out.
Cretya Ubud is open daily from 8a.m. to 9 p.m. We recommend arriving around open if you haven’t reserved a spot in advance and if you want to be there before the crowds. We arrived less than an hour after opening it was already getting busy.
Check the website before your visit to make a reservation and check for any updates on hours, pricing, and ongoing events.
Visiting Cretya Ubud
We arrived at Cretya Ubud and headed to the security line. This is where you’ll pay the entrance fee or present your ticket, get your wrist band, and drop off any belongings to store that aren’t permitted inside. This includes water bottles. We didn’t reserve anything in advance, so we bought our tickets and headed down through a garden area towards the pool.
The Cretya Ubud Pool Club
Despite being there not long after the club opened, it was already getting crowded. The free seating was mostly filled up, cubbies for belongings were almost all taken, and there were already many people along the edge of the infinity pools taking their pictures and flying their drones. We’ll be honest and say that this definitely isn’t the type of scene we generally seek out, but the whole area was really beautiful and we get why it has become so popular.
The five of us put our clothes, camera, shoes, etc. in one of the cubbies and hopped into the pool. There are supposedly more secure lockers here for an extra fee as well. We enjoyed swimming for a while and lounging on the public nets near the jacuzzi (some nets are private and have a minimum spend). Chill house music filled the air. Sometimes Cretya hosts events with DJs and other performers. We think attending a party here would be a great time! Check their Instagram for upcoming event updates.
It began to get crowded in the pool, so we enjoyed a drink, then headed down to the rice terraces. If you’re looking for additional food and drink, you can order them to enjoy at your reserved spot or head to one of the restaurants. There are a couple restaurants on site plus a few in the area if you want to grab a bite before or after your visit.
Exploring the Rice Terraces
The rice terraces themselves are beautiful. But there are many little details and activities in the Alas Harum complex that make the area fun to explore.
If you’ve done a some research on Bali online or have seen a bunch of Ubud content on social media, chances are you’ve seen those photos of girls in flowy dresses swinging high over rice terraces or another gorgeous view. You’ll find some of those swings here and can even rent a dress to wear for your photo. You can also zipline or ride the Sky Bike. These activities come at an additional cost of around IDR 200,000 to 350,000, depending on the activity.
We didn’t opt for the swing experience, but you’ll for sure see others swinging as you walk around the gardens. A pretty trail leads around the terraces and manicured gardens, where you’ll find cool manmade caves, nests, overlooks, bridges, and unique statues. On busy days, you may have to wait a short while to take a photo at a spot, walk through one of the tunnels, etc., but the rice terraces definitely felt less crowded than the pool area and most of the action was over by the swings.
We wandered the rice terraces for a while before heading back to Ubud in the afternoon.
What to Bring to Cretya Ubud
Payment Method: You’ll need cash or card to pay for the entrance fee, any extras you opt for, plus food and drink since you’re not permitted to bring any inside with you
Reservation: If you already made a reservation, bring the relevant info
Sun Protection: Bring a hat, sunglasses, and/or sunscreen
Towel: If you don’t want to rent one there
Camera: If you want to capture your experience
Comfortable Shoes: If you plan to do a little stroll around the rice terraces
Extra Clothing: You’ll need more than just your swim suit and a sheer pool coverup or something along those lines if you want to dine in one of the restaurants. The recommended dress code is “casual chic.”
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