Anyone interested in the subject may like to read an interview I wrote on Bradley & Debbie Gardner published in The YAK Sept 07 issue, touching on some of the issues raised in this forum, and how the Gardners got into this.
Visiting the Como Shambala Begawan Giri property immediately following the interview at their house in the annexe, I could not but be struck by the pro forma nature & lack of inspiration and style in the subsequent additions to the property, as compared to the original design concept.
As for Debbie's shop The Shop, at the timethe original space still lies vacant above the lobby. Curious that, when I got the distinct impression Debbie would have been very happy to have continued there. She was informed by the new management they had other plans (that's now several "dog-in-a-manger" years ago).
I resonate with comments re Christina Ong's "take no prisoners" management style not to mention New Agey commercialism of the Como Shambala properties. I and my wife were robbed of jewellery, passports & money from the bedroom safe in our suite at The Halkin in London in April 2006 (an inside job for sure, according to the DI investigating for London's Hotel Crime CID squad). Neither the Ong's nor their management could have cared or helped less, other than to worry about their legal exposure. The Ong's, when acquainted with the incident, didn't even express regrets.
Such things are not isolated occurrences it seems.
On my return to Bali, I was told by a woman that the same thing had happened at their Uma Ubud property, while she was having a massage
in the spa, her room was robbed. A pilfering not pampering experience.
The idea of the estate returning to its original concept of a private estate
of villas is an excellent one, and a worthy Bali addition to the historic Batujimbar Estate in Sanur.
For me there are so many nicer and more welcoming properties for this kind of money in Bali (Amandari for sure). If genuinely caring non-commercial New Age pampering is your bag try the altogether more modest Alilas in Ubud & Manggis.
Note:
See also articles on Batujimbar, Donald Friend & Bali Style published in The YAK June 2007 issue and as cover story in HK's South China Morning Post's Sunday Magazine of 19 Aug, 2007.
http://www.theyakmag.com
http://www.scmp.com