BootsnAll Travel Community

ON September (9th) we checked into the White House guest house in Ubud for a night. Our room was on the first floor. When we were heading up to the room after dinner - around 12.30 in the evening the concrete staircase collapsed dropping us 15 ft down with a further 5 stairs swinging above us on a single rusty steel rod. There is a further 7 ft drop down the narrow passageway to our room but miraculously we missed that fall.

We were very lucky only to have minor injuries from this accident - bruises and sprains rather than broken bones or crushed by the falling staircase. The owner however was really useless and tried to suggest the responsibility could have been ours (or God's) rather than his. I know the Balinese are terribly bad at dealing with such situations but he was particularly appalling I feel. He is clearly also quite wealthy - driving a new Toyota 4 wheel drive and exceedingly plump so the lack of maintenance and poor construction would not be down to lack of funds but lack of care. This was also evidenced throughout the guesthouse - open drain in the room they eventually put us in, dirt everywhere - including light switched black with dirt, very scuzzy bathroom etc etc

He was concerned about not paying out for our injuries and damaged items in the fall - such as my watch, sunglasses, phone etc. He put us in another room that night that had no running water so we were not even able to wash the dust and grime off us until we left the next day and went to a friend's house. He was only willing to take us to the local hospital but he was not willing to go to the international and better clinic for further x-ray and examination. When we tried to insist (and by now it was 3am) he got angry and thumped the table and indicated that he was too stressed to deal with this!!

I have worked in Bali often so am well acquainted with attitudes here and the fact this is a haphazard island in terms of certain amenities. My aunt is married to a Balinese and I see all aspects of life and attitudes in my work so the above is not a 'western' complaint at all. Rather in all my time in Bali I have yet to experience such behaviour. His manager indicated our problems were small as though collapsing concrete staircases happen all the time. Really they just wanted us out of the way so the whole thing could be forgotten.

I attach images of the staircase. They are not very good as the area is narrow and we were both very shaky in the morning and desperate to get out, washed and checked up properly. However they give some idea.

I would suggest that this is posted so that others do not have the same experience. We did in the morning talk to some of the other occupants of the guest house and it is clear that it is not a well maintained place and that the owners are unwilling to undertake repairs. We were very lucky. Someone else might not be so lucky.

What an awful experience for you, is there a way for you to post the photos? We stayed there for a week last year, I thought that it was bad enough that the clothes drying rope broke from rot while we were there. The rooms were huge, the swimming pool was clean, it was very quiet & private, it was not spotless but what do you expect for $15.00/ night USD. I remember looking at the stairs thinking that they didn't look too sturdy, now we know.

There are many accomodation options in Ubud. Here is my guide to some of the guest houses.