DO NOT BOOK FROM Zesione Living Bali
WARNING: THINK TWICE BEFORE BOOKING WIRA’S TB VILLAS OR DEALING WITH IWAN SETIAWAN / ZESIONE LIVING BALI
I am writing this to warn other travellers and prevent anyone else from going through the same experience. I have also heard of multiple other people having issues with Iwan. I would strongly advise against booking this property or trusting assurances from its owner without taking precautions.
Iwan Setiawan has withheld my IDR 3,000,000 deposit and repeatedly claimed in writing that he had refunded it, despite no money ever arriving in my account.
For ten consecutive days, he told me the transfer had been sent. He claimed he had visited the bank and that his bank had confirmed the payment. Yet he never provided a transfer receipt, and nothing ever arrived in my account.
If the money had genuinely been transferred, providing proof should have been straightforward. Instead, I received repeated assurances without any evidence to support them.
The way he handled the checkout makes the situation even worse.
We contacted him multiple times over the three days before our departure, asking him to come and inspect the villa so we could settle the deposit properly. Rather than arranging a straightforward inspection, he repeatedly came up with excuses and pushed it back.
He continued delaying until the final hours of our stay, when we had to leave to catch our flight. This left us with virtually no time to resolve the situation before departure.
His cleaner was eventually there to inspect the villa. Iwan told us he would pay us back, but he still did not return the money.
During the interaction, the cleaner recorded us while laughing on the phone. Given that we were simply trying to recover our own deposit after repeatedly asking him to resolve the matter, this was an incredibly disrespectful way to treat paying guests.
We left the keys where he had instructed us to leave them and photographed them in place.
After we had left, the excuses continued. When I offered to send someone in person to collect the cash, he agreed, asked what time would suit, and then failed to show up.
To summarise: repeated requests for an inspection were delayed until the last hours before our flight, he promised to return the deposit but did not, and for ten days afterwards he repeatedly claimed the money had been transferred without providing proof or returning it.
He has given me no satisfactory explanation for withholding the deposit.
This is completely unacceptable. Guests should not have to spend days chasing their own money, deal with repeated claims that cannot be substantiated, or be put under pressure by deliberate delays until they have to leave the country.
I am sharing the details below so that other travellers can check the property and make an informed decision before booking.
Property and business details
Villa: Wira’s TB Villas, One Bedroom Wooden Pool Villa
Address: C4GW+JJH, Nyambu, Kediri, Tabanan Regency, Bali 82121
Owner: Iwan Setiawan
Business name: Zesione Living Bali
Office: Dalung Permai Blok JJ No. 28, Badung
Business phone: +62 877 8007 0013
Website: zesionelivingbali.ai.studio
Something else worth checking before you book: As of the date of this post, I could not find the property on Agoda, Airbnb or hotels-of-bali.com like it was before. Luxury Escapes appeared to be the only major platform still advertising it. I can only assume his actions have led to many complaints and takedowns.
I have also heard of other people experiencing problems with Iwan. If you have had a similar experience, consider documenting what happened and sharing your own factual account so that other travellers can make informed decisions.
Exercise extreme caution before booking villas or paying deposits.