One of the best ways to experience a new destination is get off the beach, get out of the resort and do something practical. Take a tour of the town, ride a bike to the next village, visit a local market then take a traditional cooking class with someone’s grandma…you know, something. Airbnb have been running their curated local experiences since 2016. Unique, memorable activities designed and hosted by locals, Airbnb Experiences are intended to go beyond typical tours or workshops.
But are they any good? Only one way to find out…
First, take your pick of Airbnb Experiences…
Destination: Indonesia. Looking for something to do other than laze around in beach clubs once I hit Bali, I decided to check out a Balinese Mixology Airbnb Experience:
You’ll get a personalised one-hour session with our bartenders with an introduction to mixology, get a taste of our house-infused Balinese spirit arak and a step-by-step explanation of how to make your own cocktail using Balinese ingredients.
As a bar and cocktail nerd, this sounded like pure Diva heaven. The opportunity to make cocktails and taste a few local spirits? So far, so ordinary. What set this Airbnb Experience apart was the venue: Akademi is a world-class cocktail bar in the lobby of the Katamama Hotel, part of the Potato Head beach complex. It’s a hub for the world’s most celebrated and innovative drinks alchemists, a ‘centre of mixology’ created by award-winning mixologist Dré Masso – which seems fitting as he ran so many of the London bars I used to hang out in back in the day (Atlantic Bar & Grill, 10 Room, Lab Bar, Opium…). These drinks experts host the Akademi programmes, schooling up-and-coming bartenders to be world-class. And me.
Next, be very late for class
My boozy boot camp didn’t get off to the best start. I’d booked for 9pm, but my flight from Yogyakarta was delayed by over an hour, my airport transfer stiffed me and it was raining. By the time I’d checked into my hostel and jumped into a taxi to Akademi, I was over an hour late. Luckily, my host Sophia (she posted the listing, but I never met her and have no idea of her affiliation to the bar or Airbnb Experiences?) was super cool, let me know it was a private session and that as long as I arrived before 11, I’d be fine. Points for flexibility.
The team here are serious about mixology and have a menu developed around a concept of sustainability and limited wastage. My experience was led by Agus, who explained the Akademi ethos and took me on a tour of the bar and the variety of natural ingredients they use and the tinctures and infusions they produce on site. I was given a tasting of arak, the local spirit before being given the opportunity to jump behind the bar and make two cocktails of my choice from their menu.
But be a good student…
I chose their version of one of my favourites, a bitter Akademi Negroni, (gin, Bali grape arak, brem wine, Aperol, Campari, sweet, dehydrated orange & orange twist to garnish) as my first, a Seminyak 51B (rosella tequila, cinnamon arak, coconut juice, pineapple tepache, citrus juice, spiced syrup, dehydrated pineapple and rosella & burnt cinnamon to garnish) as my second. Both were delicious. I made them, so, of course…with a little (lot) help.
There was lots of detailed instruction from Agus on technique (even mixing was harder than I thought – the whole twiddling the spoon between my thumb and forefinger thing was a skill) and flavour combinations. We even had a pause to sample some of the indigenous ingredients the bar champions, using them both fresh and to flavour their house-made arak. Like salak or snake fruit. Actually tasty, the name comes from the scaly skin – it doesn’t actually bite).
Hang around to check out the venue
Akademi is sleek and minimalist, but actually, the whole place is stunning to look at. Potato Head describes itself as a ‘Creative Village’ by the beach and it makes an artistic statement right from the off with the arresting 5000 Lost Soles installation by Liina Klauss marking the entrance to the complex.
As well as Akademi and The Katamama, there are restaurants, an epic beach club (I’d go back for sunset cocktails later in the week), recording studio, arts spaces, a nightclub… Richie Hawtin was playing a set the night I was there, I’d missed Honey Dijon, Peggy Gou and DJ Harvey on NYE. Agus mentioned that they’d all been staying at the hotel and had been chilling in the bar just the night before. OMG, I knew I should’ve flown in earlier…
So, Airbnb Experiences: how did they do?
Pretty damn good, actually. Rather than a group session, I loved the bespoke, personal approach. It didn’t matter that I was late – they just adjusted the schedule so I didn’t miss anything. I got to choose the cocktails I wanted, I received personal tuition and I got to geek out and ask as many questions as I wanted without pissing off the rest of a group. It was really informative – Agus was super knowledgeable, it was good to chat to him – and the venue was so good, I ended up going back later in the week.
Best of all, it was pretty good value for money. I paid just under £23 (after conversion), and for that got over an hour of attention as well as two high-end cocktails and several samples of arak. The cocktails alone would have cost about as much. A win for them too: the bar was quiet and Agus was able to pull double duty serving customers while still making sure I got my session (I had well over the hour I was promised).
So, this one was worth it, yes. Looking through the directory just for Bali, I saw a lot of tours and activities that seemed less unique and curated and more like what you’d get from Trip Advisor. So, you still have to dig to find a gem (sadly, this mixology experience is currently unavailable), but like making a decent cocktail, I’d say it’s worth putting in the graft.
Have you tried Airbnb Experiences? How was it for you? Let me know below.
