Recommend a Bali resort

[Cynicor]

Hi,

Going to Bali in late Nov for a week and looking for a nice resort at which to stay.

The holiday is pretty much for relaxation and maybe a few day trips diving or to see the sights. Access to nearby markets/restaurants/clubs is not an issue, but having somewhere nice to walk around would be good. We're normally pretty happy to eat exclusively in the hotel if there's nothing else around and we aren't going for a Balinese cultural experience, nor for clubbing and drinking or market shopping.

The resort itself can be large, villa or hotel style but needs to have one or several large pools and a couple of restaurants. A club lounge would be a plus.

Last year we went to Nusa Dua and stayed at The Laguna (Starwood Luxury Collection) which we loved. I would go there again but the lagoon access room is currently around $400USD a night and I was hoping to cut the cost a little, so I am aiming for around $200/night, or $300/night with lounge access (both inclusive of tax). The Conrad in a base room fits the bill, as does the Intercontinental. The Pan Pacific in a Club room also looks good.

Any advice on these hotels or other resort recommendations?

Thanks,
Jon

 

[Alanslegal]

Do stay at the W Retreat and Spa Seminyak !

I stayed here in late June in an oceanfront room and all I can say is WOW. This place is really something!!



Keith (QF009) has a great review of the property here:-

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....and-reviews/w-retreat-and-spa-bali-29047.html

 

[Cynicor]

Thanks for that. Looks really nice but is even pricier than the Laguna. Seems to start at 360USD/night inclusive of tax. But it does look amazing, so Keith's review may just sway me. Any ideas on better rates?

 

[Alanslegal]

Try entering the code: ZxR into the Rate Preference/Promo Code ... where x is the amount of nights.

For eg. Z6R is 6 nights (buy 4, get 2 free)

I don't have the page link sorry.

 

[lmere12]

Travel Deals: Find International Hotel Deals, Hotel Sales and More | Travelzooooks like a pretty good deal. can't recommend but if you check TripAdvisor you will probably get something there

 

[Pvcmenace]

Check out the Novotel Benoa Bali. 3 pools 3 restaurants basic rooms about $70/night nice rooms about $110 and pool villas can be had from $250 plus its near Bumbu Bali great food and complimentary pickup and drop off. No club lounge though.

 

[Paddy55]

Recently stayed in:

Komeneka Monkey Forest (Ubud) - Pretty Good

Komeneka Bisma (Ubud) - Excellant, and

HI Resort near airport - Pretty Good also

Paddy

 

[awilcockson]

Did someone say Nusa Dua?

OurDeal - 62% Off Relaxing 5 Night Bali Getaway for Two, Nusa Dua

 

[drwtsv]

Hi,

I can recommend the INtercontinental Resort at Jimbaran. Its a very nice resort with everything you mentioned and if you check trip advisor you will see it has very good reviews. A stop at a supermarket on your way there is a good idea as the oly thing it seemed to be lacking was a convenience store within the resort where you can buy bottled water, snakcs etc.

If your budget allows, a Club room is a good investment, especially if you plan to be around the hotel for much of the day and evening.

 

[The Rok]

Conrad resort is spectacular. Ask for a lagoon room. Should be around $260 a night including taxes and club privileges. Essentially there are 6 pools including the three part lagoon pool. Food is good, private beach well kept, staff brilliant. They have 4 restaurants, one overlooking the ocean which is nice. Also the jiwi spa is the best iv been in anywhere.

General Manager is a 25% equity owner so amazing attention to detail when it comes to guest welfare.

Always booked it through a friend of the GM so not sure what availability is normally like.

 

[Cynicor]

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

I'm looking at resorts at the level of the IC or Conrad so the recommendations are great.

Just a quick Q for The Rok- I can't see any reference to Lagoon rooms having lounge access. Is this the "connoisseur club" and is there an extra cost or something?

The Lagoon King rooms are available for $300/night all in, as an advance purchase which is pretty close to budget if we get lounge access.

 

[zahra01]

I prefer Seminyak over Jimabran Bay or Nusa Dua. It has nice boutiques, and excellent restaurants. There's a great Japanesse restaurant called kuni's and there's good Italian and a gorgeous spanish restaurant somewhere in the back streets.
We stay at Disini Villas. In my opionion these are better than a high end resort, because:
1. you have a Private beautiful villa with own good size pool.
2. Breakfast served to you in your villa.
3. No communal areas that you need to share, with other people that might be noisy and annoying.
I have stayed at plenty of high end resorts and the restaurants are always OK...but you can always do better for quality of food outside the hotel.
The price was only around $250 approx a night which was a bargain for the beautiful villa.

 

[adampenrith]

Nusa Dua/Tangjung Benoa (where the Conrad is) vs Seminyak.

Both awesome locations.

Seminyak is very crowded and busy - but once you are at a resort or villa - very peaceful. Lots of places to eat and shop and party the night away.

Nusa Dua - more laid back - again great dining options locally, Jalan Pratama, Jalan Mengiat or the Bali Collection at Nusa Dua.

If you want to relax at the resort most days, swim, sun and enjoy the benefits like the lounge, I 'd go with the Conrad.

The only down is the amount of time it takes to get anywhere in Bali's current congested traffic.

I own a property down the rd from the Conrad so am very familiar with it. Most of my trips I don't venture out of Nusa Dua so it works for me, but if you do it can take a little while. However there is always something interesting to see when you are sitting in the traffic - little tableau's of daily life in Bali - or the facinating gathering of people and objects on the family wheels (normally a motor bike)

 

[beentheredonethat]

I stayed at the Novotel at Benoa recently and I definitely don't recommend it. I've stayed there previously and since then they seem to have turned it into some kind of budget resort for the French and Germans....they get it so much cheaper than Australians and pack a whole family into one room. Consequently it's impossible to get a lounge on the beach and the pools are crowded. Even worse than this, the food is pretty bad. I got an upset stomach after eating in their beachfront restaurant. On the other hand I had lunch at the Conrad one day and there is no comparison. A really nice resort, seemed to be well managed, the pools were so big they looked empty most of the time and the food was wonderful.

 

[chrisb]

+1 for the intercontinental. We spent a great week there. Keep in mind that in the hotel you will fairly much be paying western prices. Also, they leave 11% tax and 10% service charge off menu prices. This annoys me.

 

[epsc]

The Warwick Ibah in Ubud. Absolutely fantastic. I've done quite a bit of Asian travel past 5 years and I thought the Ibah was just extraordinary. Lots of cultural stuff to to in Ubud, of course. As I live in Sydney I don't need to travel to get good beaches.

 

[Cynicor]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Still have some time to decide, but as I need 6 more nights for SPG gold I may end up in one of their properties, or mix and match with the conrad or intercontinental. Have decided against the W for this trip, but maybe next time.

 

[Sprucegoose]

When I decide on a place I always drop the GM a note to let them know I'm arriving on such and such a date, after a bit if research.

Does wonders!