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- Dec 31, 2011
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This is just a short TR that covers our flights to DPS from PER on VA and five nights at the Conrad Bali. Travelling with SWMBO who is a HH diamond and VA WP. Myself, a lowly VA SG.
At the time of booking our VA flights we selected 3A and 3C.
We had purchased some clothes and a new camera which we intended to claim back the GST on. I had done the online forms and armed with a printout including the QR code was hoping for a speedy experience. Due to the bulk of the clothes (winter gear) I didn’t want to carry this on board. So at the very east end of the departure terminal, near the car rental kiosks, you can get customers to sight the food and give you the required stamp.
Walked right back down to the other end of terminal to check in at the priority VA counter. There was two priority counters open and not much of a queue. Check-in was smooth. After getting our passports stamped at customs it was off to the TRS counter. No express counter for those who bothered with the online TRS claim form. Only one counter manned with an older gentleman who was more intent on chatting to the young Asian ladies putting in a claim. After a bit of a wait I was served. He refused to scan the code and insisted on re-entering all the information manually. Apparently the code sometimes doesn’t work. He refused to even try it. He was painfully slow and tried to insist I get the refund to a credit card rather than my bank account (which I had already entered online). I insisted I wanted it to my bank account and he capitulated. Overall, a very annoying and slow experience.
Quickly through the security check and into the Singapore Airlines lounge. This is a rather small lounge, but wasn’t overly busy. No external windows, but I liked it. It was quite with a really good selection of hot and cold food. A fair extensive wine and drink selection too. Given it was dinner time we had a decent feed and a few drinks. I was rather impressed by both the food quality and variety. Internet was speedy enough too. Overall, I thought the food and drink offerings were significantly better than what can be had at the Qantas lounge in the same terminal. The only downside I see is that there is no shower (not an issue for me on this occasion).
Boarding was called from the lounge. A less than a minute walk to gate, but boarding hadn’t actually commenced yet. Only had to wait around a minute and an announcement was made. Business, WP and SG invited to board. Boarding was done via the front stairs.
Row 3 (front of Y) on VA’s 738 is great. Much better than row 4 Y on a QF 738. More leg room and there are no seats from J that recline into your personal space. With no one sitting in B, personal space was fantastic. I actually suspect it has just as much legroom, if not more than the front row of J, due to the cut-out at the bottom.
About 30 minutes after take-off drinks were offered. About two hours into the flight food was finally served. If I hadn’t eaten in the lounge, I would have been rather grumpy at this point. The food was alright (for Y). They seemed to take forever though to get through the whole cabin. As a result, with carts in the aisle, toilet access for those in front of them was restricted. It got to the point where I desperately needed to go. Rather than just go to the J toilet, I asked a member of the cabin crew. He first needed to check with the CSM who did indeed grant me permission, much to my relief!
We arrived on time into DPS. The airport has totally changed since my previous (and only) visit four years prior. It was a vast improvement and just like any other modern airport. At 11pm it was fairly quiet with no queues for the VOA. Paid in Australian dollars ($50 exactly). Priority tags worked well and we were out quickly. We had arranged with the Conrad for airport transfers (US$22 and billed to the room). We were met and we quickly exchanged some cash for IDR at the airport. The rate was about 300 IDR below the XE rate and no conversion fees. In comparison, rates in Australia were about 1000 IRD worse than the XE rate.
While the hotel transfer was a fair bit more expensive than a taxi, I just didn’t want to have to deal with that on arrival late at night. Money well spent in my opinion.
We booked the cheapest room at the hotel. Garden view (if memory serves me) for about US$168/night. Having checked online we were upgraded and the upgrade stuck. A king ocean view suite (90 square metres). Very happy with this upgrade.
A few notes. The room we originally booked was 45 square metres. They are a bunch of variations on these. Ie, ocean view, pool view, partial ocean view and lagoon rooms, etc. They are all the same size as far as I could tell with minor layout variations. The lagoon rooms give you direct access to the pool from the front of the room. While at first it seems like a nice idea, I suspect you lose some privacy as a result.
So our upgrade was a pretty serious one. Even though there is suite in the title, it isn’t part of the suites wing. As such, the room doesn’t entitle you to EL (known as the Club Lounge). Again, a non-issue given SWMBO diamond HH status. Plenty of water replenished twice a day and a bowl of fruit topped up daily in the room.
The property is fairly spread out, but never seemed “busy”. Our room was on the ground floor and as the name suggests, had great beach views, with the beach being maybe 30 metres away. We were in the wing closest to the suites wing which was advantageous for proximity to the EL.
For breakfast we could either dine in the main breakfast restaurant (Suku) or given EL access dine at RIN (which is below the EL and looks onto the suites pool) which is were EL breakfast is served. We tried both, with only one morning being enough at Suku. I really liked that breakfast was cooked to order (and hence fresher) at RIN. Service was impeccable.
For suites customers (and diamonds), afternoon tea is served at RIN from 3pm to 5pm. Its more like high tea with an excellent selection of drinks (non-alcoholic) and cakes and sandwiches. I loved the milkshakes and house made lemonade variations. Then from 5-7pm in the EL evening coughtails are served. A wide variety of coughtails are on offer with a special selection that changes daily.
I’m not sure if its a suite thing or a diamond thing, but we were also offered 15% of all dining and drinks at the resorts various restaurants.
All in all, this is a great resort. Staff were amazing and they really look after diamonds well. Even at US$168 for a basic room (assuming no status or upgrade), I think it’s a steal.
Returning home, the VA priority check-in was a complete joke. A fairly lengthy line for priority and an even longer regular one. There was only one counter operating priority, yet for for the regular line. The priority line was ridiculously slow and after 15 minutes we just moved across to the regular one as it had pretty much emptied! Craziness.
At check-in we were given passes for the JAS Premier Lounge. The lounge is pretty small and seem to cater for many different airlines. It has a shower, although not sure I’d actually want to use it. There was a selection of hot and cold food, but was really pretty average. Free wifi didn’t hurt, but the entire airport has free wifi too. Actually, the airport has some high end shops and plenty of places to eat. So not having lounge access wouldn’t be the end of the world here.
One final point I thought a bit strange as I’d not encountered it previously. During the initial drink serves on the flight home, I asked for a cup of tea. I was told no hot drinks due to potential turbulence. I’ve never heard that one before.
In summary, a really great five day relaxing holiday. We spent the vast majority of our time around the resort, eating, drinking and taking it easy.
Living in Perth, Bali is really a decent option. The resort had no “bogans” thankfully. The only similar “tropical” style relaxing resort near Perth would have to be Cable Beach Club in Broome. Now this is where I see the problem. Virgin charge less to fly to DPS than Broome, even though it essentially flies past Broome to get there. Then the cost of accommodation, food and level of service. Cable Beach Club just cannot compete on any of those fronts. If I want a few days to just do nothing, I know where I’ll go to.
Happy to take questions
David
PS pictures to come still
At the time of booking our VA flights we selected 3A and 3C.
We had purchased some clothes and a new camera which we intended to claim back the GST on. I had done the online forms and armed with a printout including the QR code was hoping for a speedy experience. Due to the bulk of the clothes (winter gear) I didn’t want to carry this on board. So at the very east end of the departure terminal, near the car rental kiosks, you can get customers to sight the food and give you the required stamp.
Walked right back down to the other end of terminal to check in at the priority VA counter. There was two priority counters open and not much of a queue. Check-in was smooth. After getting our passports stamped at customs it was off to the TRS counter. No express counter for those who bothered with the online TRS claim form. Only one counter manned with an older gentleman who was more intent on chatting to the young Asian ladies putting in a claim. After a bit of a wait I was served. He refused to scan the code and insisted on re-entering all the information manually. Apparently the code sometimes doesn’t work. He refused to even try it. He was painfully slow and tried to insist I get the refund to a credit card rather than my bank account (which I had already entered online). I insisted I wanted it to my bank account and he capitulated. Overall, a very annoying and slow experience.
Quickly through the security check and into the Singapore Airlines lounge. This is a rather small lounge, but wasn’t overly busy. No external windows, but I liked it. It was quite with a really good selection of hot and cold food. A fair extensive wine and drink selection too. Given it was dinner time we had a decent feed and a few drinks. I was rather impressed by both the food quality and variety. Internet was speedy enough too. Overall, I thought the food and drink offerings were significantly better than what can be had at the Qantas lounge in the same terminal. The only downside I see is that there is no shower (not an issue for me on this occasion).
Boarding was called from the lounge. A less than a minute walk to gate, but boarding hadn’t actually commenced yet. Only had to wait around a minute and an announcement was made. Business, WP and SG invited to board. Boarding was done via the front stairs.
Row 3 (front of Y) on VA’s 738 is great. Much better than row 4 Y on a QF 738. More leg room and there are no seats from J that recline into your personal space. With no one sitting in B, personal space was fantastic. I actually suspect it has just as much legroom, if not more than the front row of J, due to the cut-out at the bottom.
About 30 minutes after take-off drinks were offered. About two hours into the flight food was finally served. If I hadn’t eaten in the lounge, I would have been rather grumpy at this point. The food was alright (for Y). They seemed to take forever though to get through the whole cabin. As a result, with carts in the aisle, toilet access for those in front of them was restricted. It got to the point where I desperately needed to go. Rather than just go to the J toilet, I asked a member of the cabin crew. He first needed to check with the CSM who did indeed grant me permission, much to my relief!
We arrived on time into DPS. The airport has totally changed since my previous (and only) visit four years prior. It was a vast improvement and just like any other modern airport. At 11pm it was fairly quiet with no queues for the VOA. Paid in Australian dollars ($50 exactly). Priority tags worked well and we were out quickly. We had arranged with the Conrad for airport transfers (US$22 and billed to the room). We were met and we quickly exchanged some cash for IDR at the airport. The rate was about 300 IDR below the XE rate and no conversion fees. In comparison, rates in Australia were about 1000 IRD worse than the XE rate.
While the hotel transfer was a fair bit more expensive than a taxi, I just didn’t want to have to deal with that on arrival late at night. Money well spent in my opinion.
We booked the cheapest room at the hotel. Garden view (if memory serves me) for about US$168/night. Having checked online we were upgraded and the upgrade stuck. A king ocean view suite (90 square metres). Very happy with this upgrade.
A few notes. The room we originally booked was 45 square metres. They are a bunch of variations on these. Ie, ocean view, pool view, partial ocean view and lagoon rooms, etc. They are all the same size as far as I could tell with minor layout variations. The lagoon rooms give you direct access to the pool from the front of the room. While at first it seems like a nice idea, I suspect you lose some privacy as a result.
So our upgrade was a pretty serious one. Even though there is suite in the title, it isn’t part of the suites wing. As such, the room doesn’t entitle you to EL (known as the Club Lounge). Again, a non-issue given SWMBO diamond HH status. Plenty of water replenished twice a day and a bowl of fruit topped up daily in the room.
The property is fairly spread out, but never seemed “busy”. Our room was on the ground floor and as the name suggests, had great beach views, with the beach being maybe 30 metres away. We were in the wing closest to the suites wing which was advantageous for proximity to the EL.
For breakfast we could either dine in the main breakfast restaurant (Suku) or given EL access dine at RIN (which is below the EL and looks onto the suites pool) which is were EL breakfast is served. We tried both, with only one morning being enough at Suku. I really liked that breakfast was cooked to order (and hence fresher) at RIN. Service was impeccable.
For suites customers (and diamonds), afternoon tea is served at RIN from 3pm to 5pm. Its more like high tea with an excellent selection of drinks (non-alcoholic) and cakes and sandwiches. I loved the milkshakes and house made lemonade variations. Then from 5-7pm in the EL evening coughtails are served. A wide variety of coughtails are on offer with a special selection that changes daily.
I’m not sure if its a suite thing or a diamond thing, but we were also offered 15% of all dining and drinks at the resorts various restaurants.
All in all, this is a great resort. Staff were amazing and they really look after diamonds well. Even at US$168 for a basic room (assuming no status or upgrade), I think it’s a steal.
Returning home, the VA priority check-in was a complete joke. A fairly lengthy line for priority and an even longer regular one. There was only one counter operating priority, yet for for the regular line. The priority line was ridiculously slow and after 15 minutes we just moved across to the regular one as it had pretty much emptied! Craziness.
At check-in we were given passes for the JAS Premier Lounge. The lounge is pretty small and seem to cater for many different airlines. It has a shower, although not sure I’d actually want to use it. There was a selection of hot and cold food, but was really pretty average. Free wifi didn’t hurt, but the entire airport has free wifi too. Actually, the airport has some high end shops and plenty of places to eat. So not having lounge access wouldn’t be the end of the world here.
One final point I thought a bit strange as I’d not encountered it previously. During the initial drink serves on the flight home, I asked for a cup of tea. I was told no hot drinks due to potential turbulence. I’ve never heard that one before.
In summary, a really great five day relaxing holiday. We spent the vast majority of our time around the resort, eating, drinking and taking it easy.
Living in Perth, Bali is really a decent option. The resort had no “bogans” thankfully. The only similar “tropical” style relaxing resort near Perth would have to be Cable Beach Club in Broome. Now this is where I see the problem. Virgin charge less to fly to DPS than Broome, even though it essentially flies past Broome to get there. Then the cost of accommodation, food and level of service. Cable Beach Club just cannot compete on any of those fronts. If I want a few days to just do nothing, I know where I’ll go to.
Happy to take questions
David
PS pictures to come still
. Would hope to try the Conrad at some stage in the future - HKG and DPS sound like they look after elite status and Suite guests well.
