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Bali (Indonesia) Reviews |
John Hill - Rutland
Guest
Voted this Destination:Not voted yet
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| We have just returned from a holiday staying for 8 nights in the Bali Hyatt Hotel in Senur Bali. The service in this hotel was outstanding with the most friendly staff we have ever come across in any hotel anywhere in the world. The hotel is set in tropical gardens which were so outstanding it was a pleasure to walk through them each day. The pool areas were spotlessly clean with plently of sun beds for everyone (free towel service included). In conclusion, an outstanding hotel that was excellent value for money and highly recommeded to anyone looking for a high class relaxing hotel in Bali.
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Jodi - Switzerland
Guest
Voted this Destination:Not voted yet
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Going to Bali? Want to stay in a hotel once owned by Holiday Inn, that offers just about everything you need with just a few hiccups? Then the Bali Hai might be for you.
ROOM: Because the hotel was once owned by an American hotel chain, they have standard rooms, deluxe rooms, a variety of suites for all budgets and even 2 private villas.
We had a standard room. The bed was a very comfortable king size American mattress complete with American sized pillows. The hotel uses crisp white sheets and comforters to keep you cozy in the airconed room. My daughter slept in a "rollaway bed" which was a twin size American mattress. We slept so well, we had to have wake up calls each morning to get us up, and for us this is really strange. The airconditioner definitely needs replacing, as it's old and rusted, but amazingly worked quite well!
Plenty of closet and drawer space, the TV is fairly new and worked well. They have a great selection of movie channels showing everything from big Hollywood movies to American sitcoms, so there is much to choose from. The best thing is that the bathrooms are tiled, they are brown tiles from the 90s but at least are clean and well, comfortable compared to what I have seen. The shower heads desperately need replacing, they are old and rusted but the water pressure is excellent even if its through a tiny shower head. Actually the bathrooms really do need renovation, but still, better than most 4-star resorts I have been in. The deluxe rooms on the 3rd floor have semi renovated bathrooms and rooms. We had a 1st floor room which meant our terrace had small steps right into the inner grounds with the pool, so it was fantastic access to the pool, the restaurant and within easy walking distance for bathroom breaks. They even offer laundry service for very cheap (not even 1£ per piece) and a room service menu!
FOOD: A great selection overall. There is a typical British type pub complete with pubish bar and a pool table. They offered the best sandwiches at the resort, true, huge deli-type sandwiches which were tasty, very filling and extremely cheap. (less than 2£ a piece!) They even offer beautiful salads and delicious soups and some main courses which looked good but I never tried. The problem is the pub is only open from 4 pm on, so you cannot go there for lunch, which I don't understand.
The main restaurant is the Mawar Cafe where you get your breakfast. The breakfast was a true American one, complete with bacon, a guy making eggs the way you want them, toast, hash browns, and even asian specialities ifyou have the stomach for it in the morning. There was fruit, although not the best selection, and some lunch meats and delicious sliced cheese. The only thing I was really dissapointed in were the sausages, they were these horrible tasting canned type in a funny tasting sauce. I was hoping for the British/American type. But, to my delight, they have homemade doughnuts and delicious sweets, which made going to the same breakfast every morning worthwhile.
Another dissapointment were the juices. They were the cheapest type of canned juice. The Cafe also has a full menu for lunch and dinner. TIP: Order the Caesar Salad here. It is delicious. The sandwiches are just normal, the club is nice, but not your homemade deli type. The main courses looked good, but I never tried them. There is also a Pizza Express hut where they make pizzas in a real brick oven. Nicely made, but the taste is just "eh". Not a whole lot of taste and twice more expensive than the sandwiches, but good for a change. TIP: Order the Calzone pizza "open", it's the most tasty of all of them. And don't order the pasta, it has no taste. You can also get ice cream here as well. Then there's the pool bar where you can get fresh juices and all the drinks you desire. They also have a nice snack menu. TIP: Fries are good, cheap and popular, the mixed satay is delicious, more expensive but very yummy, the tuna salad pita pocket is tasteless.
THEMED DINNERS: Well worth it and super super cheap. I mean a full buffet and sometimes Balinese entertainment for less than 7£ per person!! Of course all drinks not included, but still! The Indonesian and Balinese buffets were well worth it, the food was delicious, hot, very well made, and a real experience in flavors and tastes. The only thing I didn't like about these buffets is they served only Asian for dessert, and these desserts are definitely not yummy to the western palatte. Some are downright disgusting. The hotel definitely should offer some "normal" desserts for the very many of us who couldn't stomach the Asian stuff.
The entertainment was great, well worth it, colorful, musical and overall a good night out. TIP: Be sure to try the pork, which is freshly sliced from a suckling over a spit and unbelievably good. There is also a pasta night and carvery night and even a delicious Aussie barbecue night, which you cannot miss. But if you are staying for two weeks as wel did, it gets boring to do again, so trying the menus at the pub and Mawar Cafe are a must. There is also a Beach Restaurant where you can sit at table right on the beach with huge candles and order fresh fish. If you are a fish lover, than this is definitely for you, not to mention extremely romantic as most families with children didn't dine there.
EATING OUT: Kuta is a 10 minute walk from the hotel and has a plethora of food establishments. TIP: Only use your credit card at established places, use cash at local ones. You can eat at Bubba Gump's, an American chain of seafood, delicious, not cheap but nice and clean and good. McDonalds is futher down the strip, they deliver to the hotel! There is also Chi Chi's, an American tex mex food chain and even Pizza Hut. There are a bunch of local places to get chinese, italian, you name it. TIP: Try the local Vietnamese Soup Restaurant, Pho Hoa I think it's called, super cheap, delicious and safe, we ate there many times with no issues. They offer different meat and veggie soups, and spring rolls for appetizer.
ENTERTAINMENT: None, if you want a disco, you will have to go into Kuta, the town, where there are discos after discos. TIP: Don't wear or bring anything valuable, the locals are not your friend. Because of the disco bombing, there is security at the largest discos, be sure you go to one with the security to ensure you are safe while dancing.
ANIMATION: Every day featured different animation. Everything from sarong demos, fruit carving demos, to crazy games, frisbee throwing contests, even bingo for great prizes. The only dissapointment was they didn't offer aquarobics every day, it was more like every 3 days, and personally I think this should be offered every day.
BIGGEST DISSAPOINTMENTS: The staff. They were friendly, but 95% of them didn't know enough english to even take an order of food. Like when I said to several employees, "I want my fries well done, crispy" they had no idea what I was talking about. I asked one employee if the tuna salad was in mayonnaise, he said yes, so I ordered it because that is how I like it, but when I got the sandwich it was just tuna from a can in a pita pocket. I tried to complain, but he had no idea what I was talking about because he didn't know English. The clientele here are 95% Australian, 5% European of various nations, you would think the management would get English lessons for its staff because of its clientele. This was the most frustrating aspect of this resort for me and for many other guests which I spoke to. During the themed dinners, the names of the dishes didn't tell you if they were pork or beef or what, and trying to get someone to tell you is impossible. They should have a person there explaining the dish or at least telling us what's in it.
Also, beware if you like laying on the beach, the people trying to sell you stuff are aggressive and annoying. TIP: Do not touch anything unless you plan to buy it, because if you do they take this as a sell, and will do absolutely anything to sell it to you, including grab your arm. The ice cream sellers even try to sell to the children directly which is just wrong.
THE BEST STUFF: The towels are very nice, large, in good shape and comfortable. There is a "tiered" area where you can have a beach chair, on four levels, which is really nice, you never feel overcrowded. There are even large grassy open spaces where the younger ones would play and lay in the sun. The pool was large, in good shape, and properly treated. Food and drink were cheap at the resort, so I highly recommend you go on a breakfast only package and get what oyu want for dinner and lunch. But if you must have two meals a day or all inclusive, buy it at the resort when you get there. They give excellent deals, much cheaper than the tour agencies.
TIP: Be sure to book a private 4x4 tour into the Balinese country. Go see the volcano, eat at the restaurant there overlooking it, go see the towns Mas, Cezel, Monkey Village, etc... The tour desk is willing to bargain a little on the price, so be sure you don't pay more than 25£ per person for a full day jeep tour with your own driver. Be sure to see the Balabatung dance, you have to pay a bit extra in Rupiah, but WELL worth it.
For more of my reviews, see Kenya and Tiwi Beach
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Wendy Burgess
Guest
Voted this Destination:Not voted yet
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Have just got back from the Desa Suites after 10days with my young family and felt compelled to write a review on it. When I booked I had looked for other reviews from visitors for reassurance, but found none on-line... so here is the first and I hope that it helps persuade others to visit as the hotel deserve high praise.
The hotel is just amazing... I can not recommend it highly enough... not for luxury or 5-star trappings etc, but for good, honest, fantastic service and quality. It has so much going for it...
1. Value for money - you would not believe the size of room you get and the spec and location for such a modest budget. We paid ~$100 a night for a 2-bed villa that was huge and had 2 ensuite baths, 3 bedrooms, a lounge area, kitchen, vast veranda... all the other hotels in the area were more than that for just a standard hotel room. The rooms are spotlessly clean and serviced everyday.
2. Service - we found the Balinese to be wonderfully friendly and hospitable people. The staff at the hotel could not do enough for us... including free transfers to where ever we went locally, recommendations for restaurants, good advice for trips, etc.
3. Location - although not on the much sort after Nusa Dua beachfront (hence the price), the hotel is ~100m away down a path that leads directly on to the sand... it could not be more convenient. Plus, it has its own lovely pool anyway for those that don't even make it off the loungers!
4. Food - it has a small poolside cafe that does breakfasts, lunches and dinners ... the food is great - definitely no 'Bali Belly' here!!
5. Broad appeal - although we went with a young family (for which it's perfect), there were many couples there too and elderly folk - a real braod range... I wouldn't say it is better for any specific type of traveller, except those that want a great, quite holiday spot ... definitely no surf-dudes need apply as you can hear a pin drop at night!! - it's a quiet, tranquil haven in paradise.
Basically, I'd say skip the big chains on the seafront (Westin, Sheraton, Grand Hyatt, etc) and opt for value over glitz... you just have to go!
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Tim Moore
Guest
Voted this Destination:Not voted yet
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| This hotel is absolutely fantastic if you want a relaxing, quiet holiday. The staff are very helpful, and the hotel car can be hired with driver for a day all over Bali for about £25 inc petrol. When we visited in April 2006, we were the only guests for most of our 10 day stay, the Bali bombings have decimated tourism in Bali and its so sad to see the people suffer such a loss of tourism. Rates are very good, we paid only £31 per night for a suite, air con rooms were a ridiculous £15! Check their site adiramabeachhotel and you'll see the paradise we enjoyed. Airport transfers cost about £20 each way in the hotel car, and though over 2 hours to the hotel, the scenary is breathtaking.
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