emilyc13

Hi,

I am planning a trip to Bali in November and I am overwhelmed by making hotel choices. I am planning to stay for 8 days and 7 nights in Bali. I know I definitely want to stay in Ubud (or nearby area) for a couple but I can't decide where to stay for the other leg of my trip. We know we want to stay somewhat near the beach so I'm deciding between lovina, jimbaran, nusa dua and candidasa. Here are the conflicts:

1. Should we stay in two locations - ie Ubud and say Jimbaran or 3 locations, ie ubud, jimbaran, lovina? Will 3 locations be too much for 8 days?

2. I'm considering Nusa Dua only because I found some great hotel deals (ie conrad bali, hilton bali, and intercontinental) but I usually prefer small boutique type places. I think big hotels sometimes lack a certain ambiance. I don't really need many ammenities but what I do want is a a beautiful, CLEAN hotel room, with a modern bathroom. It is a romantic getaway so privacy and a far removed feel would be lovely. If this is what I'm looking for, is it silly for me to stay in one of the big hotels in Nusa Dua?

3. I'm also debating on whether we should splurge on a few nights at the ritz in jimbaran or the four seasons at sayan. Are they worth staying in if we don't stay in the villas? Would our money be better well spent if we stayed at say ~$150 dollar hotels throughout our stay? Right now I love the damai lovina villas in lovina, ibah in ubud, all the puri baguses, and the alliah. For some better prices we are looking at kubu bali in candidasa ( so cute in pics and cheap can it be true?), alam jiwa, and the bali spirit. Any ideas on these places?

4. Also, if anyone can recommend a great tour guide or must see sights I'd love to hear them!!

Thank you! Any and all help is very much appreciated!

rhkkmk

we recently stayed in the conrad and the bali hyatt...we found staying in the south did not deter us in seeing quite a bit of the island in 7 days...the conrad is absolutely fantastic..it opened in april...it is really not in nusa dua, but just north of it...i would highly reccomend it...the hyatt was only so so...

i do not know the hotels in ubud but many will suggest here for you...placement is quite important as i found the town to be very spread out... i was not impressed with it...i know others disagree...

our guide was putu arnawa...contact him at www.balifriend.net or his email is [email protected] is about 32 and speaks great english...he has a sense of humor and a nice a/c auto...his top price is 400,000 rp for a 10-12 hour day...that is too long by the way...8-10 is better at max...

marmot

I go to Bali several times each year and have stayed at most every resort there (except the Conrad which is on my to see list.)

For seven nights I would suggest two places maximum -- one at the beach and one inland. Or, if you'd like to settle in in one place, it's quite possible as rhkkmk says to stay at the beach and visit Ubud on a day trip or vice versa.

My personal favorites are the Legian for beach and the Alila in the Ubud area. There are a lot of choices in the Nusa Dua area, but I find it too cut off from Bali life. The Legian is a beautiful hotel with million dollar views. It's well designed (great bathrooms) with good service, good food, and a wonderful pool and spa. I also like the beach at Seminyak. You can walk for miles and you're also within walking distance of some of Bali's best restaurants.

The Four Seasons at Jimbaran is also a wonderful property. The beach a little more claustophobic than the Legian, but the villas are heavenly.

I would not recommend Candi Dasa or Lovina.

In Ubud there are as many choices as there are opinions. I personally find the Four Seasons' architecture overwhelming. There are a zillion small boutique hotels. I've stayed at several and always find the service or the housekeeping (sometimes both) wanting. The Alila's architecture is also a little on the quirky side but I find the location, the pool, the service, the food, the spa and the overall aesthetic to be the best of what's available in Ubud. The suite rooms 303 and 304 (they're actually one large room with a wrap around terrace and a large bathroom)have some of the best views in the world.

Putu at the Alila (this is a different Putu from the one recommended above) is also an excellent guide especially for nature walks in the surrounding (breathtaking) country side.

996tt

Grand Hyatt is probably the best hotel choice for Nusa Dua. Especially when its situated on one of the best stretch of swimmable beach in Bali. I would recommend RC over 4S because of better value, better grounds and bigger more luxurious villas. They are also not as closely together and have a better view of the ocean. One reason however I might pick Intercontinental over Grand Hyatt if you really really love seafood as the seafood vendors are right next door, within 3 minute walking distance. However if you like the beach then I would not stay at IC for the same reason, too many tourists next door and the beach is not as clean or swimmable

mrwunrfl

For conflict number 2, above, you just need to decide what you want. If you want a good deal on a nice, large, resort hotel then a place like the Conrad would be fine. If you want romance, privacy, and a far removed feel then you want some place else.

Craig

I also suggest staying at no more than 2 places. Damai in Lovina is great (we stayed there last summer) but Lovina is not a good base for your shorter length of stay. Candi Dasa is not a good base either.

For a very romantic splurge, check out the Hotel Tugu (www.tuguhotels.com - click on "Hotel Tugu Bali&quot. This boutique hotel by the beach meets your requirements for a "far removed feel" and is well situated for touring the southern part of Bali. You should be able to negotiate lower pricing than what appears on their website. Also check out www.balidiscovery.com for reduced rates on all Bali hotels. You should be aware that the beaches in Bali aren't that great but the best one is in Nusa Dua. We stopped in at the Ritz - it is a beautiful property but it could be located anywhere in the world - I would choose the Hotel Tugu over the Ritz on its Balinese charm alone.

In Ubud, we stayed at the very clean and modern Maya Ubud. It is slightly larger than some of the boutique hotels but it is a spectacular place located about 5 minutes by shuttle from Ubud center in a great setting by a river amidst the rice fields. The pool villas are wonderful and not that expensive. Another forumite with whom I recently communicated via e-mail negotiated a very good deal with them - much cheaper than FS or Ibah.

We also used Putu Arnawa and highly recommend him as a guide and driver. He can customize an itineray for you with the "must see" sites. For information on what we did, please see my 6-part trip report at http://www.balitravelforum.com/archive200307/11747.html

I hope this doesn't confuse you more - I think you need to decide on a budget for lodging and go from there as you are looking a quite a range of hotels. The Tugu and Maya Ubud are in the mid-upper range.

Guenmai

Stay at the Kamandalu in Ubud. Happy Travels!

welltraveledbrit

Two places in the time you have is no problem. The locations you're mentioning aren't too far from on another and driving through the countryside in Bali is one of its great pleasures.

I have stayed at both the Alia and Ibad and personally I prefer Ibah. I like the modern architecture of the Alia, pool etc. But on the whole it was far too much concrete for me.

In contrast I liked Ibah because it was far smaller and closer to town ...without feeling like it was in town. The website doesn't do the place justice.

No wonder you're confused because everyone has their own favourite place in Bali!

glorialf

Stay in Ubud and at the beach -- not three places. A beautiful and deluxe small hotel is the Bali Oberoi -- or at least it was a few years ago. It doesn't have all the entertainment facilities and multiple restaurants as the bigger resorts but you feel like you're really in Bali. Lovely hotel.

Gloria

randic

I agree with Craig. I stayed at Tugu a couple of years ago and it was great. The rooms were spectacular--Ocean facing with large wrap around porches and In fact, the hotel was included in the July 97 or 98 (can't remember) issue of Architectual Digest. The rooms also had these amazing sunken tubs. Have a great trip.

cindy2975

Hi Emily,

Take a look this web site www.balitravelforum.com it's a forum all about Bali. You can get info about everything, hotels, villas, foods, etc. it's a very good forum

StanKase

Six or seven full days is just right. We stayed at the 2 Four Seasons hotels-4 at the beach and 3 at Sayan (only 30 minutes away)in 2002. If I return I would prefer the facility at Sayan. It is spectacular. The rates, but not the food, are very high but you'll save money with a week in Thailand as part of a trip to that part of the world.