My brother is leaving for Bali at the end of this week. Single guy in mid-40s, looking to relax, scuba, golf and tour. In Ubud he is staying at Four Seasons for a couple of nights. Needs advice for a beach hotel.

He is looking at either Intercontinental in Jimbaran or Conrad in Nusa Dusa, likely only those two. Both are about the same price. Any advice on which of the two would be better?

I told him once he is there he may want to opt for the club floors. The Ritz is just a bit more money but seems geared only to honeymooners or families, and may be a bit isolated. He will want some good restaurants and stores nearby, if possible. Also, the Legian in Seminyak looks great but is more than double the price of these others. Thanks.

If he is staying at the Four Season in Ubud, he may be able to do a deal with the company and stay at the Four Seasons at Jimbaran Bay - though having already made the booking it may be too late.

The Pansea at Jimbaran Bay is very pleasant and has romantic accommodation (although romance may not be apt if he is travelling solo!). Website is: http://www.jimbaranpuribali.com/web/...l_a2a_home.jsp

The Keraton at Jimbaran is also OK (It has recently been updated): website is: http://www.keratonjimbaranresort.com/

On our last visit (we have been to Bali about half a dozen times) we stayed in the Palace Club at the Nusa Dua Beach and Spa Hotel. This includes an excellent breakfast, and morning tea and afternoon cocktails and nibbles - with all three being very filling to the extent that you really don't need to actually buy any additional meals. While it attracts families, it has a pleasant beach, and a private pool area for Club members. The club website is: http://www.nusaduahotel.com/accommod...ex.cfm/room/7/

One thing that jumps out at me is that neither of the two beaches he is considering are good diving spots. I think that the good dive sites are up the east coast.

Perhaps he should consider the Hyatt in Sanur. That would put him an hour closer to good diving, but still with plenty of good restaurants around.

Thank you.
I think he has already reached out to a scuba outfit in Bali and they will pick him up for dives. There is supposed to be some well known wrecks near to the coast and at about 30 meters depth or so.

I will have him look at Sanur.
Thanks.

The good dives spots are near Tulamben (easat coast), about a 2-3 hour drive from both Sanur and Jimbaran Bay. He might as well stay there if SCUBA diving is his "thing".

A much closer place would be Candi Dasa or Manggis - and if he chooses here a great place is the Alila (superb food, very pleasant rooms, wonderful pool area, outstanding service - but very quiet and little night life).

PS: The last time I saw the Hyatt at Sanur it was looking somewhat run down....and there were lots of families and children there.

I suggest a stay at Nusa Dua area. Don't stay at Kuta or Ubud, too crowded and raunchy. Plus the hotels at Nusa Dua have private beaches so you don't have to travel far to go to a beach. Hotels at Jimbaran is more expensive than Nusa Dua.

I stayed at Melia Hotel in Nusa Dua. It's one of the newer hotels there. It was pretty awesome. Book directly through their website and they have discounts sometimes. We booked a suite (2 levels) at Melia for only $130/night after discount. Their compound is huge and you can book message, travel etc there.

A single guy, mid-40's should definitely go for Seminyak. It's the most lively area for restaurants, clubs and shopping(without the craziness of Kuta).

Try the rate for studio suite at the Legian. It may be more than the Intercontinental or Conrad but not double. And it's much, much nicer.

Some other choices nearby are the Semaya and the Sofitel. (Although there's a lot of construction going on next to the Sofitel.) The suites at Sentosa are also very nice, but I don't know the rate.

Thank you.
The Legian actually has some better rates on the LHW website (as compared to its own site), and will now likely go with that. Still more expensive than some other spots, even their club floors, but the location looks great. The rooms are in good shape and the service is good?
Thanks
Tengo

Just want to make sure you have the right Legian as there are two. The one you want is the Legian in Seminyak.
http://www.ghmhotels.com/hotels/hote...p;section=home

A studio suite should be in the range of US$300-350, including breakfast and whatever else you can negotiate like transport, spa treatment etc.

I would suggest that you give them a call. I was just there yesterday and they were quite busy, but I believe that things will quiet down now that the Indonesian holidays are over.

The rooms are very large with spacious balconies overlooking the sea. Ask for the top (third) floor. For studios I like 432.

The ambience and service are excellent. The beach is wide and long although the surf is quite aggressive. The pool and grounds are lovely.

The best part is that you can walk to several of Bali's best restaurants -- KuDeTa, LaLucciola, the Living Room, Hu'u, Blossom at Sentosa. I haven't tried the Breeze restaurant at the Semaya yet which is about 100 yards away from the Legian, but it's getting a lot of press.

I love the Legian for breakfast and lunch but usually go out for dinner.

The Conrad is a beautiful property but it's located on a miserable beach. Nusa Dua itself is just okay, but Benoa is really awful.

Jimbaran has seen a lot of development lately so it's getting livelier in the way of restaurants etc. and the seafood barbeques on the the beach are always fun. The beach itself is limited and rocky and the airport action annoying. The I-Con is an older property with nice grounds, but despite recent renovation it's showing its age.