Bali Hotel Suggestions
 

I am planning a honeymoon in Bali for next June and could use some advice for hotels. I am planning to stay at the FS Sayan but need some advice on the beach hotel. I am deciding between the Club at the Legian, the pool villa at the Oberoi or the FS Jimbaran. As you can tell I am interested in getting a villa with the private pool. I've also read the beach at the Legian / Oberoi is better than the one at the FS. Any help in deciding among these hotels would be appreciated.

Don't go to Bali for the beaches. If you want to be by the water though and would like a pool villa, check out the Hotel Tugu Hotel Bali - www.tuguhotels.com. Very exotic and unique - great for a honeymoon.

I would say go with the Club at the Legian - having seen all 3 properties you ahve mentioned it is by far the most impressive IMO with respect to private villas with pools - the FS Jimbaran suffers I feel from the fact that villas are too near each other. The location of the Legian is ok - near Seminyak so you can wander around a charming main street. Craig is right tho - Bali beaches are not very special. I don't know if FS Sayan is a given for you but in Ubud the Aman property (www.amanresorts) and Begawan Giri (www.begawan.com) are both great honeymooner properties.

You will be thrilled with FS Sayan. If you can afford it, get a river villa. They are unbelieveable, we were there in August. We thought we needed a beach too, but once we got to the beach (we stayed at the Ritz Carlton) we dreamed of being back at FS Sayan. We have been to "the best", but felt that FS Sayan was our favorite place of all time.
I know others disagree, but to us it was magical.
P.S. I did not see you considering the RC, but I would not recommend it. It is a gorgeous huge resort, but it was not very "Bali".
You may also want to check, we noticed a new Chedi being built in Jimbaran on the beach....I don't know much about it but it would be worth looking into.

Another option is the Aman Amankila (beach resort in the Northeast). As you can see, we would not bother with Southern Bali (Jimbaran/etc) next trip, although Bali was our favorite place of all time.

I would recommend the Oberoi. It is on a nice beach and a central location to explore other parts of Bali (like Ubud). It is also close to some good restaurants like Ku da ta, Living Room and La Lucciola - all very romantic and wonderful. The Club at Legian is a very large hotel. Oberoi is much more intimate and true "Bali".

The Legian and the Oberoi are very near each other. Same beach. Although I've been very impressed by Oberois in other countries, their Bali property is a bit over the hill. Plus there's a strange drainage stream right next door.

The Legian has two parts: the regular hotel -- about 30 rooms -- which is right on the beach and the villas which are across the road. Both are lovely, well designed and well run, but for my money I'd go with the view of the hotel. The balconies are splendid.

I've stayed at the Four Seasons several times and also really like the villas, though the whole experience is somewhat claustophobic. The beach is awful.

I personally like the beach at the Legian. The surf is rough (and there are days when half of Java washes ashore) but you can walk for miles and miles and the sunsets are what vacations are for!

I comp agree with Marmot re Legian over Oberoi and the crowded feel of FS Jimbaran- I reco Oberoi Vilas properties in India all the time but in Bali I did not really like the property - I think the Club at the Legian is outstanding and the comfort of the villa and the gorgeous private pools make up for the lack of view which u would get in the main building

I could not agree more with CRAIG as concerns the Hotel Tugu Bali...just exquisite...romance and intimacy at its fullest. All of this thanks to Fodor comments prior to our trip last September. We first enjoyed a Dedari Suite with its private garden and plunge pool, then, as arranged in advance with the staff who moved our belongings, after returning from dinner at the excellent restaurant there, I deviated from the return path to our Dedari Suite and proceeded to the Puri Le Mayeur Pavillion. You can imagine the look on my wife's face, as I pulled out a key that "worked", opening on to an incredible space where we enjoyed the remaining four days of our eight day stay. The food is incredibly delicious and varied. Spa offerings are magnificent. The packages are an exceptionally outstanding value. The staff are courteous and attentive though unimposing. A chauffeur is available to drive you around Bali to visit off the map sights. It was as if we had the place to ourselves ! Now comes the next dilemma - Where to go to top that ! With all the exotic destinations in that part of the world, we often choose not to return to the same place twice, but after having stayed at the Tugu Bali, you, as CRAIG, might agree that it is a tough choice. Hands down, the Tugu Bali gets my vote as an ultimate first, second, or nth honeymoon or romantic destination. Please enjoy !!!

I stayed at the Legian and thought the hotel and rooms were great. As far as beaching it in Bali, I think you will be disappointed with the beaches. Pick a hotel that has an awesome pool and looks out on the water. Have you looked into the Aman Resorts? They are supposed to be over the top.

as far as pools go , you would have a hard time finding more or bigger pools than surround the new conrad hotel...

Thanks for all of the advice. It looks like the Legian is taking the lead over the Oberoi. I will also check out the information for the Hotel Tugu. I agree that the Aman Hotels look over the top but their price range starts to push the limit.

Justawanderer and Craig- can you give any details about the rooms at Tugu? I'm especially interested in the pool suites and the Puri Le Meyeur suite, but I can't seem to find any information on the layout, spaciousness, or any other details. The hotel looks wonderful on the website, but it doesn't describe the rooms very well. I just wonder if we'd be getting a lot of space as we would at, for example, the FS Jimeran. Also, for our six days we are thinking of 3 at FS Sayan and 3 at Tugu/Amankila/FS Jimeran (can't seem to decide!). What do you think?

I have not stayed at any of the FS places although I understand FS Sayan is awesome. At the Tugu, the Puri Le Meyeur is huge and sits in the middle of the lotus pond - I would definitely go for it. I think the Amankila and FS are worth looking into also but you won't be disappointed with the Tugu.

The FS Sayan is AMAZING. THink u will love it. W.r.to the FS JImbaran tho you may get a resonable amount of space in your own villa you literally fall out into the next villa so IMO that is not a great comparison. Enjoy your honeymoom - for good restaurant recos consider ordering a Luxe guide - www.luxecityguides.com.