Family orientated boutique hotel in Bali?
 

So far, I have read recommendations of five-star hotels in Bali which is way beyond my budget. I would appreciate any feedback on any inexpensive boutique hotels which would be able to cater for my family of young kids ranging from 2 to 10 years of age and which are below US$100.In any event the kids will have so much to do and sightsee, would they still have the energy and time to indulge in the facilities of a 5 star hotel with a kids club, I wonder?
I intend to spend a few days in the Lovina region, a few in Ubud and a few in the south.Is the beach nicer in the north or in the south?That would also determine whether we should visit the south beach at all if the north is better or vice-versa.
For the south beach, which would be best for kids to wade in and collect seashells?
My husband is a keen angler but so far I have not come across any information on fishing in Bali.Does anyone have any ideas on fishing in Bali, either from the shore or deep sea?

I'm also surprised that most of the websites of the hotels in Bali are quoting US $ and not their local currency- why is that?

Would appreciate any feedback on the above.

There are hundreds of small, family-run small non-chain hotels and homestays in Bali. I assume that is what you mean by “boutique” a term I really don’t understand. The website mentioned above is a good place to look, also try asiahotels.com. You can search by price on their website. Another suggestion is http://www.baliwww.com/bali/roomfinder/ubudx.htm

I would not book through any website, but would contact the hotels individually, asking them to meet or better any published website price.

I agree that Sanur in the south is the better beach for kids. It is long and flat and the tide goes out for quite a distance. It also does not have the strong undertow that Kuta has. I love the Lovina/Mangiss area. I would actually go to both areas, as the beaches are very different; black sand and more “wild” in Lovina, and white softer sand in the Sanur area.

In Ubud, a great family hotel is Ananda cottages. I could not find a price list on their website, you should contact them by e-mail or fax.

ANANDA COTTAGES
Jl. Campuhan, Ubud
Phone: 0361/975376
Fax: 0361/975375
http:// http://www.anandaubud.com
This is a bit outside of Ubud in the rice fields. Very friendly staff. Ask for a room on an upper floor, they are 2-storey wooden bungalows with thatched roofs.

Another very charming hotel is the Kebun Indah, near the Monkey Forest. I stayed there about 10 years ago and had forgotten about it until today when your message got me thinking. A lovely place. It is a series of bungalows and is run by the Cafe Wayan people who have a great restaurant nearby. Lovely pool, very quiet and private. Their big house which has two bedrooms would be great for a family and is in your price range.

Kebun Indah
c/o P.O. Box 165, Nyuhkuning,
Ubud 80571, Bali-Indonesia
Tel: 62-361-974629
Fax: 62-361-974629
email: [email protected]
http://www.alamindahbali.com/kebun_indah.htm

They seem to have several other properties in Ubud that might work for you as well. (They certainly have expanded in 10 years....)

Finally, hotel prices are quoted in US Dollars because most people don’t want to do the conversion. You will be charged in Rupiah. It is illegal in most countries to bill for hotel rooms in any currency other than the local official currency.

To continue my post, in Sanur, there is a beautiful small hotel there which I have not been to in many years called the Tandjung Sari which you might consider. It is individual bungalows set along the nice wide and flat beach, and has a charming restaurant. You might run a search to get people's impressions of it as I have not been to that hotel in more than 6 years. I just looked at their website (tandjungsari.com) and it looks as charming as I remember it. It may be a bit above your budget, but you may be able to get a two story or two bedroom bungalow that you may consider to be worth the price.
In the Magniss area, if you want to splurge a bit, the Alia hotel gets good reviews on this site, and having just looked at their website, I would say that you may be able to work out a rate for a deluxe room just a bit above your budget (may be crowded with all of you in one room). Tourism is not hopping in Bali, so I would negotiate fairly hard with the chains. Go to www.alilahotels.com.

In the Candidasa/Lovina/Manggis area, two other hotels to try are:

BALINA BEACH Resort
Pantai Buitan, Manggis
Phone: 0363/41002
Fax: 0363/41001
(can't find a website, maybe try asiahotels.com)

FAJAR CANDIDASA BEACH BUNGALOWS
Jl. Raya, Candidasa
Phone: 0363/41539
Fax: 0366/41538
http://www.fajarcandidasa.com

I stayed at Balina beach many years ago and enjoyed it, I don’t know what it is like know.

Finally, get the Lonely Planet guidebook for Bali. I find that their "top end" recommendations for restaurants and hotels in Lonely Planet are usually very good value for money. (I would steer clear of their bottom-end recs though!)

Cicerone,thank you so much for your msg.It was very helpful and I shall certainly look up all your recommendations.

I haven't been to Bali since 1984, but we stayed (family of five) at the Kuta Beach Club http://www.kutabeachclub.com/ It had a good location and we enjoyed our stay there. Looking at their website, it looks like it is even nicer than when we stayed. I don't know if they still have it, but they did have a traditional dance program in the evening that was quite nice.