we are mapping our trip for next spring which will include our first bali experience...many people have told us to stay at the grand hyatt...others here have spoken highly of the bali hyatt....one is nearly twice the price of the other...one is isolated and i gather one is less isolated...while i think i may split our stay between them, i would be interested in the pros and cons of each; especially the cons.....i know this is a western chain hotel and that nusa is "artificial", but what about transportation, "ordinary" priced meals in non-hotel settings, shopping and any other info you care to give....thanks in advance....

We have just returned from 2 weeks in Bali. Both of these hotels are located in Southern Bali, which is where most tourists start their trip. (Some never leave.) I can not see much point in staying at both Hyatts. I would consider both hotels "isolated" in the sense that they are self-contained--you never have to leave them if you don't want to. That would be a pity however because there is much to see in Bali. You didn't say how long you will be in Bali but I would suggest you plan to spend the majority of your time somewhere in or near Ubud. There are many fine hotels in spectacular settings, although not many Western names. Ubud is where you will find the best shopping and "ordinary priced meals in non-hotel settings". I think it is a better base for touring other areas of the island as well. As for transportation, your best bet is to hire a driver/tour guide. For this, it does not matter where you stay. We hired Putu Arnawa (e-mail: [email protected]) two months before we arrived in Bali. He will pick you up anywhere on the island and charge you only for the time when he is driving you around. Post back with more questions if you wish.

craig---i believe that i read your report earlier today....did you stay at tugu, maya and damai?? if so tugu is more than i want to pay, the other two are closer to my price....i will be in bali for a week as part of a 30 day trip to se asia (mostly thailand-our first love) so i need to keep my hotel expenses down....we prefer 4 star with western amenities...we do not find we spend much time in the room, but we do at the pool(in hot places)...we are on the road most all day, doing what tourists do, so the hotel needs to be secure,with comfortable beds, good a/c, convenient food outlets in various price ranges....we travel 4 times a year so i need to balance this trip off with the other 3 ($$$) in the works: germany & prague republic; venice and nantucket....
my reason for asking about the hyatts was to determine the significant differences between them...do you have any insight on this??

your driver: we often have a driver on trips, depending on the location, although i love to do it myself---can explore better, although it takes longer...what car did he have? a/c??
how much did you pay him?? $40/day?
the drive from nusa to ubud takes about how long---without stops??

thanks in advance for your comments

bob

Bob, my take on the Hyatts is a bit different. Frankly, you couldn't pay me to stay at Nusa Dua (Grand Hyatt). As you've seen me write before, it is a tourist enclave isolated from the rest of Bali. You won't find charming little local places to eat there - you'll just find more hotels and a few expensive eateries.

The Bali Hyatt at Sanur is where I always stay. Sanur is a Balinese village, and you will often find temple ceremonies in the village. Last time I was there, there were two cremations on the town beach . There are a variety of small eating places and small shops in the village. The Bali Hyatt is one of their properties that was built with the sensibilities of the location in mind. Nothing is higher than a palm tree, and it is located in a beautiful award-winning garden. There are the remains of an old temple on the site. It has two pools - one is my favorite pool in the world, with a waterfall and cave.

Sanur is close to other places you'll want to see - Batubulan for the barong dance, and some of the craft villages. Ubud is perhaps a half an hour away.

I know everyone loves Ubud. But I find that development has totally overwhelmed what was once a charming village. Perhaps my perspective comes from having seen Ubud at the beginning of its growth spurt - I don't know, I just find it loud and full of tourist traps. Know that this is my perspective - others obviously feel differently about Ubud.

By the way, you'll want a car with a driver. The roads are narrow and they drive like crazy. It's easy to find a driver at your hotel. I've always had a car with ac when I've been there.

By the way, if you're going to be there for a week, I'd just stay in one place. If you were going to be there two weeks, then it might make sense to stay in two different places.

kathy---thanks a lot...that was just what i was looking for.....by comparison our over-all favorite hotel is the bangkok marriott resort and spa....we are looking for something like that (if you have been there??)....western but yet asian.... and comfortable, not formal....we also love the peninsula in bkk but only for a few days....
we find we need to be in the pool to cool down properly....morning for an hour and late afternoon before dinner and maybe a whole day in the middle of a stay....i need some shade although my wife loves the full sun....does the bali hyatt have shade areas near the pool??

thanks for suggesting to stay in one place..

by the way, currently the reservation price for the bali hyatt is $80/nite...

do they have a bakery in the lobby like other asian hotels?? is there something like this near by??

what do you usually pay your driver??

thanks for the info

bob

Bob,I think Cathie is correct on most counts. Having only been to Ubud once, I do not have her perspective but it seemed the vehicle traffic in the town was always heavy. This made for more of a city atmosphere. We thought the shops in town were expensive but there is also a good-sized market there where you can bargain. There are many, many shops in and around Ubud. Ubud is surrounded by crafts villages. We did not visit Sanur but from Kathie's description, it sounds like a good base. From the description she gave, the $80/nt price, and your preference for the Marriot in Bangkok, you will probably prefer the Hyatt to the Maya Ubud. At Maya, there is shade by both of the infinity pools, which dramatically drop off into a river gorge. The pools are fairly small because there are only 70 rooms. Often times there was nobody using the pools at all.

I would go to the Barong dance performance at Ubud Palace on Thursday night rather than the one in Batubalan, which is a regular stop for the tourist buses.

As for a driver, the going rate is about US$30/day. You won't get that rate if you arrange with the hotel. You have to arrange directly with the driver. My driver, Putu Arnawa was slightly more expensive ($30 for 6 hours, $35 for 8 hours, $45 for 9-12 hours)--you can e-mail him with your itinerary and ask for an estimate on what it will cost. Putu has a Toyota Kijang SUV, which seats 5 people comfortably without luggage. The a/c is excellent. The risk in hiring a driver off the street is that you may end up with just a driver, rather than a driver/tour guide. With only a week, you will need someone that you can work closely with to decide where to go. A good driver will also take you to places "off the beaten track", which will enrich your experience. By the way, in case it has not been made abundantly clear, you absolutely do not want to drive yourself in Bali.

Bob, I have seen many of your postings on Bangkok, you and I are the #1 fans of the Bangkok Marriott Riverside. . . .I have been to Bali many times and lived there fore 3 months and have to say that I like it even better than Thailand . . .however, to really experience Bali you have to get out of the resort areas like Sanur and Nusa Dua. Sanur is an older purpose-built resort hotel area. (Although it has more charm than Nusa Dua IMO). There is a village and a few shops along the road, and some restaurants. You might find baked goods at the Café Batu Jimbar. However, the area is not at all like the Marriott Riverside where you have the large shopping center attached and you can get by river to the Skytrain and other areas. Sanur is isolated (purposely). You may find yourself in taxis going to dinner, shopping and sights more than you want.

Knowing your love of pools, shopping and eating, my suggestion is that you stay in Kuta. My favourite hotel there is Poppies Cottages. Take a look at www.poppiesbali.com, and see their webcam of the pool. . .Not a luxury hotel, maybe a 4 star, but so much charm and such lovely lush grounds. You stay in individual bungalows with bathrooms open to the sky and surrounded by greenery. The pool is long and thin and built into a rock grotto surrounded by bougainvillea. The hotel is an oasis of quiet in hectic Kuta. Very friendly staff and the hotel is small and intimate. Great food (banana pancakes for breakfast served on your porch are a must). Kuta is the best place on Bali for shopping and has many good restaurants. There are about 6 good restaurants just on the small alley where Poppies is located. (Poppies also has a very good and famous restaurant of its own across the alley and down the street a bit.) I think you would enjoy a few days here. You can also walk down about 10 minutes to Kuta beach (best for sunset), although you will find hawkers, massage people etc.

If you really want more luxury, consider the Bali Obeori just outside Kuta, take a look at oberoihotels.com

The beaches in Bali are pretty, but not worth going all the way there just to see them. Not really white sand beaches with turquoise water, and nothing like Phuket or Krabi. The real beauty and true heart of Bali is inland on the rice terraces and mountain areas. Going to Bali and not staying a few days in the rice terraces is like not staying on the river in Bangkok: you don't get a feel for the place. A day trip to Ubud, IMO, will not do, as all you will see is the town with all the shops and the Monkey Forest and you will wonder what all the fuss was about. Stay at least two nights in Ubud, preferably in a hotel a bit outside the town. You can then see the evening dance performance at the palace, and go hiking or biking through the rice terraces. Biking through the villages in the area is a really great way to get a feel for Bali, and you can stop to shop and have lunch along the way. The Ubud area is great for biking (you can rent) and walking. There is a map called the "Bali Pathfinder" which you can find in tourist shops in Ubud that shows good walking trails through the rice fields and villages. You can walk for a few hours or the better part of a day. Great for bringing a picnic, or some of the trails have restaurants along the way. Another great thing to do is take a whitewater rafting trip on the river. Not dangerous or hard (the steersman does all the work) but a lot of fun and a good way to see the countryside. You can make a day trip to Mt Batur/Kinitimani from Ubud quite easily as well.

Bob, I have not stayed at your favorite hotel in Bangkok, so I can't compare. There are sun and shade areas at the Bali Hyatt's two pools.

Obviously, everyone has a different perspective. Kuta, as you know, it the hang out for slightly post-adolescent Aussies. It's a 24 hour loud and drunken party, and the beach is filled with touts. That said, many people do like Poppies, but know what kind of area you are staying in.

Oh, by the way, when I mentioned arranging a driver at your hotel, I didn't mean that the hotel would recommend the driver. I have found that prospective drivers always find me. I always stay in the Regency Club, and often there is a faimily member of one of the men who work in the club who works as a driver. I think I paid $30 or $35 a day last time I was there.

Bob - I second Kathie's opinion on Kuta. I would never consider staying there. I agree with Cicerone that Ubud is better experienced by staying in town or nearby, rather than by doing day trips. Getting around in Bali is not an easy thing to do. Although the distances seem short, the going is slow. The roads are all one lane in each direction (with the exception of the highway near the airport) and are crowded with cars, trucks, motor scooters, buses, bemos, dogs and chickens. Would you consider spending two weeks in Bali? We were originally going to do one week Thailand (we love Thailand, too) and one week Bali but decided that Bali really merits two weeks since there is so much to do and see.

thanks for all that great info, each of you...i think we will only stay the one week or maybe 10 days....on this trip we need to have our bkk fix, a couple of times, plus finally koh sumui and LP in laos...in 30 days that is quite a bit of moving around.....i have been looking at poppies in both places (bali and sumui) and will look at them yetr again....any other suggestions for koh sumui while we are at it----something like the marriott in bkk (by the way they are building there but it will not be ready for this trip)...???

we keep saying that we better go here or there in thailand as we may never return, but we keep going back so i am sure that the same will hold true for bali so we can see other parts next time....i am however weighing very carefully the merits of the south vs the more northern areas......umh????

craig---i have contacted your driver but he has not responded as yet

Bob, it is probably a little early to be contacting a driver for next spring. I don't know how often he checks his e-mail. Sometimes he responds quickly, sometimes not. He often has some very long days.

I would skip southern Thailand and use the extra time for Bali. We enjoyed Koh Samui but did not find it particularly unique compared to Bali. We did not stay in a Marriot-like place on Samui so I have no recommendation for you.

Craig:

Loved your JBR and just answered one of your earlier posts here. Having been to Bali last September and returning this October would like to move around the island again (Bedugal, Ubud, Candidasa and Permuteran) but would like more "homestay" type of accomodatons rather than luxury resorts. We believe staying in a Western-style hotel cuts one off form the native culture. Any suggestions?