Bali

So I'm back! From Singapore, I landed directly into Ngurah Rai International Airport. The airport has changed significantly since I last was here. It is a far grander airport than the sleepy airport I remembered. And the transit visa was no longer required if your stay is less than 30 days.

Lodging

For this trip, I stayed at three different hotels. Each had their own flair.

The Hilton Garden Inn Bali Ngurah Rai Airport hotel is the most resort feeling HGI I've ever been. I don't know if this was a conversion hotel but it is very very reasonably priced and the accommodations are nice. The hotel does feel very new and they gave me a one bedroom suite for my one night stay. I also used their laundry facilities. Not cheap but the price of laundry includes the soap (if any consolation). I didn't use the gym but it looked very nice. I had to walk through the gym to get to the laundry area. The breakfast was great at HGI. It was a full hot buffet and very reminiscent of high end Asian Hilton hotels. Overall, I'm surprised it is an HGI but you can't beat it. They also offer complimentary shuttle service within the immediate area. Kuta is not far from this hotel and you can easily get your surf on if that is your goal.

HGI Bali Pool

HGI Bali Suite Living Room

HGI Bali Suite Bedroom

Conrad Bali is the most bang for your buck Conrad in my opinion. Gorgeous facilities, good restaurants, pools and water sports galore. For this trip, I wanted to go all out and use my points towards something unusual (at least unusual for me to do). So I booked the penthouse for five nights. The penthouse sits on the roof of the suites tower within the hotel complex. With great views of the ocean, the penthouse is outdoors and indoors at the same time. The doors open up to a staircase that takes you up another level where two villas sit opposite of each other. In the middle is a "patio" with a private infinity pool. One villa is where the kitchen and dining/living space is (with bathroom) and the other villa is where the bedroom and bathroom. So you can entertain on one side and keep your sleeping quarters private. The bathroom had an infinity whirlpool tub inside as well. I never bothered calling the front desk but I could not figure out how to turn on the jets. The restaurant where the buffet sit underwent some changes. The layout has changed and became bigger. The breakfast was still pretty awesome and I was never tired of the options.

Conrad Bali Penthouse Sleeping Villa

Conrad Bali Penthouse Living Room Villa

Sheraton Bali Kuta was my last night in Bali. I wanted to see a different part of the island and opted for the much trendier and crowded Kuta Beach. Known for surfing, it apparently draws a lot of Aussies. The hotel sits on the main drag bordering the beach. I had requested a suite upgrade and was upgraded to a corner suite facing the ocean. Since this seems to be the beginning of tourist season, I've been happy with the upgraded rooms on this trip. Since there was no executive lounge at this hotel, I received a voucher for an afternoon tea set. Afternoon tea seems pretty big here and I was happy to continue my daily routine of afternoon tea. The breakfast buffet here is pretty good. The restaurant is featured as one of the best buffets in town; however, I was not able to partake in the Sunday signature brunch buffet.

Sheraton Kuta Suite Living Room

Sheraton Kuta Suite Bedroom

Activities/Dining

For most of the week, I stayed within the hotel confines to eat and lounge in pools. Can you really blame me? I did do one day of exploring the island by booking a safari trip with Bali Safari Tours. The unique aspect of the tour is that they use "jeeps." Not any kind of jeeps but the VW Thing! These cars haven't been manufactured since 1980. Jakarta was the only Asian manufacturing location for the VW Thing. The tour guide indicated that there was about 100 of these vehicles left in Indonesia. The eastern seascape tour took us to a temple, Goa Lawah, water palace, Tirtha Gangaa, snorkeling beach in Amed, Jemeluk Beach, white sand beach in Karangasam, and black sand beach in Kusamba where salt is manufactured.

Bali Safari Tours with the VW Thing! View from the backseat

Tirtha Gangaa Water Palace Gardens

Starfish while snorkeling in Amed

Kusamba Beach - salt producing beach farm

Most of the Indonesians have turned every tourist spot as a place to eat or sell you something. So don't expect to go anywhere that is isolated or unpopulated. Despite the commercialism, it is still local businesses and people trying to make a living. In Amed, I ate at Warun Ombak. I think the tour group has a relationship but I didn't order anything beyond the fried rice given. Had I known that I needed to carry local currency, I would have tried to make sure to carry cash before leaving for the tour. I did try during the day but my ATM wasn't working that day. It would have been nice to have ordered fish or something.

The other off resort excursion was a mid day trip out to Nusa Dua Beach. Technically, the Conrad is in the Nusa Dua area but the actual beach is on the southern tip of the island near the St. Regis. So I decided to see another beach and see if there were calmer waves. A lot of the beaches have local community entrance fees. I think to make sure there is some infrastructure for the businesses to operate in these areas. Where I was dropped off, the beach was called Geger Beach. It was also easier for the driver to know where to go rather than say "to the beach!" Lounge chairs are available for 100,000 rupiah for two. Be prepared to bring money or bring your own towels.

Geger Beach, kite flying was a common past time

Unlike the hoomans, the dogs lay under the sun loungers for shade. Many were already in place when you pick your lounger. No begging either.

May crowds are not big at all

Other than these two excursions, I made pit stops at the Conrad Bali spa in the afternoons. They were not busy and I was able to drop in and request service whenever I wanted. They also gave 20% discounts on the spa prices.

Outside of the complimentary breakfast buffets and afternoon teas, I generally ordered room service except for one night at the Conrad. I went to Rin, Japanese restaurant, for dinner and ordered a hot stone plate. It was easy enough with a piece of fish that cooked on a hot stone. Finished the meal with matcha creme brulee. Overall, I enjoyed my meal and wanted to order something that I couldn't get from the room service menu. For breakfast, Suku is the place to eat. There are other restaurants that you can eat breakfast but the main is Suku. For afternoon tea, your options are Rin or East (because Rin doesn't allow children for afternoon tea). For comparison purposes, I tried both Rin and East and found the food options are about the same. There is also cocktail hour in the executive lounge. Now, kids are also not allowed and the hotel accommodated by letting us get cocktail hour in East. For cocktail hour, the appetizers are completely different between the two locations.

Conrad Bali Suku restaurant - breakfast buffet

Conrad Bali Breakfast Buffet Indonesian Snack Table

Conrad Bali BBQ pork ribs breakfast entrée

At the Sheraton, I opted to eat at the restaurant inside the hotel. Despite the numerous eateries around, it did feel like I was in a low rent version of Vegas (without the casinos). I did make a pit stop at Hard Rock Café (there is a hotel here too) and Starbucks for my souvenirs. I also did a quick lap to Kuta Beach and the mall attached to the Sheraton but mostly stayed in hotel. The afternoon tea was pleasant and they had a make your own set menu at The Lounge. For dinner, I went to Feast and was pleasantly surprised on the quality of food. I had ordered a duck entrée and it was delicious. I was under the impression that it would be an around the clock buffet restaurant but it seemed that it was incorrect information. Feast does have day buffet options. I found breakfast good (the indian food was the best part) and thought it cute that the restaurant had a station for little kids to feel part of the eating experience.