Bali hotel?

Hey, guys! Any recommendations on hotels/resorts in Bali for the fews days we have before going to Wakatobi this December? The Wakatobi guys recommend the southern areas, like Kuta, Sanur or Nusa Dua.

Budget is flexible, but would rather go on the inexpensive side. Looking for safe, comfortable, and a good base for exploring the city.

Thanks for any help you may be able to offer.

-eric

Nusa Dua is nice - Sheraton is beautiful.

Kuta is very touristy and can be noisy.

Sanur is ok and close to the airport. There are a few all-inclusives too. Depends on the quality and service you want.

Here's a good start http://www.bali-thepages.com/

Sheraton Laguna in Nusa Dua is really great. Expensive for Bali at a little over $100 a night single occupancy last I was there.

The Ramada near the airport in Denpasar is not bad. I haven't personally stayed in a bad hotel in Bali yet.

Like Bob, I'd prefer Nusa Dua to Kuta.

Hey, guys! Any recommendations on hotels/resorts in Bali for the fews days we have before going to Wakatobi this December? The Wakatobi guys recommend the southern areas, like Kuta, Sanur or Nusa Dua.

 

Budget is flexible, but would rather go on the inexpensive side. Looking for safe, comfortable, and a good base for exploring the city.

 

Thanks for any help you may be able to offer.

 

-eric

Ok, this is backpacker speaking here. I'm not sure what you consider 'inexpensive' and what you are really looking for, that would be nice to have an indication.

Personally I stayed in Sanur in a 'homestay' for 35000RP which is barely $US4 and breakfast included. That's the common price in Indonesia and the standard is VERY high. I consider it certainly better value than the place I stayed in Manado that charges normally US$60. For this price the margin is probably US$55. This is indonesia for god sake ! An excellent aircon room with swimming pools, breakfast, etc.. should be more in the $20-30 but bargain hard. FYI a good value in Sanur is said to be Swastika Bungalows.

For US$4 in Ubud I had a better room (small villa in a beautiful garden) than the last time I stayed in San Francisco for US$100 a night in the Oakland Holiday Inn.

If you are after the nightlife, stay in Kuta. But be aware of what this is. Touristy as possible. You'll find plenty of bars here and also plenty of people..alternatively plenty of hassle. Sanur has nothing special and is quiet despite the hassle if you are walking around 'visit my shop ?', 'transport ?',etc.... I don't know about Nusa Dua but that's more on the luxury side. Plenty of hotels in here.

If you are here for a few days I would move to Nusa Lembongan asap and do some diving here. Accommodation also ranges from very high $175 to $4 budget.

Oh and don't believe a single second the prices that will be shown to you in all websites about Bali that you will find on the net. Contact the hotel directly. For example Coconut Beach Resort in Lembongan should go for a mere $40 if not less. In those 'portals' you will find it for 100 to 150. Hardly a good deal for you.

Stephane - your worldly wisdom shows.

...a good value in Sanur is said to be Swastika Bungalows.

What a strange name! Were any old Nazis lurking around?

The Swastika originates in India - Hinduism, but significant difference is the direction of the strokes

Ah, I figured that might be it. Many years ago, in the harbor at Mombasa (Tanzania), I noticed a few ships with a swastika on them. This blew me away until someone explained the Hindu origin, as you said.

Thanks for the explanation!

They are only swastikas when you look at them in the mirror.

Hitler's 100th Birthday - Bali-style!

BTW: The straights look great for downhill

...a good value in Sanur is said to be Swastika Bungalows.

What a strange name! Were any old Nazis lurking around?

As Bob said, the swastiska is a widely represented symbol in hinduism. You will find it engraved in most if not all temples in Bali. It is a sign of good luck and well being. You can find a picture I took recently in Besakih Temple:

The swastika was also used by the Navajos in North America as well as the Mayans in Central and South America but roughly it is pretty universal and has been used in all cultures.

It was widely used in the western world at the beginning of the century and in the US more than everywhere else. Look carefully at this Detroit Krit car (end of the page). It was also used as a symbol by the Lafayette Squadron made of american volunteers to France in WWI, boy-scouts and such. Coca Cola even made a swastika watch. In 1940, just after the US declared war, the Navajos were somewhat strongly invited to renounce to their symbol.

Amazing how 10000 years of history can be rewritten in a short amount of time.

Sanur has a lot going for it - calmer and more quiet than Kuta, a semi-real place (which Nusa Dua really isn't), and well-positioned close to the airport, or for heading up to Ubud for a day (or places like Tulamben or Nusa Penida for diving).

You can find bungalows etc. as cheap as you want, but in the "reasonably-priced but-still-a -real-hostelry-category, I'd check out the Parisata (used by a lot of divers when transiting Bali or waiting to get on live-aboards). It's maybe 100 m. from the beach (lagoon beach). If you want to be right on the beach, try to Besakih (economial, but maybe a bit more than Parisata.

The Tandjung Sari is probably the best place in Sanur, a bit past its prime perhaps, but very nice, and run by nice people. This is where I'd stay, if I were you, and it was in mh budget.

If you want a larger hotel with all the facilities (including tennis courts etc., the Bali Hyatt is nice, and quite reasonable for what you get.

Nusa Lembongan is nice, but I agree with the poster, a bit pricey. All things considered, if I only had a few days in Bali, I'd stay in Sanur and dive Nusa Penida - Nusa Lembongan by boat. Send me an email if you'd like a recommendation on a very good photographer-friendly dive operator in Bali.

We stayed in Ubud at the Tjampuhan Hotel during both of our trips

to Bali, including one earlier this year. We really love that hotel -

it's uniquely beautiful. Prices are reasonable, but not cheap. We

negotiated US$70/night at the front desk, but couldn't get a reservation

beforehand for less than US$90/night.

Ubud is much nicer than the southern areas of Nusa Dua, Kuta, etc.

Nusa Dua is a fancy, phony tourist development only - very little

authentic Balinese experience to be had. It's also very expensive.

Kuta is just nuts. We stayed a few days in Legian at the Hotel Jayakarta,

and it was fun, but we hated the high-pressure sales tactics of all

of the vendors, who swarmed us everytime we went to the beach.

And our thoughts of surfing around Kuta were dashed when we heard

that ear infections are common following contact with the ocean waters

off Kuta because of untreated sewage, and we didn't want to risk

losing dive days because of ear troubles.

Ubud still has pushy vendors, but not nearly as bad as the Kuta area,

and there are many great cultural events to be seen up there, including

some of the best gamelans and dance performances on the island. There

are also many nice hikes to be had, and some awesome restaraunts.

Transportation to the airport and Benoa Harbor are pretty easily arranged

from Ubud - I wouldn't let the distance dissuade you.

Hi Eric,

It kind of depends on how much time you've got in Bali and what you want to do while you're there. Hotels range from your own private bungalow for a couple hundred a night (Puri Wulandari or The Chedi is very romantic) to back-packer accommodations like bearaway mentioned. No matter where you go in Bali, the photo opps are amazing. Ubud has my vote too and the Tjampuhan Hotel & Spa is very nice for the price. At the Spa you can get a 2 hour massage for about $40. Ubud is a very "artsy" community about 30-45 minutes north of many of the other areas mentioned. Galleries everywhere, a market open daily, ceremonies and celebrations going on all the time, and views of some of the nicer rice terraces in Bali. You're also very close to Mas, famous for wood carvings and masks and Celuk, for sterling silver jewelry. They also have muddy water rafting there that's a lot of fun.

I did have a LOT of fun in Kuta too, where I stayed at a number of different hotels in different areas and didn't experience many crowds before 9/11 or after the blast. Things were very slow the last time I was there and several friends there tell me things haven't picked up that much since. Most of Kuta shut down before 9 p.m. Sanur is fun too. I stayed at the Raddin Sanur for about $50 per night (advertised price was $150 in the US). There are a lot of great shops and restaurants within walking distance. Even Karaoke Bars where the most popular songs are those that were hits in the US 25 years ago, so you'll probably remember the words!

Where ever you decide to stay, you can negotiate your hotel room price and don't need to worry about whether or not you've got advanced reservations. You'll love the place, no matter where you end up staying.

Enjoy your trip and the diving at Wakatobi!

Bonnie

Even Karaoke Bars where the most popular songs are those that were hits in the US 25 years ago, so you'll probably remember the words!

uh...

I was 2 years old 25 years ago. :)

Have to book a hotel in the next day or two. thanks to all of you for the info!!

I was 2 years old 25 years ago.

Yea, I thought about that, but I'll bet you do know most the words to "Leaving on a Jet Plane"

I mmust admit that i found this thread more useful than all the Web postings out there but I find one thing missing that is ALWAYS importent to me... how safe is my Camera gear?

I don't mind spending a few extra bucks on lodging if my gear is "extra safe"

Not that a more expensive hotel is necessarily so, but I've stayed at places where the laptop and camera weren't feeling exceptionally safe.

Note the door in this room in India:

It connects to the outside and was simply secured by one of those sliding latches like this:

So, any modifications to the recommendations?

Wow this is a blast from the past.

Mark, in all my years of going to Bali, the only thing I've lost is cash. Stuff like cameras and the like are not as easy to convert to currency in Bali. Plus most hotels have safes in their rooms now. Just lock your valuables in your bag and keep it out of sight. Haven't had a problem yet.

I would watch out for smaller things like cellphones, watches and jewellery before worrying about cameras and lenses. But the old addage of not leaving out to tempt people is a good one to adhere to.

About the recommendations of hotels, the Chedi is now the Alila and there are a plethora of newer boutique hotels everywhere which are in compounds for more security. There's another thread on Bali somewhere with more recommendations.

Eric-

Have you considered other options to a hotel? When we went to Wakatobi last year they still had a link to balivilla.com(might be s at the end). We stayed at on for under 200 a night. We had two buildings and a pool in a private walled area. It came complete with car/driver(10 hrs/day),butler,cook,2 houseboys and others we never saw. Each night we would tell them what we wanted for breakfast and look at the local food suggestions for dinner. They would buy the food,prepare it and serve when we wanted. i would give the butler a 20 and got change every day. Dinner would include soup,several vegtable dishes,rice,main course and dessert.

If you need more info I can dig it out and post.