2
Lavenya -
a month ago
My husband and I stayed here for part of our honeymoon trip to Bali. This hotel is very average for a supposedly 5-star luxury resort and we did not feel like this hotel was good value for money. Here are some of the issues we had:
1) Upon arrival, our room was changed from the premium suite we had booked to a family room. The family room is essentially two standard rooms - we had no use for a second room as we are a couple and wanted the suite instead. When we spoke to the manager about this, he mentioned that it was because they thought we had kids - we aren’t sure where they got this impression. We ended up asking for a basic room because we noticed that the rooms are quite dated, rusty, and not very clean. We didn’t think that paying $400/night for a suite was worth it especially because we had just come from a brand new hotel in Ubud that charged half of that price (also a Marriott). They gave us what we asked for, and the next day they also offered to upgrade us to the suite as a complimentary gesture. So in the end, we got what we originally booked and the staff were nice about it, but this error should never have occurred in the first place. Although we were happy that the staff accommodated our request for the suite, the room was still not up to the standard we expected - it’s a very old room with analog TV and desperately in need of a refurb. All the carpets they use in the hallways also seem to create an unpleasant smell due to its interaction with the humidity.
2) The breakfast buffet food was a nice spread with a lot of variety and we were quite happy with the quality. However, the service is very disorganized. On our first morning, after we were shown to our table and they had taken our coffee orders, we left our table to get some food. When we came back, they had given our table to other guests and our coffee orders were nowhere to be found. When we told the staff about this, they apologized and gave us another table and re-took our coffee orders, but then said that we should have left our belongings on the table to show that it was taken. In a chaotic breakfast room, we don’t feel comfortable leaving our valuables on the table and we were surprised that the staff would suggest this.
3) everything in this hotel is extremely overpriced for what you get. We had a few drinks and dinner one night at Seasonal Taste then chose to go to other hotel restaurants instead. Seasonal Taste at night had a bad atmosphere with stray cats running around and a giant cockroach in the hallway.
4) the amenities are average. We used the various pools around the hotel and they were nice, but we were expecting more from the beach access. The ocean at the “beach” appears to just be an artificial reef with knee high water so you can’t swim or do any water sports in it. It’s basically just there to relax next to. The gym doesn’t have enough equipment in it - when we used it, there were about 4 other guests there and there wasn’t enough equipment to go around. There is also no shuttle service despite this hotel being far away from any attractions.
Overall, the staff were all very kind and courteous, but we were disappointed with the value for money - this is an old hotel with very high prices by Bali standards and we did not feel it was worth the price we paid. Also this resort seems much more suited for people with families rather than couples.
