I suppose it would drive most people crazy, but instead of just parking myself at one hotel in Bali I decided to try three different hotels (over five nights). Hotel hopping in Bali has its perks.
Bali Hotel Hopping: I Sampled Three Very Different Properties
Care to guess which hotels I tried?
Well, I’ll tell you. Of course I could not go all the way to Bali, which is full of Hyatt properties, and not try at least a couple of them.
And while I considered a tour of the Alila properties on the island, I ended up trying the more conventional Hyatt Regency Bali and Andaz Bali, which are located adjacent to one another.
The Hyatt Regency is showing its age, but still a very nice property that I enjoyed and only about $100/night, which is quite excellent considering the suite I was upgraded to and the excellent breakfast and evening spread.
I also tried the Hyatt Andaz, which is a beautiful hotel with lovely pools and common areas and a superb breakfast concept. There was a service hiccup here that I will outline in a future post, not to condemn the hotel but to laud it for such an excellent service recovery, which should be a model to others.
My friend spent the entire time in Indonesia at the Four Seasons Bali at Jimbaran Bay (two weeks) and I spent the last three nights at that property. While I would not necessarily say the price differential (over $500 per night versus $100 for the Hyatt Regency or $175 for the Andaz), was worthwhile, the Four Seasons is an excellent property with truly lovely staff and of course, lovely views of Jimbaran Bay (and Denpasar International Airport).
We did not do much during our time in Bali beyond relaxing…that was the point. However, we did a day of touring (Banyumala Waterfall and Tirta Empul Temple) and I tried Kopi Luwak (also known as civet coffee…google it if you are unfamiliar with the term).
CONCLUSION
It was nice to return to Bali for the first time since the pandemic. The Balinese people are charming and the five days here was relaxing and left me looking forward to returning.
My coming trip report will detail the hotels I stayed in, but the point here is that you can enjoy excellent accommodations at reasonable prices. Even so, splurging for the Four Seasons is also not so obscenely expensive that it makes no sense.
Bali is a really excellent place to slurge because you get so much for your money. The basic $500 pool villa at the Four Seasons isn’t cheap would be $3,500 if it was in the Caribbean and $5,000 if it was on the Italian Riviera, and wouldn’t provide the same level of service or surroundings. Hotels in Bali are just an incredible bargain on a relative scale for what you get.
I’m actually in the midst of planning a week long Bali trip later this year. I’m doing 4 hotels and had to talk myself down from 5. I’m trying the Hilton and Conrad hotels and on the Hyatt side, Grand Hyatt (from Kyle’s post) and Alila Villas Uluwatu. This post is making me want to do 5 hotels HAHA
Agree with what everyone is saying in the comments.
Personally, my go-to place is the Banyan. Never had a bad experience at a Banyan across the globe and Bali is no exception for me.
As a Hyatt loyalist, to skip the alila hotels in bali really was a missed opportunity. Some wonderful properties in very distinctive locations. There is a reason Uluwatu is featured in nearly every Hyatt promotional video. Splendid location with wonderful architecture and food.
The greatest upgrade I will ever get occurred at the Alila Ubud.
I go to Bali every year and stay at the high end resorts precisely because of what Mak wrote: You get high end luxury with exceptional service at a mere fraction of the cost in the US, Europe, and the Carribean. Truly a fantastic deal.
I don’t dispute that. I still do wrestle with whether five nights at the Hyatt Regency Bali is worth more than one night at the Four Seasons.
I had an overnight business trip to Bali this past week. For $70, I picked the Sheraton Four Points in Kuta. Titanium status resulted in a complimentary upgrade to their best suite with a living room balcony that opens up to their lazy river, in-room welcome note and fruit (in souvenir bowl), breakfast buffet (in place of points) and 4 pm checkout. With an 8:30 pm flight and just a backpack, I walked to the airport, mostly along the sea. Absolutely incredible value and experience.
Very nice!
I stayed there a few years back for two weeks when I was having some dental work done. The location isn’t great but the hotel is lovely and they’re great with suite upgrades and have a very nice breakfast for a smaller hotel. The on-property massage was also spectacular, both extremely well priced for a hotel massage and very professional.
Looking forward to your trip report. I am planning a 2024 Bali trip, and the Hyatt Regency is on the must-stay list. But interested to see the comparison to the Andaz next door.
I was there for 3 weeks late last year. Spent nights all over the island.
For just hotel relaxing Uluwatu was my favorite. I love the private pool for relaxing. Loved the breakfast from the high cliff overlooking the water.
But mostly I was exploring so the hotels were not as important and I stayed at the lesser Hyatts those nights.
For older folk try Cross Bali Breakers, apartment with private pool, quiet part of town, $175 / night
@Matthew – I’m surprised by your comment about the Hyatt Regency showing its’ age since it underwent a five year renovation that ended around when Covid began.
I thought it was quite dated, though perfectly fine – I was very happy with the hotel.
The room furnishings or just the hotel itself? Given it’s basically the bones of the original Hyatt it may have some datedness to the structure.
Should “$175 for the Hyatt Bali” be the Andaz Bali?
Andaz Bali, correct.
Stayed at the Viceroy Bali last year. Best use of category 1-7 certificate(before the reshuffle)
versus paying $1400 a night