During a long trip through Southeast Asia, we tried a number of hotels we haven’t stayed in before. One of which was the Grand Hyatt Bali, a mega-resort in Nusa Dua. We were treated to a Globalist suite upgrade to the Executive Suite and explored the beach and pools.
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Location
Perhaps the most enviable location in all of Bali, the Grand Hyatt sits in the Nusa Dua complex at the southernmost tip of the island. Beaches are available on two sides of the property, it is walkable to Water Blow and several other nearby resorts.
Address: Kawasan Wisata Nusa Dua BTDC Nusa Dua, Benoa, South Kuta, Badung Regency, Bali 80363, Indonesia
Phone: +62 361 771234
Suite
We were upgraded thanks to my Globalist status to an Executive Suite King. If you’re a Globalist, consider contacting your concierge to use a suite upgrade certificate and secure this room. For $158/night, we couldn’t have been more pleased with the value for money.
Living Room/Dining Room
Two large couches, one clearly wide enough to serve as a guest bed and a pair of interlocking tables sit in front of a TV. The patio wraps the entire suite and is accessible from both the living room and the bedroom.
The dining room featured welcome fruit and a separated seating area. The desk and mini fridge were in this area too. The desk had enough space two full laptops and then some. The fridge had some space left for our own items (water was stocked daily) and spaces were not trigger-charged, a positive for families like ours.
Bathrooms
A guest bathroom was to the immediate left when entering the suite. It was plain, offered a bum gun but no Japanese bidet seat as we prefer.
The showstopper was the master bathroom which extended half the length of the suite. Inside, a walk-in closet and luggage room with safe along with some drawers for our things. It’s worth noting that laundry prices were very reasonable and Globalists receive a 15% discount. For long stays, this is crucial.
Dual vanities with loads of counter space extend along the wall of the bathroom. A large tub separate from an even larger shower made the bathroom feel more like a spa than a hotel.
Bedroom
The bedroom had something that Lucy loved. The bed of her Disney princess dreams awaited us, sheathed in light, white linen. The bedroom also featured its own temperature controls, a TV, dresser, and access to the patio.
Pools/Beach
There are more pools than we bothered to count at the property. There was a mixture of family areas, toddlers, and adult pools though none of them were particularly marked as such (with the exception of Toddlers). We spent most of our time in a shaded pool at the mouth of a waterslide which our daughter ran in a circuit for hours on end. Each of the pools was staffed by food and beverage servers eager to take our order. There were more pools than we could count including one exclusively for Club rooms and elites.
One particularly odd aspect of the pool area was a single towel station in a centralized location for all of the pools. We were also surprised to see that a resort of this quality failed to offer sunscreen, though we, of course, had brought our own anyway, some guests would have benefitted from the encouragement to wear some.
The beach is absolutely stunning. An expanse of more than 500 feet from the edge of the property to a hill down to the shoreline, creates vast white sand on a raked beach and perfect sunrises. Service at the beach is available from the hotel staff, there is also security at key points which is helpful.
There are two drawbacks from the beach that should be mentioned as it’s otherwise perfect. The first is that, like the pools, there are no towel stations to speak of. The property is very large and a walk from some hotel rooms to the beach can be as little as two minutes, while the towel station is closer to 15, then one must return the towels back to the station and back to their room, two minutes from the beach.
The second issue is that the chairs are back toward the property underneath the shade of trees. At the water’s edge, due to the height differential, belongings left at your chairs and near security guards are out of view. If you’re like us, you probably bring cell phones, some cash, a camera, maybe even a drone, Kindle or an iPad. One solution is bringing your things in a bag to the shoreline, you can also drag the hotel chair to the sightline, but there will be no shade so it’s not necessarily a long-term solution.
I asked the staff for clarification on why they did not move beach chairs out closer to the water or put in temporary umbrellas as other hotels do. A regional requirement states that the beach must be clear and open to the public, by placing chairs or setting the beach up as if it were private or restricting the public would violate this. I wonder if there is some other solution, maybe a lockbox at the beach or checkin for valuables with a towel stand in the future, that could help with these issues.
Regardless, Lucy found no issues with the beach and wanted to share it with our readers. So here is a short video from our five-year-old daughter of Nusa Dua beach.
Lounge/Breakfast
Club rooms fill a building adjacent to the Club lounge and – a first for me – Club pool. The Grand Club is an open-air facility with service for breakfast and cocktail hours. Both provide something in between full meals and continental breakfast/canapés.
For breakfast, a selection of fruit, yogurts, breads, and pastries fill buffet-style tables and refrigerators. A pair of chefs stand ready to cook custom egg orders, pancakes, porridge or even heat up croissants. A pair of hot items is served daily like sausage and steamed tomatoes. Breakfast is available 6:30-10:30.
During cocktail hours, beer, wine, spirits are served from 5-7 pm. We attended just once during our stay and found Singapore Lobster soup (excellent), burritos (though it was closer to a delicious Italian beef sandwich in a tortilla), focaccia, pesto, spring rolls, breads, and desserts.
In the evenings, Indonesian musicians play at a small pagoda opposite the dining facility, across a reflection pond of Koi fish, monitor lizards and a variety of birds. It’s one of the most relaxing lounge experiences I’ve ever had.
Restaurants/Shopping
The resort offers a number of restaurants on-site. The Grand Hyatt has a stand-alone Japanese restaurant (Namphu), international cuisine (and breakfast) at the Garden Café, Italian dishes with poolside service at Salsa Verde, and the Balinese restaurant Pasar Senggol.
We had some poolside meals from Salsa Verde and despite the Spanish name for an Italian restaurant, the food was very good and appropriately priced at about $10-15/meal with generous portion sizes.
One night of our trip, we booked in for the Balinese restaurant (Pasar Senggol) which included a traditional stage drama as Lucy loved the luaus in Hawaii. Balinese and Indonesian buffets provided guests with nearly 50 items to choose from. At a cost of nearly $50/person (children six and under are free) we found it to be something, we would do once but not again unlike luaus. The show was good, and the food was alright, but frankly, for $50/person it’s not something we would do again.
Shopping on the resort property is reasonable by US standards for name brands, incredibly expensive by Indonesian standards. A small night market is brought inside the property ground nightly near the Balinese restaurant, offering some of the trinkets found outside of the hallowed resort walls for a substantial premium. There is, however, a corner shop which allows reasonably priced convenient store items to be purchased and stored in your hotel room fridge.
Value
At 12,000 points per night or $150-250 for cash rates, we found the property to be a good value. Nusa Dua (the area of the resort) is excellent for those who prefer an enclosed resort experience. If you’re looking for walkable restaurants and shops, this is probably not a good fit. We loved the property and will definitely return.
Have you been the Grand Hyatt Bali? What did you think? Do you have another favorite property in Bali?
We always travel to beaches and cruises with a travel safe we bought on Amazon. It was only about twenty dollars and features a bike lock like chain that wraps around a chair or cabana post. It’s not big enough for the kindle or iPad but will keep the cash, cards, and passports safe.
That’s a great idea. I’m looking for it now.
There was something like this on shark tank as well.
This hotel has the best club lounge I’ve experienced, It’s just gorgeous and has superb food. Top notch service as well. The biggest drawback to this hotel is that the pools all close super early. The Bali Collection mall a few hundred yards away offers lots of dining options and a supermarket.
On our last trip to Bali, we spent three days at the Grand Hyatt, and three days at the Samaya in Ubud in the interior. Despite the same nice benefits as a Globalist you describe, we found the Grand Hyatt to be very sterile and something that could have been located at any beach, lacking a true feeling of Bali. A restaurant nearby called Bambu Bali with Balinese dancing was a delight. On the other hand the Samaya was located near Ubud, the cultural heart of Bali. Each room has its own swimming pool and large rooms, the restaurant Swept Away was located right next to a river, and interesting temples and the Monkey forest were located right next door. All of this for just $75 more a night. We were dismayed that we wasted time at the Grand Hyatt and next time we visit Bali, we will skip the Grand Hyatt to spend more time in Ubud. Kayumanis nearby in Ubud also had large rooms with private pools and was a little cheaper but with a more rugged paths. When you have your own private pool in Ubud, the Hyatt’s absurdly early closing time isn’t a concern. Do yourself a favor and just go to Ubud for an experience of the real Bali, not a sanitized beach resort.
Give the guy a break. He was visiting Bali with his little daughter. It looks like she had a blast and that’s all that matters.
For the record, I have vacationed in Bali over a dozen times and have never stayed in Nusa Dua. Like you I prefer a more authentic experience, but some people love Nusa Dua and there is nothing wrong with that.
We’ve been to Bali before, we have been to Ubud as well and there is another property outside of Nusa Dua we will be reviewing shortly. I agree that inside the walls of Nusa Dua is a bit more protected than the rest of the destination. But at the same time, it’s a review of a specific property and your comment comes off assuming that we’ve never left the resort just because that’s the one we’ve chosen to review, which in fact is wrong.
I never assumed anything Kyle. You’re the one who is wrong making assumptions about me. Nowhere in my comment did I say you didn’t go outside of Nusa Dua.
I was just responding to Rhys comment that I thought was a put down of your trip report which I thought was an excellent report.
I was trying to say that the most important thing of any trip is that the people were happy and enjoyed it. Period. It doesn’t matter how “authentic” it was.
When I first went to Bali my daughter was around Lucy’s age and I remember how much she enjoyed staying at the Intercontinental Jimbaran. She has many happy memories of that place. Who cares if it was less authentic than Ubud.
I think I got sideways on my responses from my phone. I would agree that Nusa Dua is not authentic Bali. My claim, however, is that does not mean we didn’t leave the resort just because I didn’t mention it in the review.
I didn’t put down your review per se. didn’t know based on the article whether you ventured beyond the Grand Hyatt Bali. The Club at the hotel was one of the best I have seen at a Hyatt. The pool hours were ludicrously early. I just figured that if someone is flying all the way from the US to Bali, they should have an idea of what other alternatives might be on the island. Having been there a half dozen times, I laugh thinking back to the first time I was in Ubud, I paid $9 for a room with a private bathroom and breakfast and was happy. I just find Bali, given its beauty and culture is one of the more affordable places to visit and have learned to look beyond my loyalty to Hyatt as a Globalist, despite the great value that the Grand Hyatt Bali offers.
“We were also surprised to see that a resort of this quality failed to offer sunscreen”
That’s because by Bali standards, this is just a mid-quality place, not a high-end place. Yes, it is an excellent deal for the money and a good place for first timers to Bali.
It’s Nusa Dua, they share the beach with the Ritz and St. Regis. It’s an oversight not an indicistion of where they feel their status is.
“they share the beach with the Ritz and St. Regis. It’s an oversight not an indicistion of where they feel their status is.”
Come on Kyle, sharing the beach with the Ritz and St. Regis does not mean the Grand Hyatt is on the same level. The Park Hyatt is more on the level of the Ritz and St. Regis, not a Grand Hyatt. I’m not knocking the GH, their business model is not to be on the same level of the Ritz or St. Regis, thus they are at the mid-level and not the top level of hotels.
Not true Jason. The Grand Hyatt Baha Mar had them at all of the numerous towel stations, that’s the same chain, the Confidante in Miami (Unbound) had it as well so that kind of debunks your theory that they are holding out on sunscreen at towel stations to remain at a lower category hotel. I think it’s more a matter of when the hotel was built and opened more than anything else. I just don’t think the Grand Hyatt Bali has revisited the matter since this became more of a mainstream concept. But I will agree, sharing the same beach is not a good enough example (Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman supports your position), others putting out sunscreen within the same level brand in the chain however, are.
“The Grand Hyatt Baha Mar had them at all of the numerous towel stations, that’s the same chain, the Confidante in Miami (Unbound) had it as well ”
Your two examples do not debunk my theory. Just because a few GH’s choose to be exceptional does not mean the GH chain as a whole is of that caliber. For example: The GH San Francisco was a huge disappointment for me. Their club lounge was a complete joke. I was appalled at how meager it was. It didn’t even have a bathroom. Clearly well below the GH Bali, and I have read reviews of other GHs that were like the one in SF. Yes the GH SF is an urban hotel, and no I am not expecting it to have beaches etc., but it is still a valid comparison because the core (non-resort) hotel services and amenities should not be less than the one in Bali. The top of the line Hyatt as you know is the Park Hyatt. Are you expecting to get at a GH what you get at a PH? Anyway, if you want to compare the GH Bali with the exceptional GHs then you will be disappointed. Why not compare it with the GHs that are inferior to the one in Bali? If I wanted Ritz or St Regis level of service then I would stay there and not at a Grand Hyatt. Whatever, you are free to compare it to whoever you want to, it’s your blog not mine 🙂 You can choose to disappoint yourself on all your trips if you want. PS: I think your theory about the GH Bali is probably accurate. Nevertheless, there is nothing stopping them from becoming a better hotel and copying what the other hotels provide their guests.
How many days in bali and what are the things to do in bali? Please post something about that.
Seven total days in Bali, and I will try to work that in to my next review.
Hmm… A wide open beach. That’s rare in nusa dua area. No wonder local govt. insist to be opened for public…. Same things applies on seminyak beach front I recall…
Planning a trip to Bali for next year and spending a total of four nights. Any thoughts on GH vs Hyatt Regency and Alila Seminyak? As a Globalist, I have a clear preference for Hyatt vs. say Conrad or Ritz. Thanks!
I’d consider trying Alia but value for money is insane at Hyatt Regency. It’s not as glamorous as Alia but boy do you get a lot for your money.
it’s comical to see you guys “arguing” in the comment. Different strokes for different folks.
Planning a trip that includes some time in Bali & Lombok for 2023. Will cancel if Indo doesn’t drop their stupid COVID requirements. Or rather, just skip over…more time elsewhere.
My first and only time in Bali & Ubud was in 2003 and I sweated it out (December Christmas humidity) at some local places. Ubud was great – had a/c there, very nice room, my place in Kuta (or what not)- no – it was miserable. Very dark room too. Both were not anything close to a resort – Hyatt or not.
I’ve seen the tourist figures and Bali tourism has, pre-covid, gone off the charts. “Authentic” bali is in one sense — surely a figment of someone’s imagination now. And probably folks who went to Bali 10-20 years before me, would of said the same about 2003. {Just reading that Bali Hyatt opened in 1973}
I used to care more about CULTure or “authenticity,” but not so much these days…so this Grand Hyatt might be good for a few days. Sounds like I’ll check the Hyatt Regency out too – development around it looks much more dense though. I guess that means “authentic?”
Didn’t have hotel points then…..so this will be a very different experience. Going in September…so presumably…not so humid. My weather tolerance / health understanding is better now too…and I’m more of a beach person now…wasn’t back then – though I did scuba.
Thanks for the review!
Just came across an article on MEDIUM.
–> The turbulent history of Bali’s tourism industry
read that and you’ll see how fluid “authentic” can be…..
and that’s just in the 20th century….
“…After the first tourists started taking pictures of topless locals, the women began to cover up….”
In 2003 when I first went to Bali 2 million FOREIGN tourists / year…by 2019 – 6 million+ (Nevermind domestic –
in the millions). Imagine all the development that took place in such a short time…well…I guess I’ll find out for myself.
Overtouristed places are not my thing…but on my way to the spice islands. And maybe I can enjoy the beaches
with less people..