-
Some that have watched BBC1’s Race Across the World recently might also be there.
Alot depends on budget and flexibility.
Properties that are well regarded but a big budget needed are Ritz Carlton Reserve Mandapa and Capella in Ubud and Four Seasons Sayan.
Nusa Dua is more chill and beach vibe. I stayed at the St Regis in Nusa Dua and still remains the best service I have received at any hotel, it really is brilliant. We had a meal at the underwater restaurant at the Kempinski (not worth it in my opinion) but the hotel looked very nice.
Nihi Sumba is highly rated also but didn’t stay here as couldn’t fit into schedule. And the Oberoi in Lombok which you have already booked.
As others say, totally depends what you’re looking for: luxe hotel? Whole villa?
Happy to be a couple of miles away? Prefer to be right in the middle of things and
walk everywhere?
Even if you don’t stay at the Four Seasons et al., you can of course go there
for drinks!
We tend to stay in town just because the dances/gamelan performances are a big part
of our stay, and it’s nice to have a final drink then stroll back to the room.The Times travel section had an article on Lombok yesterday, doesn’t seem to be paywalled.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia-travel/indonesia/guide-to-lombok-vgffj8nfh
Thanks.
The Mandapa looks amazing but way out of budget. Think we are looking at £200-300 a night. The Oberoi was £260pn.Probably don’t want to be too far from the centre. Either walking distance or 5-10min by taxi.
The Goya and the Royal Kamuela are both really well located: I’d pop in dates (always on their own websites for offers) and see how they compare.
Hey JaneDoe
We had a wonderful family trip to Bali last Summer – flew in and out of Singapore using 2 x companion vouchers as opposed to KL. We don’t have status in hotels so went for well rated boutique locations that we liked the look (and price!) of:
To give you a feel of activities and areas … we covered a fair bit with lots of variety but found time to relax as well
Our itinerary was:
day 1 – travel day, flew to SIN and then straight onto DPS
day 2- travel day, spent a bit of time at the Jewel (was here for sunset and was great), then flew on to DPS, arrive late eve and taxi to Sanur hotel for 3 nights
day 3 – acclimatise and chilled
day 4 – up early to experience a lovely beach sunrise and rode bikes along the boardwalk and mooched around in Sanur village
day 5 – chilled in the morning and then after lunch we met our driver for travel to Ubud. We took the road via Batubulan which was fantastic – it’s a small district south of Ubud where stone carvings are made and stopped often to seem then … the size and detail of some were mind-blowing. Visiting a butterfly park and Tegenungan waterfalls further along the way. Found the waterfall a bit of a letdown personally. Checked into hotel for 7 nights
day 6 – Ubud central sight seeing, shopping, walking around and soaking it in.
day 7 – Early start and took a trip to North Bali. First stop at the Unesco Jatiluwih rice terraces – larger and less busy than the Ceking rice terrace near Ubud, then a drive further North to the Ulun Danu temple. On the way back South, we stopped at a very lovely small waterfall called Leke Leke – it was def worth a break in the journey for this. Finally a quick stop at Lumbungsari coffee farm for a coffee tasting experience.
day 8 – Ubud central – relaxed and easy day in Ubud central, visited the Pura Dalem temple which is right in Ubud itself
day 9 – a fun morning doing white water rafting. It was beautiful to get down to the river level and was top a time all round and a pleasant change to our actvities to date
day 10 – Super early alarm (4.30am) and a drive up to Kintamani district – North East Baki. Drove to an incredible viewing point to see the sunrise over Mt. Batur. We were almost the only ones there and it was a magical moment to see the light change over the little town of Pinggan below. Google ‘Sukawana sunrise spot’ for the location. A relaxed drive back and we stopped for coffee at Grand Puck Sari for a well deserved brunch. The crisp air and lake and mountain scenery made us feel we were in the Alps and not Bali. A final stop on the way to our hotel was another Unesco site – the Pura Gunan Kawi temple.
day 11 – early start and drive to Ubud to then spend 3 nights in Singapore before the trip back to London
Hotels:
– Sanur: Klumpu Bali Resort
– Ubud: Dwaraka Royal VillasAny questions – let me know!
Michael- thanks Royal Kamuela looks perfect.
Now we just need to make an itineary so we can book the Bali Accomodation.Tygerbright – thanks so much for sharing will definitely visit some of those sights.
We are a couple in our late 40s. We have 9 full days in Bali and would want to spend 3 of those in a nice beach hotel, where we would go out for a few hours sightseeing but spend most of the day chilling and swimming/ snorkelling.
The other 6 days will be dedicated to seeing as much as we can of the island.Don’t forget to reach out to Emyr if you are looking at the Oberoi, Capella, Alila, etc. He will be able to secure some valuable benefits such as daily breakfast, $100 F&B credit, etc on a flexible rate. Some of the hotels are also offering 3n for the price of 2 (or 4 for 3).
Alila Ubud is a good option, not too expensive. If mid range Marriott is ok, Westin and the well reviewed Sthala are very good as well.
I get the impression that the Gilis are backpacker central with no decent accommodation? The scuba is supposedly excellent but a week on Koh Tao left me weary of Bill and Ted finding everything awesome and needing babysitting underwater.
Am I misguided? RATW certainly made them look pretty backpacker-ish. I’m done with all that and like my faraway places supplemented by a 5* bed.
Gili’s have several boutique up market options, not super luxe swanky but very nice indeed, e.g. Mahamaya and Bask on Gili Meno.
Race Around The World featured Gili Air which is the only one to have an existing local village, Gili Meno is quiet with a range of accomododation, Gili T is Istagram central, avoid.Lombok (away from the Gilis) is like Bal1 30 years ago in many ways, far less development and fewer tourists but that is all changing fast.
Kuta/Koeta in the south is a nice mix with some great independent places to stay such as the Jivana resort and would be a good place for a few days before or after the Gilis (Gili Air would be my recommendation).The trek up to the top of Mt Ranjani (Lombok) is a spectacular but strenuous climb. (Was 2010 when I climbed it)
Went to Bali last April, still enjoyed Ubud but was busy.
Bicycle tour down the slopes of Mt Agung is easy going and takes in the back roads and rice paddy’s.Bali airport has been developed nicely.
Enjoy your tripGili’s have several boutique up market options, not super luxe swanky but very nice indeed, e.g. Mahamaya and Bask on Gili Meno.
Race Around The World featured Gili Air which is the only one to have an existing local village, Gili Meno is quiet with a range of accomododation, Gili T is Istagram central, avoid.Super helpful thank you.
OK so I’m looking at 3 – 4 weeks around these parts in summer 2025.
Interesting accommodation options around Lombok. Found a place on Gili Gede – an entire island that seems to be ‘off the beaten track’ (I hate that phrase).
Can’t figure out how to get on & off that island via a public ferry or somesuch (don’t want to use the resort boat). Did fancy a daytrip or two to the main island of Lombok.Question for people: would you consider getting the relaxed, quiet beach resort part of a holiday out of the way first, before heading off to the noise of Bali and possibly Yogyakarta?
i.e. beach before city and culture stuff?I wouldn’t normally do that, but the flight options for my proposed itinerary suggest doing a beach resort in Lombok first would be most convenient.
Scrap the above post, managed to get most of the info elsewhere.
However, do people here think Sanur meets my requirement for somewhere with a reasonable beach, away from the big AI resorts, and away from the masses of tourists? Only need a brief 3 or 4 nights lazy break in between some heavier cultural stuff in Yogyakarta and Ubud. Will end up at a resort in Lombok at the end of the trip for proper beach time.
So, is Sanur appropriate? All the other beaches that get mentioned a lot seem too far south and therefore loaded with noisy tourists and/or sprawling AI resorts.
Thanks.https://www.headforpoints.com/2023/10/02/review-andaz-bali-resort/
Rhys had a few comments on Sanur and there are some reader comments as well. It seems like a decent option if you just want to relax.
Hi all, so we are not doing anything too fancy (expensive) when we go in September, so this is my Itinerary so far.
Fly on BA Man to LHR and then Singapore. Staying 2 nights there before flying to Bali.
After chopping and changing so far, I’ve got 4 nights in Seminyak at the Indigo. We have 4 nights in Ubud and then I have booked a suite at Element ubud. I am open to change, but the four seasons, Ritz Carlton are not an option unless there is a super sale.I’ve got IC in Sanur booked after that for 4 nights. I was tempted with the club lounge at Hyatt but having now seen the points increase, I feel like I’ve got it abit of a steal and it seems to be fairy decent.
I know the traffic appears bad in Bali, especially Ubud but hopefully my Itinerary appears fairly relaxed. Hope no one minds me Hijacking the thread somewhat.
Hope no one minds me Hijacking the thread somewhat.
Not at all. Very useful actually.
I too am contemplating a suite at the Element Ubud and 3 or 4 nights in Sanur. Will be very interested in your feedback once you get back.
But why are you doing 2 beaches either side of an Ubud stay? Isn’t that a lot of movement on what appears to be a traffic heavy island?Hmmm good question. I hate staying in one place. I absolutely love exploring and packing as much in as possible. If it was me I would go to Jakarta, Lombok, the Gili Islands etc. However, we have our daughter in tow who will be one year old and my wife detests the packing so doesn’t want to do much. We therefore have to find a happy medium.
After reading this thread I actually looked at flights to Lombok but they are very early from Singapore and we want to limit the amount of flights. I’ve booked Jetstar with the Covid credit and they don’t fly there, so it just doesn’t fit into the Jigsaw that we all play.
Just to add, it seems we can visit the water park from Seminyak and it’s quite lively, not like we will clubbing until 1am obviously
Sanur looks to be the place at moment, unless I’ve not quite read the room.Just to add we stayed two weeks in Ayurvedagram Bali which is a lovely retreat. After trhat we were in Rennaisance Nusa Dua which was way better than I thought; reasonably cheap but very good rooms and amazing service. We obviously hored a driver to take us to all the beache/temples.
We have 4 nights in Ubud and then I have booked a suite at Element ubud.
You mean those 4 nights will be at Element Ubud?
Apologies, BB yes my 4 nights in Ubud are booking on my flexible booking at Element Ubud. We looked at Como but the wife likes the look at how family friendly Element appears to be.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Popular articles this week:
