For most travelers, Kuta Beach will be their first destination after the short taxi ride from the airport 15 minutes away.
Kuta is tourist central complete with luxurious resorts, narrow streets and alleys and abundant budget accommodation. Poppies Gang (lane) 1 & 2 are wall-to-wall guesthouses. I can tell you from personal experience it is a good idea to write down the name and address of the guesthouse when you arrive. I’m sure I wasn’t the first traveler to go for a drink and not be able to remember if it was The Island, The Beach, The Waterfront, The Sunset, or The Sunrise guesthouse I was staying at.
The prices you will pay for accommodation in Kuta will be the most expensive on the whole island. Proximity to the beach, fancy hotels, shopping and the airport account for this, together with the fact the locals know their best chance of getting you to spend more is when you first arrive.
When you check into a guesthouse remember one key thing, everything is negotiable. You will find local merchants and guesthouse owners cheerfully asking you where you are from and how long you’ve been in Bali. This is a way of sizing you up. Tell them you’ve been in the country for six months. To get a better rate at the guesthouse, wait until the desk person is ALONE. Offer 40% of what they ask for and negotiate. Tell them you know what rooms are worth and you want a deal. As long as there are no other people around you have a chance of getting a cheaper offer.
Usually the budget accommodation in Kuta consists of two bed bamboo cottages with a small porch. These are designed to be airy and have a fan. I found them to be perfectly comfortable and ideal for the budget traveler. You can lock these places but as usual do not leave money, passports, tickets or other valuable stuff in there when you are out.
You can pay $150 a night for a luxury suite in a major hotel but seriously which would you prefer, one night high end or 20 nights local style?
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{ 7 comments }
Don’t stay at Jan’s Beach Bungalows! Worst room I’ve had in all of SE Asia. US$10 for a room where even the cockroaches were on stilts! Shower hose was 2 feet of rubber that wouldn’t stay on the connection.Place needs burning or sealing off! Breakfast(inclusive) was 2 warm pieces of bread and a cup of coffee. I asked for more coffee and was told it was extra and they tried to rip me off for that!
I recommend Bali Duta Wisata, just off Poppies 2. It was very basic but clean, and the staff were very friendly. My experience was a little different to the main text above, in regard to prices in Kuta vs the rest of the island. I always found better accommodation bargains in Kuta than I could find elsewhere, in fact paying nearly twice as much in Ubud and Lovina.
Would recomend staying at the Nirwana Damai, it’s a great hotel and only just opened when i was there in January. It’s next door to the Secret Garden one of the best eateries/Bars on Poppies 1 in Kuta. They serve great food from all over the world and a great vegetarian selection, Ask and they can probabley cook it for you.
I have been going to Bali a few times a year for quite a long time now and have only just been back a month and would tell traveller’s it’s safe and the locals need tourists to return.
Suds
I really did enjoy Bali, but kuta is far more lively than i had wanted. i just thought it wise to warn people it is not the sort of chilled travellers place, cheap and cheerful etc. More importantly people need to be aware of the food they dare eat. I ate at restaurant called Padins (I think)on Poppies Gang 1 and consequently got extremely ill with salmonella food poisoning for over 6 weeks..nasty stuff-that was from a pancake funnily enough. Also that people are aware of safety issues, as mine, my friends and other travellers bank cards were stolen one evening. We were none the wiser until two days later because they cleverly left everything else in our wallets- of course by this time thoousands of pounds worth of money had already been spent in local sports shops. Over all a bit of a disaster! although it must be said that the locals are absolutely lovely and if people like the bustle of busy nightlife it is well worth a visit. My friend and i visited the Sari club on several occasions, it is perfectly safe,the Bali bombing was merely a tragic one off i believe. On a final note, i would also warn people to avoid Bali Hai beer as it is evil as far as hangovers are concerned..and also space out the jungle juice- because it sends you crazy if unprepared!
Take care. Lydia.
Hi Lydia,
I agree with you about the food….my husband also got really sick. Especially now…less tourists mean less turnover in the food.
Coool
Bali is my fav place to go… sometimes it is tough to find hotel in Kuta really especially in high seasons. Good info!
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