Visiting Nusa Dua hotels, Bali
Took a trip to Nusa Dua today to visit a couple of hotel resorts, the Aston Bali resort and spa and the Ramada in Benoa.
Nusa Dua is really designed for tourists and as you enter you’ll notice an abundance of manicured gardens. Heading along the coastal road I passed many hotels and wondered how these places can continue to stay open with the decline in tourism. Keeping the grounds and pools of these places tended costs money.
It was Sunday and along Jalan Pratama outside the Ramada I watched a line of ladies carry empty trays, they’d obviously just been to a ceremony and had delivered their goods.
I must if someone else was paying it would be fun to stay at a fancy place, with the swim up bar and easy access to the beach, but for most of us these kind of joints are out of our league.
The Aston has a suite which is 120 sq meters for a paltry US$1,000 a night….and this is Bali! The Ramada has these little thatched roofed structures with a flat bed underneath similar to the ones you see by roadsides all over Bali.
Sundays usually have less traffic to contend with at least from large trucks. My ride down from Seminyak was smooth and I made sure the sunscreen and legs from my convertible pants were put to good use.
I chatted with senior hotel employees in both places and we discussed tourism and how Bali / Indonesia can recover. I suggested that foreigners have a negative view of Indonesia and the government needs to put out a massive promotional campaign on billboards, magazines and tv in Europe, Australia and America to win over travelers. Its crazy because all the infrastructure is already here, combine that with unique culture and low prices ( once you leave the resort ) and it’s a westerner’s dream. Nobody knows about it that’s the problem.
I’m thinking of coming back sometime just to use the pools in these places. Bring a half bottle of Bacardi and buy cold Cokes there, mix them in the bathroom and Bob’s your uncle.
As a matter of fact a thought occurred to me the other night when I went out with Stewart, Christine and Josh. Many of the bars on Dhyana Pura spill out onto the street, there’s really no none in charge here ( this isn’t California, no steroid shooting bouncer on the door ) . Why not bring your own drinks over from a parked car, you’d save a bundle. I might try that next time as I know someone who lives on the street…..maybe I could start a business!
By Nick | Permalink
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Comments
maybe you get a nice girl thrown in as
well.
G’Day Nick,
Those super-up-market places must be working on a tight skeleton staff. Mind you, it seems to be the trend in Bali at the moment eh.
Great idea Vincent had!. You should try it Nick.
How long did it take you to get to Nusa Dua from Seminyak?.
Yeay I should get them to comp me a room. Don’t want my arm twisted but it would be great.
For upmarket tourists who want an idyllic vacation on the beach, close to the airport its perfect right now. You’ve got the pool almost all to yourself….kind of like renting the whole resort.
Interesting expats. Well there was this guy on Friday night at Santa Fe, 40+ years old, 6′4″, deeply tanned with a gut. He walks around with no shirt and baggy shorts. I’m not a fancy dresser but at least I have the good manners to put on a shirt when going out. Who wants to rub up against him in a crowded bar?
Out at Karangasem a couple of weeks ago an Aussie who has been coming here for 30+ years told he hated all those pretentious fools in Seminyak. The ‘traditional furniture’ experts were ‘full of it’ he said, as the Balinese never used furniture, just go into their houses.
After seeing those pools, I want to stay at the Aston.
Nick,
I think if you are going to throw a party at your place, it is probably best for you to wait until you get a room at one of these Hotels!!! We will come visit & party in there for sure!!!!
Not that we won’t wherever you are….
59 days to go…. Barrie not long now for you hey???
Hi Tracey,
No, not long now. This Sunday in fact!. I won’t arrive in DPS until 6pm and it was a great co-ordination timing with my wife coming from Yogya who would arrive at the same time BUT she rang me late last night and said that Garuda has cut their flights to DPS down to 1 per day which means my wife won’t arrive there until nearer to 10pm!.
Checked the Garuda site and she was right!. It seems Garuda is blaming the decline in bums-on-seats because of the SARS scare. What crap!.
Barrie,
Well another 2 hours is not long considering!!! It gives you enough time to create the perfect romantic mood!
Where will you be staying? Have you booked Accom or will you find something later. Well 2 hours of Bintang Guzzling at Ngurah Rai might be the trick!!!!!
Have fun, I wish it was me….
8 weeks & 2 days, not including today, it’s almost over!!!!!
Hi Tracey,
I’m staying at the Opal Legian in Seminyak. I know the GM there and organised the accom by email. Can’t beat bargaining on the email!
My wife has already told me to go to the hotel and check-in and then come back later and pick her up from the domestic terminal. Gives me time to set the ‘mood’ eh.
8 weeks will fly past Tracey. Think Bali every second you are awake!.
Hi Tracey,
I’m staying at the Opal Legian in Seminyak. I know the GM there and organised the accom by email. Can’t beat bargaining on the email!
My wife has already told me to go to the hotel and check-in and then come back later and pick her up from the domestic terminal. Gives me time to set the ‘mood’ eh.
8 weeks will fly past Tracey. Think Bali every second you are awake!.
Forget the fancy places in Nusa Dua.
If you get tired of Kuta and want a nice, quiet place with character and comfort to stay at, right on the beach, try Alit’s Beach Bungalows, Hung Tuah Street 41, in Sanur.
I’ve been staying there for a month now at 100k Rp/night (US$12) in a huge bungalow with AC, tub, fridge, kingsize bed, ect. 2-4 ppl could share one of those units without crowding. Great old park, 2 big pools, tennis ect, cheap and good chow. Better security than most other places I’ve seen.
If you do not like the beach (grey-black) just walk 500 m S and use the one in front of the Grand Bali Bch resort. Tell ‘em Mr Jerry sent u.
Excellent surfing and cheap boats to the out islands. Next week there’ll be qan intl KITESURFING comp there! Read all about it in the current issue of Bali Today.
Sounds Great Jerry,
Maybe I will look at spending a few days there. I will be in my husband’s village, but he is from Tuban, so it is not a typical “village”.
But we are going to go here & there for a few days too, so I will keep it in mind!!! CHEERS!
Keep flying the flag for Bali tourism pls.
“Keeping the grounds and pools of these places tended costs money” ……… landscape maintenance generally requires only labour and water. Labour is obviously cheap (US$1 perday) and I’m told many in the tourism sector are working for free, just to keep their jobs open until visitor numbers pick up. Could be a long wait. Tough times ahead.
On a more cheerful note, good to see you hanging out with the idle rich in Nusa Dua. Why not blag a free room at these hotels, claiming (not unreasonably) you represent an international web-based travel concern? Gotta think big. You could probably spin it out for a few days before they suss you out.
Met any interesting expats recently?