I have never loved huge resorts where as much as the staff are nice enough, you can't help but feel a little like a 'number' versus a valued guest.
Many people (obviously!) love being within a large resort however I certainly prefer a more villa /small resort style.
They DO offer a more personal/villa type experience however there is only ONE absolute beachfront 'villa' (unsure exactly what they call them) which was booked. There were also around 4-5 more villa style rooms (as opposed to the 'typical hotel rooms' we stayed in, however, again they were booked.
While we did book only a few days before, it would be great if they offered these larger/villa/apartment type style rooms.
My Dad and I booked into two separate rooms that were 'one level' above standard. The room itself was small however the bathroom was lovely and the HUGE shower head (they called it a rain shower I think) was DREAMY...
The other AMAZING part of these slightly better than average rooms were the lagoon out the front of the room. Three smaall steps and you step into what is essentially your own pool..The pool runs the whole length of the ground level floors so anyone of the 12-15 or so guests in these rooms can jump in however I was alone in the lagoon almost always -- It was VERY SPECIAL to step out into this area and even the one scenario when another couple was in the pool it runs (as I said) the length of approx 15 or so rooms so there's ALOT of water and it was nice to say hi to my 'neigbours'.
I could even swim to my Dad's poolside door - he was two down...so that was a bit of fun.
The dining area (beachfront) is not VERY close to the water....it is beachfront however there is quite a bit of sand (prob 70 metres) from restaurant to beach so at night you can't really see the water. The food was average-good - quite basic for a 5 star establishment - we both ordered a beef stri fry which was just ok.
We tried the other restaurant for the free breaky the second night which is set back on the KUta street, It was the same food.
The access to Kuta shopping is good, although it is very much '2005' bali shopping - lots of fake brands and bartering but we had fun and as I said the hotel's proximity was great - especially to a number of malls which are air con'd and (mostly) carry 'real' brand items - i bought a great pair of Nike's for approx $80 less than in australia.
Overall the stay was nice - if you can't afford or access the beachfront/private pool villas ask for the GROUND LEVEL rooms with (what they call) the 'lagoon' out the front. As I said, walking onto your little balcony and having a private dip is special.
I always prefer Seminyak, but for Kuta, this was very good AND it was less than 10 mins to the airport which I LOVE esp when flying at night!
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