Tuesday 29 December 2009

AP Inn Kuta Bali

This is possibly one of the nicest places I have stayed in Indonesia and through my travels in Malaysia and Thailand. It is located 5 mins walk from the Kuta Beach, surrounded by bars, massage places, Tourist Trap Shops, Travel Agents and random men asking if you want transport and other things.
24 hour access and all room are spacious and cool.
There is a limited range of food at the Inn and the breakfast I try to avoid as I find it very bland (considering you can get a full breakfast metres from the place for not much) and the welcome drink it promises either arrives or it does not. In fact of the 6 times I have stayed there I have received it once, but again it does not really matter.
There is a great feel to the place and there are always lots of different people staying there, from the surfers from across the world to the local Indonesian family. It caters for all.
The prices keep changing and they always add tax to everything. High season this year was 316,000 rupiah for a double room without AC.
The rooms are big and beds are huge. There is plenty of space to leave your stuff and a wardrobe that can hold a lot of clothes. Each rooms has a large ceiling fan which looks quite new and the AC if purchased is more than adequate.
The charm of the room is balanced by the dodgy shower which whilst effective is not powerful but does the job. The towels are changed daily and they are clean.
Checkout is 12 noon although a little late and they dont seem to mind. For 5000 a bag you can leave it with them all day. In low season you can normally rent a room for a day at half the cost which is good.
The pool area is great and there are lots of beds. Directly next to the pool is a massage place and you can drink beer and have a massage and then fall in the pool.
If you need motorbikes or cars the staff are happy to help or you can just walk out and someone will help you there and then.

For a comfortable and good place to stay which is close enough to the beach and the nightlife and easy enough on the pocket then I cant think of a better place to be.

Puri Bunga Beach Cottages, Senggigi, Lombok



This is a lovely delightful place. It is situated in the middle of the Senggigi Beach opposite the Sheraton resort and  every room has a view of the sea and the sunsets and it was charming.
I paid via a tourist agent in Lombok about 250,000 rupiah and that is half the price the actual place is advertising and for the money it was worth it.

The hotel is not on the beach but across the road and then from there you have to walk through a delightful art market and then to the beach or to the restaurants there. The Office was great value and good food and cheap with gin at 35,000, large beer at 25,000 and the food no more than 50,000 for most things.

The other restaurant was the Lotus. It was a chain I think but very good italian food and freshly wood oven baked pizzas. More expensive but very nice.

Puri Bunga did do food but it was brought from one of the restaurants listed. The breakfast was ok, toast, tea, coffee, juice, fruit, noodles and more indonesian food. The ants were a little distracting but the breakfast was simple and light but nice.

The hotel staff seemed a little stressed to me but that was ok. The one lady in charge was very nice and could not help enough but seemed to be the only one who knew anything. The owner (western) was quiet and wandered about but seemed helpful to the guests there.
The pool was also nice and whilst not so big it was refreshing. The lack of chairs and shade was a little annoying but that ok.

Behind the front building was a very steep hill. Built into the hill were the cottages. Each cottage had a AC, Towels, TV, Water, Fridge with the usual overpriced things. Superb view of the sea and the sunsets.
The AC worked well once it got going and the only drawback was the power throughout sengiggi kept going off, tripping the AC but that could not be helped.

My room was great. It was big and airey and like I mentioned the view was great. The gardens were very well kept and the floral and fauna was in bloom and there was always someone tending the gardens.

The room was made every day and it was immaculate. Using the laundry was a little complicated as not all the things you wear were on the list and whilst it was a 24 hour service it depended on when the staff took the washing to be washed and then from there it was 24 hours to get back. You paid at the end of your stay for that.
The hotel also sorted out transport and bikes for you.
When checking out it was discovered that the mini bar had been used. Something which was not from me so maybe that was the staff but it was waived and therefore not a worry.

The beach cottages were very relaxed and a great escape with stunning views and lovely staff.



















Tune Hotel Kuta Bali


I stayed in Tune Hotel Kuta as a request really from my girlfriend and that the general opinion for booking a hotel in Kuta around christmas was that all were full. Duped yet again. The place was empty.
Still, After flight delays I arrived at the hotel which is not far from Hard Rock Cafe and Starbucks about 1am.
The room was prebooked as you cant simply walk in and ask for a room.
The building was very clean and bright, however the first thing that annoyed me was the greeting from the staff who appeared dis-interested and rude. No greeting. They just asked me to fill in paperwork and then leave a deposit of 60,000 rupiah for the towels which you have to rent and also 50,000 for the room key. This was not in the online information. The towel information was.
So carrying bags and towels we were told to take the lift and follow the signs.
The room had a huge door with lots of security functions. Tune is high on security and low on service.
Inside the room which was no more than a box. I would say it was about 2.25m x 3m. In this room was a small double bed, a fold down desk and 3 coat hangers for hanging 3 things. A big mirror across the bed and nothing else.
The bathroom was nice though. The power shower was good and there pressure was great. I liked the bathroom.
With the towel (there was no where to hang these towels) there was a sachet of soap and shampoo.

Sleeping there was nice as the bed however short (I am 189cm in height and my feet stuck out) was comfy and the blackout curtains were great. But there was no natural light.

The best thing about the hotel was the fact that the room was so restrictive that I spent all my time in Kuta, Bali and that was great.

I stayed 2 nights and this was frankly enough. With no where to sort clothes or hang them it was frustrating. Breakfast was extra and had to be booked on line so that was not something I wanted to do either.

The morning of checking out was early as I had a ferry to catch and so we were up early.The same night staff were on duty and they were just as unhappy and asked me to fill in a customer survey form in and so being honest I did.
I would have sat down to do this but the night guard was sleeping across the seats.
Then having to get the towels that I left in the room to return to the front desk kinda made up my mind, never to stay there again.

Now you must leave the room before 10am other wise the door automatically locks and then you are charged for another day.

I must also comment that I had booked and paid for a nights stay in the Tune hotel in Legion Bali but could not face it so I stayed elsewhere.

It was not that cheap either really with 1 night costing 236,000 rupiah after all the taxes and for the same money you can get better with AC (yes that was an optional luxury), breakfast, free towels, swimming pool huge beds.