Bali

metta

New Member
Hi Sakurasan,

may I know what's the dress code there? I'm staying at Hotel Intercontinental for my trip. Is the spa expensive and how much does the taxi ride cost to go to Kuta? Can we book activities eg. horse back riding from the hotel?

Thanks!!
 


metta

New Member
Hi!

I just got back from Bali last night. Stayed at Hotel Intercontinental. Must say it's a fabulous place to stay! It's really huge and the resort faces the beach. Just walk a few metres and u get the whole 500m stretch of nice beach! I got a loft room, meaning there's a living area downstairs and the bedroom upstairs. It's really private and exclusive for a honeymoon. If you visit their Japanese restaurant, you get to walk through a long winding path through the Jap garden that builds up the entire Jap mood. There are even resident swans that swim in the ponds in the morning. Absolutely beautiful!
 

metta

New Member
Hi Alhana,

I'm sorry, my 3 days trip was sponsored by hubby who was there for work, so I'm not sure how much it actually costs for a real holiday. As a gauge, the ticket was $300 each for SQ GV2. Spa treatment within the resort was about $160 after tax for 150mins, excluding tips (there are cheaper ones). Jap dinner was about $80 each. We didn't do the typical tourist stuff since it was a working trip. I just spent my time reading at the lounge, poolside bar and gazing at stars on the beach at night. Good place if u want somewhere quiet.

Suggest that you go to Ubud for shopping instead of Kuta. I only had an hr there. It's cheaper, has more local crafts & the environment is much better than rowdy Kuta. If you have the chance, go visit Four Seasons resort at Ubud. It's super exclusive, only for the rich & famous. I heard it costs USD 1000 a night for the villas (they only have villas there).
 

edksdid

New Member
hi metta,

SQ for $300? i presume it's return ticket right? wow. tt's cheap. i tot i saw $520 on the sia website. what's the timing of the flight like?

any difference from the beach at jimbaran and kuta or even nusa dua?
 

metta

New Member
Hi edksd,

yes, only $300 by internet booking (2 to fly)! In fact it's only $250 for 4 to fly! Try this link: http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/app/saa
But u can't accrue mileage on this flight.

We left on Sat around 9.30am. U can book the flight for any time as long as there are seats still available.

Actually, I don't know how the other beaches are like. For Jimbaran, it's very clean. I would rather soak in the nice pool though. For sure, Jimbaran is not as hip as Kuta (from my short trip to Kuta). It's really a more quiet place.
 

edksdid

New Member
i checked on the same website oso.

is it becos the dates i've checked are for jun and july, tts why more expensive?
 

ingenue78

New Member
Hi Metta,

I also intend to go Bali ...but it's in mid-June. Was wondering how's the situation in Bali? Is it safe to travel there coz there seems to be renewed threats of terrorist attacks...
 

edksdid

New Member
hi squarecouple, how much is the average cab fare to/fro nusa dua?

i saw tt bali melia is next to galleria so i guess it's easier to get out as compared to nikko bali?

is the beach at melia bali far from the accomodation? is the beach "protected-lagoon" type or "real beach"?

when u went melia bali is still under partial renovation? hv u seen the melia benoa bali? are they sisters company since they've the same logo? which one is more high class actually?

i'm deciding between conrad and melia bali.
 

metta

New Member
Hi edksd,

did you scroll down to 'View Internet Rates'? There are some specific outbound dates. Guess if you don't fall within those dates,then u won't be able to get tat rate.

Hi ino,
I stayed within the resort most of the time. We took the car to Ubud (arranged by hubby's friend), and only got down to shop around for a while. Then it's back to the resort again, so I can't tell abt the safety factor. But the locals really appreciate your patronising them & will even walk us out & open our car door for us even though we didn't buy anything.

I was told the visitors are back and hotel occupancies are picking up again. Security is also very tight at the resort, so it didn't occur to me very much abt terrorists
 

mail_lum

New Member
hi edksd,

i'm going to bali soon as well, and will be staying in conrad too... just wanted to share with you in case you don't already know, that if you booked through the internet, they have a special rate of USD62 for a room but it's with courtyard view... compared to the introductory offer of USD78 which you will get an ocean view room.
 

metta

New Member
Ladies!

Qantas just came out with a Bali promo that starts from S$210! Very good deal!

***********************************************
Qantas and British Airways "UOB Travel Offers"

Seats on sale until 5pm Friday 28 May 2004 or until sold out.

Qantas Economy Class return airfares from Singapore to:

Bali* from $210
Perth from $399
Brisbane from $550
Cairns* from $550
Gold Coast* from $550
Sydney from $550
Melbourne from $550
Auckland* fron $788
Christchurch* from $788
Wellington* from $788

British Airways World Traveller Plus (Premier Economy)from Singapore to:

Melbourne from $948
Sydney from $948

Fly to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns or Gold Coast and travel to an
additional Australian City^ from $60 (one way).

To book Qantas flights visit
http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn/sg/globaldeals/SIN
Or
Contact Qantas and British Airways at +65 65897000

To book British Airways World Traveller Plus flights to Melbourne or Sydney
visit http://www.ba.com

*These fares cannot be booked online
^For the list of applicable cities please refer to
http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn/sg/specials/uobTravelOffers


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONDITIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Book and pay by 5pm, Friday 28 May 2004. Payment must be made within 48
hours of booking. An administrative fee of sgd $75 will be charged for each
Date/Flight change after ticketing. Price excludes airport taxes, service
fees, insurance, fuel and other surcharges. Travel from 20 Jun 2004 to 31
Aug 2004. Flights are return economy flights ex-Singapore and apply to
Qantas, British Airways and Australian Airlines flights. Add-on flights are
sold in conjunction with selected international flights. Bookings are
subject to availability. Some flights cannot be booked online. Other terms
and conditions apply.
 

edksdid

New Member
hi mail lum, then what abt the air fare? which airlines are u taking? and how much? i wanted to just take SQ becos of its best timing - 0935hrs departure to bali and 2000hrs return from bali. when are u going btw?
 

mail_lum

New Member
hi edksd,

i'm going in mid June and taking SQ. The airfare is $300 (excl tax) but i booked it like 3 weeks ago. i think the current best deal is the Qantas one, which was posted above.
 

edksdid

New Member
hi metta, but qantas only fly to bali every wed, fri and sun. if i fly on wed, come back on fri it's too short. if i come back on sun, it's too long. sigh.. cant make use of this promo...
 

mail_lum

New Member
i booked in the SQ website.
i am taking the 4-something flight in the afternoon to Bali; and 1-somehting flight back to Singapore
 

destinee

New Member
Hi,

I am heading to Bali this weekend. Trying to get some rupiah here but the few money changers I went to do not carry rupiah.

I heard from my friend that only the money changers at the airport carry rupiah. Is that true?

Thanks for your help.
happy.gif
 

squarecouple

New Member
Hi Edksd
Melia Bali is the protected lagoon type. It is still under partial reno, but you won't see any of it. Melia Benoa i heard is club med style. one price pay for all, but melia bali is more high class. Taxi ride out of nusa dua is expensive because it is really far and they don't go by meter, they go by fixed rate
 

meowie

New Member
square couple,
If you mention taking taxi is quite ex, what about booking a trasport for the whole day with the hotel. Will that be cheaper?

Its my first trip to Bali, but i'm going with a group of friends in Aug. Would anyone recommend to stay in Nusa Dua or Kuta area? Seriously i'm totally lost on where to stay since someone mention Kuta is under major road works. Will be going for a 3D2N stay and will be going to Ubad too. Is there any snorkeling activities in Bali?
 

krazy76baby

New Member
hi ladies,
i just booked our trip to bali
happy.gif

just wondering how much $ should we change? am thinking of doing some shopping (as usual) hahah.

square couple,
do you happen to know how much is the taxi trip out of nusa dua to kuta?
 

metta

New Member
Hi,

just want to say that u will find almost the same stuff at the local shops, so if u find 1 shop too expensive, jus go to the next one. they will offer to give a discount if u walk away. it's so competitive. i find tat those nice straw bags are extremely hard to bargain down. About S$20 for a small one, which i think I can get for abt the same price back in SGP. Floating orchid candles are v cheap there, only abt 25k Rupiah(S$5) for pack of 10. Happy shopping!
 

tyikkim

New Member
Yes, I changed my money at Lucky Plaza, and they gave it to me at S$1 = 5100 rupiah. U can get slightly better rate if you are planning to go to Ubud. I was in Bali for 4 nites in all, and I changed S$500 in Singapore, and changed another S$100 in Ubud. But I had also signed Credit Card for bills amounting to $300!!! That's cuz we had 2 good meals in HRC, since I was staying there and lazing by the pool, plus having some drinks at the bar.

Snorkelling activities can be done at Nusa Dua.
 

metta

New Member
hi Greg,

just curious, how much tips to give? I end up giving away 20000 rupiah just for a short buggy ride from resort lobby to the spa (within resort grounds) cos' no small change! tat's really too much right?

And remember to pull your own luggage at the airport. I had to 'snatch' my luggage back from the porter and still had to give tips! (ok, i'm a cheapo)
 

krazy76baby

New Member
hi meow,
we booked a 3d2n package... actually wanted to extend to 4d3n, but there are no flights back so no choice.
all in all, we paid about $938 and yes, we are flying by SQ
happy.gif
we will be staying on the nusa dua beach with Melia Benoa.
its our first trip there so we are really looking forward to it. oh the trip has a day trip to ubud - tanjung benoa tour thrown in.

So greg, having $500-$600 (SGD) as spending budget is enough?
happy.gif
 

meowie

New Member
Thanks Krazbi,
You took the package tour is it and not F&E? Can you update me again the road condition of Kuta when you are back?
happy.gif
Thanks a million
happy.gif
When are you flying?
 

tyikkim

New Member
hello..

Metta - Buggy ride within resort grounds..yes, I would say 20,000 rupiah would be on the high side. I would have given just 10,000. But if I'm not wrong, you stayed at the Intercon? Then, I guess the staff at Intercon wouldn't really find 20,000 too much...gotta keep up with the class and prestige of the hotel property.

Krazbi - $500-$600 should be enough. I spent most of my $$ on food and drinks. Ate at swanky places, but the bill came up to S$30-$50 for dinner for 2. So, its cheap by Singapore stds. If you want...ask the taxi to drive you to the restaurants at Seminyak and Kerobokan...go to the joints with very nice ambience...like our Club St style. For shopping, we bought 10 cushion covers (about S$6-S$7 each) and about 16 cloth table placemats. All of these are bought from Pasar Ubud - Best deals there. Oh yah, also paid S$70 each for 2 of us for the 4 hour spa experience in Zen Spa in Ubud.

Meow - The road works is scheduled to be completed in Jul/Aug. And it is "scheduled"...dunno about how closely they stick to the timeline...
 

meowie

New Member
Thanks Greg,
How much you paid for your hotel in Hard rock? You booked your air tickets and hotel separetly?
 

tyikkim

New Member
Paid for the Garuda Promo 3D/2N for $348, and we paid for one more extra nite to make it 3 nites. Biyukukung was arranged separately by myself through phone reservation.
 

krazy76baby

New Member
meow,
ours is a free & easy trip... just that there is a day trip included. i thought it was good cuz ubud is pretty far away from where we are staying and we may have a little trouble finding our place there. hehe
happy.gif

we are living on 17 june.

hi greg,
thanks for the info.
happy.gif
 

meowie

New Member
Greg,
If that's the case, did you take a taxi from the airport to hard rock cafe or hard rock did provide you a transport. Can you still remember how much was the taxi fare? I was thinking of booking the air tickets and hotel separetly. But was afraid that there isn't any transport from airport to hotel. And if i take the taxi, i fear they will take us go round and round to let the meter jump higher to earn more from tourist.
sad.gif


Do they sell those resort deco like wooden srcuptors or wooden vases? Me need to deco my house.
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Oh how much you bought for the place mats? I bought a few from Robinsons some time back. The color faded off for the first wash and it become very wrinkled. No longer looks like the same when i bought it. Oh i love those thai like silk so call single coloured bedsheets seen on magazines and even at some of the resorts in Bali. Have you seen any bedsheets like those there? I've never find them in thai. And my hubby stains my bedsheets for all the light colours ones.
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Krazbi,
That's very nice, i found a agency got provide 1 free tour too. But hor, they didn't bring us to Ubad but some other places. So not that useful leh.
sad.gif
Do share with us if you really love the trip. There's 2 Melia hotel right? Guess both are pretty classy.
happy.gif
 

tyikkim

New Member
Meow, the airport-hotel transfers are provided as part of the Garuda package. But since I chose to do an extension to Ubud on my own, I had to settle the transfer from Ubud to the Airport on my last day. We paid 200,000 rupiah for the 1 hour ride from Ubud to the Airport. I got my hotel in Ubud to arrange that for me, so I think you might be able to get it cheaper if you ask around a little bit more, just that you might get a "lousier car" to fetch you, in terms of air-con not cold, older car....etc.

If you want to take your own transfers from the Airport, I think you will not have much problems. There should be taxis waiting around, but am not sure if you would want them to go by the meter, becoz of what you said.
 

tyikkim

New Member
Meow, sorry, my FW told me that we paid 100,000 for the Airport Transfer, not 200,000 rupiah. The driver who we hired to fetch us from Hard Rock Hotel, Kuta to Ubud quoted us 150,000 for the Ubud - Airport transfer. So we settled for the cheaper one with the hotel at 100k.
 

tyikkim

New Member
If you want to look at wooden sculptures, the town of "Mas" is the place to visit. This place is just south of Ubud. Get your driver to drive by Mas on the way to Ubud. Otherwise, he might take the shorter route which bypasses Mas. We did not visit Mas, but was told that there are factory/warehouse type there, and this is the place where they manufacture wooden sculptures and distribute it to Kuta to be sold. So cheaper to get it in Mas.

Cloth placemats are abundant in Pasar Ubud. We bought ours from 3 different stalls there, as some do not have multiple pieces of the same design as we wanted to buy set of 6 or 8. After all the bargaining, we avg that per piece cost us S$1.80 - S$2.50.

We did not see the bedsheets, but we did drive past Seminyak on the way to Kerobokan for dinner. Saw that Seminyak had quite a few upmarket lifestyle shops selling household furnishings. But, can't tell for sure if there are bedsheets there and if they are cheap or not.
 

meowie

New Member
Thanks Greg for your help. You've been very informative to a blur blur person like me.
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You Garuda has prepare airport hotel transfer? So you bought your air tickets from agency or Garuda? You think SQ will have such offer too?
happy.gif
 

mexx

New Member
Hi Greg,

Shortlisted Biyukukung Suites as one of the possible resorts I'll stay for my bali trip in Jul or Aug. Is the suite room there nice ? By nice i would mean equivalent to decent 4*-5* hotels like Sofitel, Hyatt etc., with nicely decorated room, clean sheets & proper bathroom, aircon etc. but being a boutique resort, I would not expect it to have a fantastic pool & other facilities apart from spa. what is the difference between the suite room & the standard room ? price diff seems to be about US$50 or so.
Is the security at the resort ok ? Is the resort secluded or near main roads in Ubud ?
I saw this note on another forum about the aircon at Biyukukung suites being fakes i.e. just model, not working aircons.... is that true ?

would be great if you could let me know !

Would u know whether walk-in rates for the hotels in ubud are significantly more expensive than booked on the internet ? Reason I'm asking is because I'm contemplating booking just the first nite there then look around for a nice resort before I book the remaining nights ! booked a boutique resort on the net before but was so disappointed when I actually step into the resort. quite diff from pix on net.
 

tyikkim

New Member
Hi Meow, the package includes the transfers. When you arrive at the Bali aiport, you will see the Hard Rock representative who will lead you to the designated mini-bus. If you are scared scared, copy the number of the Hard Rock Hotel number and bring along with you. In the unlikely event that the guy doesn't show up, at least you got a number to call, to get them to check on your pick-up.

We bought the package from my regular travel agent. SQ may have such offers from time to time, like these 3D/2N ones as well, but its definately not in this price range. Should be in the range of high S$400 to low S$500. You pay more for SQ's reputation and more so, because of the preferred flight schedules. SQ flights arrive there by mid-day, unlike the Garuda ones which arrive after 8pm. So one is save $$ but lose out on time, and vice versa. Life is fair.

Gem - I have to be honest to say that I wanted to take a peep at the Suite Room as well, but it was occupied, so I can't comment. All I could say was that our room - Pipit 2, was equivalent to decent 4* hotels. It definately has clean sheets. Has standing shower, clean towels, toilet flushing system was working well...I know...tried and tested with my bowels..hehe... Air con was working well, no probelms, the glass of our slding balcony door was frosted in the morning. I you refer to my earlier posting, I gave a URL link..that website is offering USD$71 for a nite in the suite. Was told that the suite has a private jacuzzi of sorts. I say again, don't go for the Deluxe Room as the only difference is the bath tub as opposed to standing shower...everything else is identical. Note that this place has only 10 rooms, so book early.

Security at resort is ok, I mean ...there are guards with fierce weapons or anything but...heck, its Ubud...the country side...we slept peacefully through the nite. There is a safe in the room as well.

The resort is a 5 minute walk away from the main road of Ubud...I would say that this is ideal as you do not hear any traffic from your room, and yet, its near enought to walk to the shops and main road...Monkey Forest...the market etc.

Walk-in rates are generally higher than those offered on the internet or local travel agents. But, when I was there early this month, it was not the peak period, and I got a walk-in deal just USD$5 higher than what
is posted on the net. I would suggest that you invest by making a few "trial phone calls" to the hotels you shortlisted to enquire about vacancy and walk-in rates to get a feel of things, if you feel more comfortable that way.

One pic of the pool to share...


104705.jpg
 

mail_lum

New Member
hi, i'm goin to Bali in mid June and will be staying in Conrad Bali. Anyone been there or stayed near Tanjung Benoa? Any recommendations for makan and spa/massage nearby?
 

elle

New Member
hi mail lum,
wow u staying in conrad huh.. its a very nice hotel .. must be very expensive huh..

Last Apr i went bali my resort is pretty near yours.. Novotel bali. Their beach is good.. very peaceful and windy.. Not as commercialise as Kuta beach.

Massage you could do it in your hotel itself.. its not EX at all if compared to sin price.
As for makan, i wld advise you to be careful of wat you eat.. i kenna food poisoning when i came back..Their way of preparing food is not hygienic.
 

destinee

New Member
Hi Mail Lum,

I just came back from Bali....stayed at Novotel....took a walk to Conrad....wow...it's really very nice hotel.
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Same as Elle, I prefer Nusa Dua...Kuta is too noisy and crowded to my liking....i went there on my 1st day....the moment i reached the beach, I was pestered by those hard-sell 'sales people'.....oh gosh!!

For those of you who need to get rupiah, for your info, the rates are higher in Bali....over here, i get RP5100 for S$1...but it was RP5400 - RP5600 over there.

For those spa lovers....the spa there is excellent...really must go....the one i went charged SGD29/pax (RP150,000) for 2hr....if you want message alone, it's RP75,000 (abt S$15)for 2hr....but you must say you are SQ crew to enjoy this special price....:p

The taxi driver that I engaged was a really nice guy too....he drove me to a few factory outlets (for surf wears) and those distribution centre to get sovenirs....much much cheaper than if were to get from tourist attractions like Matahari....
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Do drop me your e-mail address should anyone of you are interested to get the contacts...
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chomecc

New Member
hi gers,

I am planning for a trip to Bali.. searched thru the websites.. will like to ask if anyone stayed in Melia Bali Villas & Spa and Bali Cliff Resort.. saw the picts online.. tot its like not too bad.

I am looking at a trip to just go there and relax and not so much of going there for the shopping.. so nusa dua is better?

any resorts to recommend that is good?

Thanks
 

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