InterContinental Bali Resort

So good, nice staff, go to Dayu Eka for hair styling, she did an amazing job! Very friendly and professional took care of more than expected. Hair turned out great, tools were clean, served hot beverages and snacks. Definitely will be coming back!

Traveled here as a starting point in Bali to get acclimatized after a couple of days in Singapore, just enjoy the beach and such for a few days before starting to explore the island more. We had also arranged an airport transfer via the hotel which went without any issue, very welcoming already at the airport and a trouble-free transfer to the resort. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful, any special request we had was handled quickly. The arrival at the resort itself was also warm and welcoming and the check-in was quick and smooth. Food options are limited in the evening but the resort had no issue with us ordering food via Gojek and even provided plates for us. The room itself pretty much looks like in the pictures and the beds are comfortable. The only qualm with the room was that the air-conditioning was quite loud, clearly not the newest units so there's room for improvement there. However the ceiling fan also did the trick and was nice and quiet. The resort is right on a quiet stretch of the beach and the water is quite calm compared to other areas in Bali. The sunset is amazing and there's plenty of fish restaurants nearby to enjoy. There's stories about avoiding hotel ATM's in Bali but the one at the resort was perfectly fine and didn't charge an arm and a leg, the exchange rates and fees were very fair. The gym while smaller than I would expect for a resort of this size (the whole compound is huge) was fairly well equipped. One tip, make sure to join IHG One Rewards as it gets you a discount on food and drink at the resort. The food itself is decent but nowhere near the best I had in Bali (and of course with the resort tax included despite the discount). Though the breakfast spread is impressive and amazing. When we were there the resort was at 50% occupancy so can't judge what it would it be like when completely full.

I can see why this place is popular with families with children as the games room and multiple pools appeared to be a big hit. Its in a more secluded area than the busy Seminyak so those who pick the hotel are unlikely to go walking outside the hotel. The positives: Staff were very responsive, rooms were spacious and the breakfast had a lot of variety once you actually managed to get to it. There was a lot of thought put for the children's activities with additional activities put on during the rainy days which was great. On the other hand: DO NOT use the airport transport service unless you want to pay almost 4 times the going rate. Be prepared for a VERY LONG wait for breakfast during peak period - you have a lot of people just milling around waiting to get allocated a table. I think the hotel could provide a heads up on peak breakfast times and how the whole breakfast booking systems works as you check in to manage guests expectations. Had I known I would be waiting over 30minutes to get a breakfast table allocated, I would have just gone to breakfast earlier. Also the beach area in front of the hotel could do with some cleaning up, I couldn't bring myself to even walk on the beach let alone play there like I saw some families doing.

5 at of 5 for Lisa and Dayu Eka! A fantastic experience a facial for the bride and a pedi for myself. My feet feel like a million dollars. The wet towel and clod herb tea was followed by a professional pedicure and completed with a hot tea to finish. The bride love the facial and even helped with the Sydney sinuses Do yourself a favour.

One expects a certain standard from IHG and its club facilities and this property kind of checks most of the boxes but doesn’t really delight or amaze you. As a reference I can mention the IHG Phuket which I do find wow! Firstly the good (1) huge property, tastefully decorated and reasonably well maintained (2) our uluwatu suite was excellent - amenities, bedding, quality of decor all top class (3) service quality is professional but impersonal (4) the pools , restaurants and spa are excellent . Gym is small but well equipped The 2 main drawbacks (1) club lounge facility isn’t great. The breakfast spread and quality of food is below average compared to other club lounges on IHG in other parts of the world . Service was slow and delayed right from the moment we tried to check in. Staff at the lounge seemed clueless where our food orders went. They need to seriously upgrade the quality of overall lounge experience starting with the staff. The club lounge evening cocktails were decent. (2) the sea view was good and the waves were nice but the beach itself was exceedingly dirty. I don’t mean moderately unkempt - I mean disgustingly filthy. I am not sure if it was due to the monsoon season but the amount of organic and man-made debris is shocking. So u can perch on a cabana and enjoy the view but don’t even think about stepping on the beach unless you want dead fish and slimy plastic wrapping around your feet. Even if it’s monsoon - I think the hotel needs to make some effort to make the beach a bit usable for its guests.