Your rating of this hotel:
10.0
from 10
Hotel ratings by criteria:
Rooms:
10.0
Service:
10.0
Cleanliness:
10.0
Food:
9.0
Amenities:
10.0
Hello everyone who came! When planning my trip to Bali, I read quite a few reviews, and some of them were useful, and therefore, I decided to also spend a couple of hours of my time in order to help other people.
Who is this review for? This review is for people who prefer a relaxing holiday without covens and unjustified risks. If the image of "Tagilites" from "our rush" is close to you, then you'd better close this page and not waste your time. If you like relaxation, the sea, walks, excursions - this is for you.
So, we rested as a couple, our trip lasted from November 17 to 30.2012. Taking into account the fact that the road takes almost a day, we had 12 days for the rest itself. We traveled with Korean Airlines via Seoul. Seoul to Denpasar is a 6.5 hour flight. This, of course, is not a little, but if you compare it with the flight time from Moscow, then everything does not look so bad. In Denpasar, our plane landed at about 3 am local time.
Reading the reviews before the flight, I noted that it can take up to 1 hour to pass the control. I was not particularly pleased, because at such a late hour I wanted to fall on the bed and sleep. To my surprise, we spent 20 minutes on everything about everything, and at the exit from the airport a transfer was already waiting for us. I think everything went so quickly, because we arrived at night and there were no queues anywhere, but if you arrive during the day, you can spend more time due to the fact that, most likely, the intensity of tourist arrival is higher during the day (only a day for Bali arrives 6 thousand tourists). Even before the trip, reading the reviews, I was a little strained by the control mechanism, it was indicated that everything was very strict, it was necessary to take a picture and "roll your fingers" right at the airport.
Fortunately, none of this happened, the procedure turned out to be quite simple: we were given two declarations on the plane, which we filled out right on board, after getting off the plane we paid for a visa ($ 25 per person for 30 days), after which we calmly passed control and headed to the hotel. To pay for a visa, on the way from the plane to the control there will be a ticket office with a yellow sign "visa on arrival", it is advisable not to pass by it and be in the front row in the queue - this is a guarantee that you will spend a minimum of time going through all the formalities. On your way to the exit of the airport, you will meet an exchange office where you can exchange your money for local rupees. Looking ahead, I’ll say that the rate (9300 rupees for $ 1) can be called average (in the hotel they changed at 9100, in Bali collection and the Discovery shopping center at 9300, in the village at 9500-9550, and we met the highest rate in the pearl store - 9600 , but it is already very far away and you won’t go there specially for this). i. e.
you can safely change money for the first time at the airport, there you are unlikely to be deceived.
So, we left the airport and breathed in the warm and humid tropical air. Yes, it was hot, but much more comfortable than in Phuket. We were met by Vanyan - the driver of the travel agency. He could speak Russian, greeted us and we went to the car. We walked for about 5 minutes, according to Vanyan, we realized that we had to go to the hotel for about 20 minutes. Since it was dark, along the way we didn’t have much time to see anything and after about 20 minutes we arrived at the Ayodya Resort Bali (hereinafter referred to as Ayodya). I read a lot of rave reviews about this hotel, its scale and grandeur. But nevertheless, the size and arrangement of the lobby had a wow effect on me.
We went to the reception to check in. In many reviews, I found references to the Russian girl Olga, who works at the reception and helps Russian tourists.
At the time of settlement, she was not (and during the rest, I never saw her). But, despite this, we settled quickly enough and without any problems. Upon check-in, we were charged a deposit of $200, which we received back with the same banknotes upon check-out. From the reviews, I knew that the lower floor of the hotel is very damp and it is better to take a higher floor. When booking the hotel, we expressed our wish and upon check-in we also reminded of this. As a result, we got a room on the 5th floor, which we did not regret. Moreover, I recommend exactly the 5th floor, because it is better to see the territory of the hotel from it. I also recommend taking an odd number, because their windows overlook the inner territory of the hotel, which is much more beautiful than what is located outside (wasteland, golf course). The design of the hotel is such that the lobby is located on the 3rd floor, restaurants, swimming pool, beach - on the first floor.
The hotel is very large, like many other hotels in Nusa Dua, so it took 5 minutes to walk from the lobby to our room at a leisurely pace, but it didn’t bother me at all, because everything was done very beautifully and it’s extremely difficult to get tired of it during the holidays.
Opening the door of the room, we saw a very solid room (delux) in a classic design, a lot of natural wood, a large area, a full balcony, a good bathroom (although there is no shower).
In many reviews I read that the rooms are very shabby and this is very frustrating for many tourists. Well, what can I say: maybe we were lucky, but our room was in good condition. Yes, the parquet is a little worn, but it's natural wood and it just can't always look like new. Everything else was in decent condition.
Also, in my personal opinion, if you came to relax, and not to look for reasons for negativity, then you are unlikely to be upset by those small flaws, without which, probably, there are no hotels at all - as they say, you cannot please everyone. It was dark outside the window, we could not appreciate the view from the balcony, and decided to go to bed. Waking up at dawn, I first went to the balcony in order to appreciate the beauty of the view. We can say that we were lucky, because from our room on the fifth floor there was a very beautiful view of the inside of the hotel, and specifically of the lagoon.
After waking up, washing up, we went to breakfast. There are two restaurants in Ayiodia (Lagoona and Waterfall) that provide breakfast and you can visit the one you want. We often went to Lagoona because it is located next to the sea. It is, firstly, more beautiful, and, secondly, you can immediately assess the stage of high / low tide on the sea. We went to Waterfall on those days when excursions started very early, because.
this restaurant is closer to the lobby and as a result, you could save about 10 minutes on moving around the hotel. The menu is about the same here and there, in Waterfall there is a little more choice, but in general we liked it more in Laguna because of the proximity of the sea.
Some of the tourists in the reviews noted that the breakfast does not correspond to five stars, which made them very upset. Again I will express my subjective opinion: the breakfast is good, there is everything you need (fruits, vegetables, juices, scrambled eggs, sausage, cheese, bacon, milk porridge, cereals, pastries, tea, coffee), maybe those gentlemen who did not like it, breakfast is more varied at home, but this is unlikely; most likely they came to look for reasons for negativity, and not to enjoy. We didn’t get tired of breakfast in 12 days, moreover, I wouldn’t refuse to have breakfast like that always!
Having a snack, we went to a meeting with a Russian-speaking representative of the Bounty travel agency.
He was ready to answer our questions and of course sell us excursions. In many reviews, tourists write that it is cheaper to use local taxi drivers who will take you for $ 40 all day. Yes, it’s probably cheaper (although not a fact, because you paid only for the car, and you will buy all the tickets yourself, and travel agencies often have special conditions) and no worse, but we still stopped on tours of the travel agency, and did not regret it, because we really liked our guide Agus, who speaks fluent Russian and never ceases to amaze with his vocabulary. The first day of our vacation fell on Sunday, and we booked the tour only for Tuesday, because different excursions take place on different days, and the first one we were advised to visit was an excursion to the Kintamani volcano, because it most of all corresponds to the category of sightseeing tours in Bali .
Sunday and Monday we explored the hotel grounds, and the nearby area of Nusa Dua, such as the shopping street of Bali Collection and the village of Bualo. Bali Collection is a street of small shops, cafes and a Coco supermarket where you can buy souvenirs, clothes and snacks. On foot from Ayiodia - 10 minutes, by taxi - $ 2.
The village of Boileau is a souvenir shopping mall (similar to a Chinese market, but you can find good quality souvenirs), a small supermarket and a few cafes. 5 minutes walk to the village, we often went there for dinner because of the more convenient location. The first few days at sea there was a strong ebb. Yes, it was possible to swim (unlike neighboring hotels, the same Hayat), but we were not inspired by the appearance of the sea and we went to the pool.
In the pool, the water heats up to about 40 degrees during the day and it is extremely difficult to cool in it, so it is better to swim in it in the late afternoon, when the heat subsides - it is warm in the pool, and when you leave it you feel a pleasant coolness. I would like to note that the water in the pool is clean and does not smell of bleach, which indicates a good cleaning system. In general, the pool is very beautiful and swimming in it is a pleasure.
Working hours of the pool, if my memory serves me right: from 7 am to 9 pm (bright in Bali around 6, it also gets dark around 18 o'clock). The beach is open until 18:00. Of course, you can swim later, but at your own responsibility, because lifeguards and security work on the beach until 18:00.
One interesting feature: the beach (10 meters from the sea) belongs to the state and cannot be transferred to private hands, so formally the hotel territory begins with a green lawn, but in fact only hotel tourists rested on the beach, although no one drove out local children or tourists from neighboring hotels from our beach.
There were always free sunbeds on the beach and around the pool. Large towels are issued free of charge on site upon presentation of the pass, which you will receive upon check-in. This is very convenient, because you do not need to carry a towel with you and you can get a dry towel instead of your wet one at any time. Leaving the beach or pool, you hand over your towel and pick up your pass. You must return this pass at check-out, but if you forget to pick it up, this will mean that you did not return the towel and you will be charged $ 35 from the deposit. Quite fair, in my opinion.
It is very convenient that the hotel photographer is constantly working on the beach - his name is Typhoon, he works under a contract, he came from Turkey, he knows how to explain himself in Russian. The photo shoot itself is free and lasts about an hour, and then you can buy the pictures you like for $6. Negotiate for large quantities; )
As for the Internet, the hotel is unrealistically expensive. The solution is simple: buy a Telcomsel SIM card and connect the Internet package. I connected a 2 GB package for $6 and used a Samsung galaxy laptop, so I could quickly share photos and small videos of what was happening with friends. The quality of the network is good, the speed is even nothing - I watched an hour-long video from youtube on the fly and it never slowed down for me. Mail, skype, messengers - no problem at all. You will be explained how it is cheaper to call Russia during the sale.
By the way, Blackberry is very popular in Indonesia, so if you use it, you can safely take it with you, the BIS service is connected when you buy a SIM card.
I offer a few more photos of the hotel, because we will not return to it:
The whole hotel is done very skillfully with a large number of sculptures.
The Nusa Dua area itself is a tourist area, the best hotels are collected here, there is an access control and a special security system, so there are very few local people in Nusa Dua (mostly only employees of establishments and taxi drivers).
In general, this area is designed for a relaxing holiday, and if you need something "more fun", then it makes sense to consider other areas, the same Kuta. I would like to separately note the goodwill of the Balinese. Their Hindu religion suggests that you need to bring good to everyone, and evil spoils your karma.
In this regard, all the Balinese are constantly smiling, and doing it sincerely, they call you master, they try to please you, regardless of whether you buy something from him or not. It is very comfortable to be among such people, you involuntarily begin to smile at everyone you meet, and this makes you feel calm and gracious in your soul. Interestingly, the level of knowledge of the Russian language in Bali is quite high, higher than the same in Phuket, many can speak Russian. According to our guide Agus, the locals began to actively learn Russian after the 2002 terrorist attack, because after it, tourists from other countries stopped coming here, and the Russians were not afraid - why should we be afraid of some kind of terrorist attack ...It turns out that Now in the field of tourism, the Balinese are largely oriented towards us, which is very pleasing.
Having walked around the territory of the neighboring Hayat, we decided, as many other tourists noted in the reviews, that the beach of Ayiodia is better, the territory and architecture of the hotel is more interesting. That is, in general, when choosing between Hayat and Ayiodia, it makes sense to choose Ayiodia, especially since the prices in it are somewhat lower than in Hayat. By no means do I want to say that Hyatt is bad, the hotel and its territory are good, the class of both hotels is the same, and the choice between them is a matter of taste, it’s just that Ayodiya, in our opinion, has done everything more interestingly, in the Balinese style.
So, two days flew by and on the third day we went on an excursion to the Kintamani volcano. I want to note in advance that it is better to take excursions every other day, because most of them last from morning to evening and it is rather tiring to visit such excursions for several days in a row. Personally, I liked all the excursions that took place in the mountains, because, firstly, it is cooler there than below, and secondly, it is very beautiful!
It includes many villages, each of which specializes in its own art (wood, stone, etc. ). Everything is very beautiful, the prices are different, you can bargain, but the size of most products excludes the possibility of their free movement to your homeland.
Next, we visited a coffee plantation, where we met the miracle animal Luwak, which produces the most expensive coffee in the world by passing coffee beans through its digestive tract. According to our guide, luwak coffee is caffeine-free. Of course, we tasted all sorts of coffees and teas.
After that, everyone could buy coffee, tea, fruit, and we went to the volcano. We did not climb the volcano itself, but stopped at the lake, which, as I understand it, is located in its crater. This lake is called - Batur.
A very beautiful view opened before us. Against this backdrop, we had lunch and set off on our way back.
On the way back, our bus broke down and we had to walk for 15 minutes along a winding mountain road. This didn’t upset us, but rather pleased us, because it’s cool in the mountains, the air is clean, and there is beauty around ...And those whiners who thought breakfast at the hotel was poor would probably have fallen into depression))). By the way, on all excursions, lunch is much poorer than breakfast at the hotel, it’s hard for me to imagine what unbearable agony such gentlemen experienced from this! The way back took us about 2-3 hours, during which Agus told us about the culture of the Balinese. We were very lucky with the guide, at the end of our holiday he gave us his business cards and asked us to recommend him to friends. Agus can help you organize any excursions in Bali and beyond. Once again, I clarify that he speaks Russian very well.
On the way back, we visited a jewelry store, next to which there was a cool sculpture of funny pigs.
In general, there are a lot of sculptures in Bali, they are everywhere, large and small, sometimes huge, along the road and in the middle of it, next to shops, cafes, in short, wherever possible. This greatly decorates the city and gives an idea of the attitude of the Balinese.
There are a lot of tropical fruits in Bali, we got to the mango season. In total they have over 20 varieties of mangoes, we managed to try about 10.
Our next trip was to Uluwatu. On the way, we stopped by to look at the largest sculpture in the world under construction - God sitting on Garuda. The sculpture is not completed and is still standing in parts.
After that, we headed to Uluwatu - the temple on the rock. There are a lot of monkeys in Uluwatu, they are very arrogant here, they can take something from you and have to exchange it for food. When we were there, a monkey stole a slipper from a girl and people tried to exchange it for juice, bananas and other things. I don’t know how this adventure ended, because.
Our next excursion is a safari park. Children like it very much. This tour takes a whole day. There you can either just walk or ride a bus or jeep around the territory, ride an elephant, lunch is also on the territory. There is also a small water park (we were also in a separate Water Boom water park, it didn’t impress me, but many people liked it), rides, the Agung Show theatrical performance, which tells about the history of Bali - very interesting and beautiful - I recommend to go.
The next excursion is quad biking through the rice fields. Very beautiful views, fresh air, because skiing takes place in the mountains (Ubud area). True, I came across an ugly ATV, but this could not upset me, because I was looking for a positive. What would those who have poor breakfast say - think for yourself.
The next excursion is rafting. Rafting is awesome!
The mountain river (Ayung, Ubud district) is harmless enough, no danger to life, but the beauty is indescribable. When you are moving along a narrow mountain river in a narrow gorge, and rocks rise a hundred meters above you on both sides, you forget about everything. There are also many hotels in this area right on the hills and we could see them during the rafting - very beautiful. This tour was my favorite. Of course we all got wet, but it's worth it. It’s a pity that we didn’t manage to take pictures of the best views, because it’s unrealistic to shoot while moving.
Our next and last excursion is swimming with dolphins. To do this, it was necessary to cross the entire island and the journey took 4 hours. We drove the shortest way through mountain serpentines, very picturesque. Destination is the Singaraja (Lion King) region. Remarkably, in this area, the humidity is much lower and the temperature is higher.
I would never have thought that within the same island there could be such a strong difference in climate on different sides. The same applies to precipitation: in one area there is a tropical downpour, and in another the sun is scorching and there is not a cloud in the sky - and all this within a relatively small island. On the way to Singaraja, we stopped at Lake Bratan.
Strawberries are grown in the Lake Bratan area, and of course we did not miss the opportunity to taste fresh strawberries. After that, we headed to the dolphinarium, feeding the monkeys along the way, including strawberries. Here is the funniest photo of the event.
Finally we got to the dolphins. 4 hours of travel for 15 minutes of swimming with dolphins. But it was worth it, everyone was delighted.
On the way back we stopped to look at a small waterfall. Although it is small, it is still a beautiful place.
So the last day of our stay in Bali came up, on which we bought additional souvenirs and started packing our bags. By the way, with regard to souvenirs, I highly recommend the large "Batik Keris" store in the Discovery shopping center (this is the only decent shopping center, don't even waste your time on the rest). A transfer took us to the airport, and we went to check in for the flight. Here the Koreans set us up, because we had to fly to Seoul with the Garuda Indonesia airline. I can’t say anything bad about this company, but I liked flying with Koreans more, especially since it was on them that we bought tickets. That's probably all, it is clear that within the framework of this review it is impossible to convey everything that we saw, but the general idea should be formed. We enjoyed our stay very much and we will definitely be back!
Who is this review for? This review is for people who prefer a relaxing holiday without covens and unjustified risks. If the image of "Tagilites" from "our rush" is close to you, then you'd better close this page and not waste your time. If you like relaxation, the sea, walks, excursions - this is for you.
So, we rested as a couple, our trip lasted from November 17 to 30.2012. Taking into account the fact that the road takes almost a day, we had 12 days for the rest itself. We traveled with Korean Airlines via Seoul. Seoul to Denpasar is a 6.5 hour flight. This, of course, is not a little, but if you compare it with the flight time from Moscow, then everything does not look so bad. In Denpasar, our plane landed at about 3 am local time.
Reading the reviews before the flight, I noted that it can take up to 1 hour to pass the control. I was not particularly pleased, because at such a late hour I wanted to fall on the bed and sleep. To my surprise, we spent 20 minutes on everything about everything, and at the exit from the airport a transfer was already waiting for us. I think everything went so quickly, because we arrived at night and there were no queues anywhere, but if you arrive during the day, you can spend more time due to the fact that, most likely, the intensity of tourist arrival is higher during the day (only a day for Bali arrives 6 thousand tourists). Even before the trip, reading the reviews, I was a little strained by the control mechanism, it was indicated that everything was very strict, it was necessary to take a picture and "roll your fingers" right at the airport.
Fortunately, none of this happened, the procedure turned out to be quite simple: we were given two declarations on the plane, which we filled out right on board, after getting off the plane we paid for a visa ($ 25 per person for 30 days), after which we calmly passed control and headed to the hotel. To pay for a visa, on the way from the plane to the control there will be a ticket office with a yellow sign "visa on arrival", it is advisable not to pass by it and be in the front row in the queue - this is a guarantee that you will spend a minimum of time going through all the formalities. On your way to the exit of the airport, you will meet an exchange office where you can exchange your money for local rupees. Looking ahead, I’ll say that the rate (9300 rupees for $ 1) can be called average (in the hotel they changed at 9100, in Bali collection and the Discovery shopping center at 9300, in the village at 9500-9550, and we met the highest rate in the pearl store - 9600 , but it is already very far away and you won’t go there specially for this). i. e.
you can safely change money for the first time at the airport, there you are unlikely to be deceived.
So, we left the airport and breathed in the warm and humid tropical air. Yes, it was hot, but much more comfortable than in Phuket. We were met by Vanyan - the driver of the travel agency. He could speak Russian, greeted us and we went to the car. We walked for about 5 minutes, according to Vanyan, we realized that we had to go to the hotel for about 20 minutes. Since it was dark, along the way we didn’t have much time to see anything and after about 20 minutes we arrived at the Ayodya Resort Bali (hereinafter referred to as Ayodya). I read a lot of rave reviews about this hotel, its scale and grandeur. But nevertheless, the size and arrangement of the lobby had a wow effect on me.
We went to the reception to check in. In many reviews, I found references to the Russian girl Olga, who works at the reception and helps Russian tourists.
At the time of settlement, she was not (and during the rest, I never saw her). But, despite this, we settled quickly enough and without any problems. Upon check-in, we were charged a deposit of $200, which we received back with the same banknotes upon check-out. From the reviews, I knew that the lower floor of the hotel is very damp and it is better to take a higher floor. When booking the hotel, we expressed our wish and upon check-in we also reminded of this. As a result, we got a room on the 5th floor, which we did not regret. Moreover, I recommend exactly the 5th floor, because it is better to see the territory of the hotel from it. I also recommend taking an odd number, because their windows overlook the inner territory of the hotel, which is much more beautiful than what is located outside (wasteland, golf course). The design of the hotel is such that the lobby is located on the 3rd floor, restaurants, swimming pool, beach - on the first floor.
The hotel is very large, like many other hotels in Nusa Dua, so it took 5 minutes to walk from the lobby to our room at a leisurely pace, but it didn’t bother me at all, because everything was done very beautifully and it’s extremely difficult to get tired of it during the holidays.
Opening the door of the room, we saw a very solid room (delux) in a classic design, a lot of natural wood, a large area, a full balcony, a good bathroom (although there is no shower).
In many reviews I read that the rooms are very shabby and this is very frustrating for many tourists. Well, what can I say: maybe we were lucky, but our room was in good condition. Yes, the parquet is a little worn, but it's natural wood and it just can't always look like new. Everything else was in decent condition.
Also, in my personal opinion, if you came to relax, and not to look for reasons for negativity, then you are unlikely to be upset by those small flaws, without which, probably, there are no hotels at all - as they say, you cannot please everyone. It was dark outside the window, we could not appreciate the view from the balcony, and decided to go to bed. Waking up at dawn, I first went to the balcony in order to appreciate the beauty of the view. We can say that we were lucky, because from our room on the fifth floor there was a very beautiful view of the inside of the hotel, and specifically of the lagoon.
After waking up, washing up, we went to breakfast. There are two restaurants in Ayiodia (Lagoona and Waterfall) that provide breakfast and you can visit the one you want. We often went to Lagoona because it is located next to the sea. It is, firstly, more beautiful, and, secondly, you can immediately assess the stage of high / low tide on the sea. We went to Waterfall on those days when excursions started very early, because.
this restaurant is closer to the lobby and as a result, you could save about 10 minutes on moving around the hotel. The menu is about the same here and there, in Waterfall there is a little more choice, but in general we liked it more in Laguna because of the proximity of the sea.
Some of the tourists in the reviews noted that the breakfast does not correspond to five stars, which made them very upset. Again I will express my subjective opinion: the breakfast is good, there is everything you need (fruits, vegetables, juices, scrambled eggs, sausage, cheese, bacon, milk porridge, cereals, pastries, tea, coffee), maybe those gentlemen who did not like it, breakfast is more varied at home, but this is unlikely; most likely they came to look for reasons for negativity, and not to enjoy. We didn’t get tired of breakfast in 12 days, moreover, I wouldn’t refuse to have breakfast like that always!
Having a snack, we went to a meeting with a Russian-speaking representative of the Bounty travel agency.
He was ready to answer our questions and of course sell us excursions. In many reviews, tourists write that it is cheaper to use local taxi drivers who will take you for $ 40 all day. Yes, it’s probably cheaper (although not a fact, because you paid only for the car, and you will buy all the tickets yourself, and travel agencies often have special conditions) and no worse, but we still stopped on tours of the travel agency, and did not regret it, because we really liked our guide Agus, who speaks fluent Russian and never ceases to amaze with his vocabulary. The first day of our vacation fell on Sunday, and we booked the tour only for Tuesday, because different excursions take place on different days, and the first one we were advised to visit was an excursion to the Kintamani volcano, because it most of all corresponds to the category of sightseeing tours in Bali .
Sunday and Monday we explored the hotel grounds, and the nearby area of Nusa Dua, such as the shopping street of Bali Collection and the village of Bualo. Bali Collection is a street of small shops, cafes and a Coco supermarket where you can buy souvenirs, clothes and snacks. On foot from Ayiodia - 10 minutes, by taxi - $ 2.
The village of Boileau is a souvenir shopping mall (similar to a Chinese market, but you can find good quality souvenirs), a small supermarket and a few cafes. 5 minutes walk to the village, we often went there for dinner because of the more convenient location. The first few days at sea there was a strong ebb. Yes, it was possible to swim (unlike neighboring hotels, the same Hayat), but we were not inspired by the appearance of the sea and we went to the pool.
In the pool, the water heats up to about 40 degrees during the day and it is extremely difficult to cool in it, so it is better to swim in it in the late afternoon, when the heat subsides - it is warm in the pool, and when you leave it you feel a pleasant coolness. I would like to note that the water in the pool is clean and does not smell of bleach, which indicates a good cleaning system. In general, the pool is very beautiful and swimming in it is a pleasure.
Working hours of the pool, if my memory serves me right: from 7 am to 9 pm (bright in Bali around 6, it also gets dark around 18 o'clock). The beach is open until 18:00. Of course, you can swim later, but at your own responsibility, because lifeguards and security work on the beach until 18:00.
One interesting feature: the beach (10 meters from the sea) belongs to the state and cannot be transferred to private hands, so formally the hotel territory begins with a green lawn, but in fact only hotel tourists rested on the beach, although no one drove out local children or tourists from neighboring hotels from our beach.
There were always free sunbeds on the beach and around the pool. Large towels are issued free of charge on site upon presentation of the pass, which you will receive upon check-in. This is very convenient, because you do not need to carry a towel with you and you can get a dry towel instead of your wet one at any time. Leaving the beach or pool, you hand over your towel and pick up your pass. You must return this pass at check-out, but if you forget to pick it up, this will mean that you did not return the towel and you will be charged $ 35 from the deposit. Quite fair, in my opinion.
It is very convenient that the hotel photographer is constantly working on the beach - his name is Typhoon, he works under a contract, he came from Turkey, he knows how to explain himself in Russian. The photo shoot itself is free and lasts about an hour, and then you can buy the pictures you like for $6. Negotiate for large quantities; )
As for the Internet, the hotel is unrealistically expensive. The solution is simple: buy a Telcomsel SIM card and connect the Internet package. I connected a 2 GB package for $6 and used a Samsung galaxy laptop, so I could quickly share photos and small videos of what was happening with friends. The quality of the network is good, the speed is even nothing - I watched an hour-long video from youtube on the fly and it never slowed down for me. Mail, skype, messengers - no problem at all. You will be explained how it is cheaper to call Russia during the sale.
By the way, Blackberry is very popular in Indonesia, so if you use it, you can safely take it with you, the BIS service is connected when you buy a SIM card.
I offer a few more photos of the hotel, because we will not return to it:
The whole hotel is done very skillfully with a large number of sculptures.
The Nusa Dua area itself is a tourist area, the best hotels are collected here, there is an access control and a special security system, so there are very few local people in Nusa Dua (mostly only employees of establishments and taxi drivers).
In general, this area is designed for a relaxing holiday, and if you need something "more fun", then it makes sense to consider other areas, the same Kuta. I would like to separately note the goodwill of the Balinese. Their Hindu religion suggests that you need to bring good to everyone, and evil spoils your karma.
In this regard, all the Balinese are constantly smiling, and doing it sincerely, they call you master, they try to please you, regardless of whether you buy something from him or not. It is very comfortable to be among such people, you involuntarily begin to smile at everyone you meet, and this makes you feel calm and gracious in your soul. Interestingly, the level of knowledge of the Russian language in Bali is quite high, higher than the same in Phuket, many can speak Russian. According to our guide Agus, the locals began to actively learn Russian after the 2002 terrorist attack, because after it, tourists from other countries stopped coming here, and the Russians were not afraid - why should we be afraid of some kind of terrorist attack ...It turns out that Now in the field of tourism, the Balinese are largely oriented towards us, which is very pleasing.
Having walked around the territory of the neighboring Hayat, we decided, as many other tourists noted in the reviews, that the beach of Ayiodia is better, the territory and architecture of the hotel is more interesting. That is, in general, when choosing between Hayat and Ayiodia, it makes sense to choose Ayiodia, especially since the prices in it are somewhat lower than in Hayat. By no means do I want to say that Hyatt is bad, the hotel and its territory are good, the class of both hotels is the same, and the choice between them is a matter of taste, it’s just that Ayodiya, in our opinion, has done everything more interestingly, in the Balinese style.
So, two days flew by and on the third day we went on an excursion to the Kintamani volcano. I want to note in advance that it is better to take excursions every other day, because most of them last from morning to evening and it is rather tiring to visit such excursions for several days in a row. Personally, I liked all the excursions that took place in the mountains, because, firstly, it is cooler there than below, and secondly, it is very beautiful!
It includes many villages, each of which specializes in its own art (wood, stone, etc. ). Everything is very beautiful, the prices are different, you can bargain, but the size of most products excludes the possibility of their free movement to your homeland.
Next, we visited a coffee plantation, where we met the miracle animal Luwak, which produces the most expensive coffee in the world by passing coffee beans through its digestive tract. According to our guide, luwak coffee is caffeine-free. Of course, we tasted all sorts of coffees and teas.
After that, everyone could buy coffee, tea, fruit, and we went to the volcano. We did not climb the volcano itself, but stopped at the lake, which, as I understand it, is located in its crater. This lake is called - Batur.
A very beautiful view opened before us. Against this backdrop, we had lunch and set off on our way back.
On the way back, our bus broke down and we had to walk for 15 minutes along a winding mountain road. This didn’t upset us, but rather pleased us, because it’s cool in the mountains, the air is clean, and there is beauty around ...And those whiners who thought breakfast at the hotel was poor would probably have fallen into depression))). By the way, on all excursions, lunch is much poorer than breakfast at the hotel, it’s hard for me to imagine what unbearable agony such gentlemen experienced from this! The way back took us about 2-3 hours, during which Agus told us about the culture of the Balinese. We were very lucky with the guide, at the end of our holiday he gave us his business cards and asked us to recommend him to friends. Agus can help you organize any excursions in Bali and beyond. Once again, I clarify that he speaks Russian very well.
On the way back, we visited a jewelry store, next to which there was a cool sculpture of funny pigs.
In general, there are a lot of sculptures in Bali, they are everywhere, large and small, sometimes huge, along the road and in the middle of it, next to shops, cafes, in short, wherever possible. This greatly decorates the city and gives an idea of the attitude of the Balinese.
There are a lot of tropical fruits in Bali, we got to the mango season. In total they have over 20 varieties of mangoes, we managed to try about 10.
Our next trip was to Uluwatu. On the way, we stopped by to look at the largest sculpture in the world under construction - God sitting on Garuda. The sculpture is not completed and is still standing in parts.
After that, we headed to Uluwatu - the temple on the rock. There are a lot of monkeys in Uluwatu, they are very arrogant here, they can take something from you and have to exchange it for food. When we were there, a monkey stole a slipper from a girl and people tried to exchange it for juice, bananas and other things. I don’t know how this adventure ended, because.
Our next excursion is a safari park. Children like it very much. This tour takes a whole day. There you can either just walk or ride a bus or jeep around the territory, ride an elephant, lunch is also on the territory. There is also a small water park (we were also in a separate Water Boom water park, it didn’t impress me, but many people liked it), rides, the Agung Show theatrical performance, which tells about the history of Bali - very interesting and beautiful - I recommend to go.
The next excursion is quad biking through the rice fields. Very beautiful views, fresh air, because skiing takes place in the mountains (Ubud area). True, I came across an ugly ATV, but this could not upset me, because I was looking for a positive. What would those who have poor breakfast say - think for yourself.
The next excursion is rafting. Rafting is awesome!
The mountain river (Ayung, Ubud district) is harmless enough, no danger to life, but the beauty is indescribable. When you are moving along a narrow mountain river in a narrow gorge, and rocks rise a hundred meters above you on both sides, you forget about everything. There are also many hotels in this area right on the hills and we could see them during the rafting - very beautiful. This tour was my favorite. Of course we all got wet, but it's worth it. It’s a pity that we didn’t manage to take pictures of the best views, because it’s unrealistic to shoot while moving.
Our next and last excursion is swimming with dolphins. To do this, it was necessary to cross the entire island and the journey took 4 hours. We drove the shortest way through mountain serpentines, very picturesque. Destination is the Singaraja (Lion King) region. Remarkably, in this area, the humidity is much lower and the temperature is higher.
I would never have thought that within the same island there could be such a strong difference in climate on different sides. The same applies to precipitation: in one area there is a tropical downpour, and in another the sun is scorching and there is not a cloud in the sky - and all this within a relatively small island. On the way to Singaraja, we stopped at Lake Bratan.
Strawberries are grown in the Lake Bratan area, and of course we did not miss the opportunity to taste fresh strawberries. After that, we headed to the dolphinarium, feeding the monkeys along the way, including strawberries. Here is the funniest photo of the event.
Finally we got to the dolphins. 4 hours of travel for 15 minutes of swimming with dolphins. But it was worth it, everyone was delighted.
On the way back we stopped to look at a small waterfall. Although it is small, it is still a beautiful place.
So the last day of our stay in Bali came up, on which we bought additional souvenirs and started packing our bags. By the way, with regard to souvenirs, I highly recommend the large "Batik Keris" store in the Discovery shopping center (this is the only decent shopping center, don't even waste your time on the rest). A transfer took us to the airport, and we went to check in for the flight. Here the Koreans set us up, because we had to fly to Seoul with the Garuda Indonesia airline. I can’t say anything bad about this company, but I liked flying with Koreans more, especially since it was on them that we bought tickets. That's probably all, it is clear that within the framework of this review it is impossible to convey everything that we saw, but the general idea should be formed. We enjoyed our stay very much and we will definitely be back!
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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