Ok...instead of thinking and toiling over my report for hours on end I am just going to jump straight in otherwise I will procrastinate and it will be out dated by time I post so apologies for poor grammar or jumping from topic to topic if I do.......
Intro
Been to Bali many times over the years and got married in Bali in 2001 and went back for our first wedding anniversary in 2002 and had not been back since as we now have 2 year old daughter.
Must admit although we love Bali so much we were a little scared for our safety since we were taking our 2 year old...felt very different taking a child....we worried about what she would eat and the heat and god forbid the terrorist situation but I can say our fears were all gone once we arrived and got into the Bali wonderful lifestyle and we had a fabulous time.
Me, myself and hubby and mum, sister, aunty, niece and her friend.
Flight
Flew Garuda Perth Denpasar. Great flight, nice food and soooo nice to see a friendly smile and helpful service for once as we had recently been to Gold Coast on domestic airline (not mentioning names) with our daughter who was 18 months old and received no help, no smiles but with Garuda the staff were wonderful and kept coming up to talk to our daughter and make her laugh...very pleasant change and made me remember why I love Bali so much.....the people.
Left Perth on the late arvo flight.....2pm and arrived in Bali around 5:30pm. Small plane so hardly took any time to get our VOA....$25 US each including our 2 year old. Paid in Aus dollar....very decent exchange rate considering at the airport...around 7000 I think so really not worth changing into US dollars before you leave in my opinion.
Collected luggage and straight through Customs....easy peasy.
Transport to Hotel
The hotel was there to pick us up even though we had not paid for transfers but our Bali friends (who organised our Wedding) were there to pick us up. Our wedding was the first one they did and now they are one of the largest wedding companies in Bali (Bali Exotic Wedding) so they have become like family to us as I have recommended them to many friends here.
Anyway didn't get to hotel until just after 7pm as the traffic was terrible. Apparently just changed the roads to our hotel to one way so it had caused some confusion and major traffic jam.
Hotel
Stayed at the Kuta Beach Club Hotel
Located: in Tuban across road from Kuta Paradiso
The name of the hotel made it sound that this was the place for youngins but my mum and sister stayed in November and loved it.
Was really pleasantly surprised how good it was for the price. Two really large pools with swim up bar. Child pool too.
Staff were so friendly and nothing too much trouble. Would heat up tin food I had bought for my daughter, played with our daughter, got us tea and coffee whenever we wanted, just so easygoing...no problem if you forgot to sign your towels back in, etc
I think these smaller hotels really make you feel special as all the staff know you and nothing is too much trouble.
Room - was clean and tidy....I will say the room was a little smaller than some places we have stayed but definitely fine for 2 people.....I probably found it small because my daughter had all her toys and stuff all over the place and she shared our bed...although you could ask for a put up bed but we thought considering how small the room was it would make it too cramped. Don't get me wrong, despite the small room we loved the place.
They also have deluxe rooms and suites. We just had the standard room.
Food in Hotel: great prices so it was wonderful being able to sit back and order food, drinks, etc without worrying about what the bill would cost at the end of the trip.....100% mango juices to die for at $1.65 each....lovely to sit at pool bar sipping one of these.
Internet Access - cost only 500 rupiah for 1 minute so 10 minutes cost about 70 cents. Hardly anyone uses so always available to use anytime of day and night.
Location: The location was perfect for us. Very short stroll to Matahari in Kuta Square and much to our daughters delight, McDonalds...she went almost every day and became known on first name basis by the staff who fussed over her like no tomorrow....i think this was one of the main attractions and reason for her asking to go to 'donnies' as she calls it every minute of the day.
Also across the road from great DVD shop, SAKURA.
Not that far up to Centro Shopping Centre, pizza hut and across the road from Beach markets so everything was at our doorstop......great especially with small child.
So after arriving we all had dinner and drinks at the hotel and happened to be Karaoke night with the owner of the hotel singing her little heart out.
To be continued
To be continued shortly...