In Reply to: Any1 stayed in Bakungsari hotel b4? posted by samboo on Monday, 13. February 2006 at 12:01 Bali Time:
I have stayed here and would again for a cheap holiday.
The good and bad, in my opinion:
Good price.
Be sure to pay a little extra and get the superior room - even these are basic, but the standard rooms are terrible.
Pool not large but clean and adequate.
Snacks good and well priced if you want to eat at hotel during the day (eg, clubsandwiches, burgers, fries, etc).
Superior rooms overlooking the garden (rooms closest to reception) have nicest outlook.
Restaurant staff friendly (reception staff not as "warm" as most Balinese)
Our room had new split system air-cond - excellent
Also new (small) fridge - excellent also - cold enough to make ice-blocks!!
Our bathroom was very basic. Not sure if that's how it is, or if it was ready to be renovated. There was no tiling in the bathroom at all. Basin mounted on the wall (well, almost, it fell off once - LOL!). Very small mirrored cupboard on wall above basin. Toilet of course. No bath. Shower nozzle on wall - no shower curtain or anything to separate the shower area, so water just sprayed in to the bathroom. (Don't take your clean clothes in with you - they'ld definitely get wet).
Our room had the new beds. It was a twin room, and the beds seem to be larger than a standard single. Unfortunately they still had the old sheets, so they didn't fit the bed. I got tired of getting wrapped up like a mummy in my bottom sheet, so after two uncomfortable nights I starting leaving the quilt on the bed, sleeping on top of that with the top sheet thrown over me - it was better. The sheets were a little grey, but they were clean, so I didn't care.
I bought a pillow ($3) at Matahari's for a bit of extra comfort - Mind you, even staying at 4*, the pillows can be a bit hit and miss.
Location is a personal thing - depends on what you want. Like others have said, the LVH is more in the "middle of things" than the BakungSari. Mind you, it's not miles away, more on the outskirts but certainly walking distance to lots of things, and of course taxis are so cheap. One good thing, "The Pub" is a stone's throw from the hotel - a fairly quiet watering-hole these days, but the best satay sticks in Bali (lol)
Like I said, I would stay there again - my thoughts are, you get what you pay for.