As a thank you to those of you who have posted some very useful information on this board I would like to add my 2 cents worth. Being a talkative sort of twit I'll probably add more than that, and I won't feel appreciated unless at least one silly Sheila takes exception to something I've written. For what it's worth, I'm a Canadian who lives in Europe and in the past I've lived in Australia. I still have relatives there.
I came here looking for background information on Bali and in particular the Inna Putri Bali hotel (IPB from now on). One German travel wholesaler lists the hotel as 3½ star place with a pretty reasonable price of Eu1200 (Aus$2000) per head for two weeks in a bungalow, breakfast buffet and flights through Singapore. We would usually travel to Phuket at this time of year but this price is almost EU550 cheaper than similar offers in the Kata Beach area of Phuket.
There isn't much recent information on IPB so I searched the archives and I found a few comments like 'functional', 'in need of upgrading', and 'suitable, but not like it once was'. I also found that this website shows IPB to be a 5 star resort. I've worked in the resort industry and I knew not to get my hopes up. There are certain minimums of service and accommodation needed to get even a 3 star rating, and the price being asked here was not 5 or even 4 star pricing.
It was just a quick inspection in the room when we got there and I knew I would have to talk with management/maintenance. The A/C worked, but the television didn't. There weren't enough towels in the bathroom and the hand basin and bathtub would drain only very slowly. There wasn't much toilet paper on the roll and there were a few cobwebs in the corners too. Obviously the room hadn't been used (except perhaps as a staff bathroom) or even inspected in quite a while. But as it was late in the evening, that could all wait for morning. One of the services necessary for a higher star rating is 24 restaurant and room service so we went off to enjoy some sate, chicken wings and bintang before turning in.
Before I finish this first bit of my report (and before everyone thinks I'm a gormless whinger) I should say that this room was really nice. We had a king sized bed, hard wood furniture, a big, tiled bathroom and a walled and partially covered patio. We had shade out there at all times, and direct sunlight for several hours per day. We could (and did) indulge all of our decadent European habits without offending anyone.