In Reply to: Saren Indah - Tegal Sari posted by barnaby on Tuesday, 5. May 2009 at 03:59 Bali Time:
Like you, I was disappointed that the Tegal Sari was booked out when I tried to book recently. Having stayed there about a year or two earlier, we had fab memories of the TS & wanted to return. As an alternative, we booked the Saren Indah since it was available at short notice. (Fortunately we have been able to rebook the gorgeous TS for part of our future trip... something to look forward to!)
A COMPARISON:
Staff: are helpful at both hotels - friendlier at TS, from my experience. TS staff had a better command of English, so easier to communicate. The Manager at SI is the driver of hotel vehicle who will drive you into town centre. He is very approachable & a wealth of knowledge.
Grounds: SI has lush gardens, pretty winding ponds & small but adequate pool.
TS has breathtaking views of rice padi's & beyond (no need to give details here since you have already stayed at TS).
TS is far superior IMHO, but nothing wrong with SI's grounds/pool.
Room Service: seemed non-existent at SI. We needed to go to the sml restaurant for breakfast - not able to be delivered to room. My children could not eat some of the egg dishes - just were not to their liking.
We loved the breakfasts at TS - in particular the delivery to our tiled terrace each morn.
Both hotel's food reasonably costed.
Position: SI is probably a little handier since you can walk through the Monkey Forest a couple of doors away & make your way quickly by foot to the bottom of Monkey Forest Rd.
TS is a fair walk to bottom of Monkey Forest Rd, put interesting to walk past shops, as you would be aware.
Both hotels have local, complimentary transport.
Décor: This is where the BIG difference lies...
I was particularly disappointed in the SI. The downstairs rooms where we stayed had a tired décor & dark bathroom, no curtain to the shower that was situated above the bath - water therefore flooded the floor each time we showered. Furniture, fittings... everything was old & tired (but VERY clean). I was not able to see my face clearly in the sml dark mirror just outside the bthrm - there is no vanity in the SI bthrm. The curtains did not fully cover the windows - upstairs rms could see onto our bed in our downstairs room. No in-room safe (only a plastic holder provided at Reception). No elec. jugs in rms (just thermos of hot water). I found the interiors dark & depressing & would not choose to stay there again.
On reflection, I believe the upstairs rooms may be better since I believe those rooms are featured on the SI website. Upstairs rms were not available though when we booked, hence we stayed downstairs in 4 rms over the period of our stay.
Meanwhile, the TS ‘super deluxe' rooms that we had stayed in were bright & airy with floor to ceiling wooden framed sliding doors leading out to a large, fully tiled deck that overlooked the rice padi. Our TS rooms were downstairs too but were bright with a glorious outlook. The furnishings were an easy modern style, light in colour. The bathroom was first class with its heavy frameless frosted shower screen, modern quality fittings, corner deep bath & bright vanity. In room safe was a bonus & bedding was far superior to the SI.
Overall: Saren Indah rooms are in dire need of a revamp.... IMHO. They are rather tired & daggy & no comparison to the bright, more modern interiors of the gorgeous Tegal Sari.
Both are small, well-run hotels with a Balinese ambience situated in lush gardens.
Hope this is of some help. Have you tried the Greenfields Bungalows next door to the TS? I have not stayed there but rooms on their website looked varied & superior to SI. Perhaps other BTF members could assist with a Greenfields comparison.
Good-luck!