In Reply to: Mara river safari lodge - 1 night or 2? posted by Jugurtha on Friday, 19. February 2010 at 21:46 Bali Time:
1n for the 2nd time. We did think you could do it for 2n, a few others there were doing that, but definitely not 3n I think. It means you could relax at the hotel at the hottest part of the day and then do the park in stages when it's cooler in the am or pm. This is particularly the case with small children. We arrived at ~12.30 & within 30secs of leaving our room they'd had enough! (It was pretty hot!) Of note, there is now a kids club there behind the rooms. They wanted to go in there and I couldn't drop them off quick enough - didn't even ask how much! Ordered them lunch from the lion restaurant which was del'd to them there. They went in from 1-4pm. Turns out it was US5 p/child, p/hr. This may not be what most people want to do but this was our kids 3rd or 4th visit to park so they'd already done it all. We were then able to take our 16yr old and his friend around (who haven't been before) for a couple of hours without the constant whinging of the other two because of the heat & walking.
Each time we've had the Kifaru room and if you want space this is the way to go. I haven't seen the other rooms but I think maybe they would just be one room?? whereas the Kifaru has 2 separate bedrooms off the lounge room and 2 bathrooms (showers only).
They give you a guest card for your stay (which no-one ever asks to see) The day guests have a blue wrist band usually. You can just wander into the park at anytime so you could do that throughout your entire stay. The only thing you might be limited on is how many times you can go on the safari train journey as they issue you with one voucher for this. Once you've done it tho, you really don't need to go again. And if you really felt the need to go again you could pay! If you want a photo with the animals this is also not included but pretty cheap at 30K p/p with your own camera. Camel/pony rides 30k ea and the water park (like a mini waterbom for younger kids - and plenty of big kids using it too! - 35K entry p/p.
The free transfer is strictly to the airport. Last year they told me you couldn't take the free tourist shuttle with luggage although this time they said we could. Not really worth it tho I reckon with luggage and kids. We asked for p/up from Legian for 6 of us (they quoted 20US for this), then the next day my son and his friend to the airport (this was free) and us onto Ubud (15US - charged as 150K rp). They sent a bus to pick us up in Legian and then cars transported us the next day. I don't think it's that much money at the end of the day, particularly with kids, for a comfortable transfer.
Hope this is some help for you. : )