I know it's a bit late but work soon gets you when you're back in the real world!
We flew over in the school holidays due to a few of us being teachers, one of them a new teacher who didn't have the advantage of taking long service leave.
We flew Jetstar and couldn't fault them at all. Quickest trip ever through immigration and customs, which was great. Our friend and driver, Wayan, was there to greet us with a smile and it was "Welcome back to Bali!"
We stayed at The Breezes Resort and loved it. We were a bit nervous at what we might find, after all the negative posts regarding change of management etc. Despite all of this, we had a great time. The rooms were nice, staff friendly and breakfast great. The pools were also nice and we had no problems getting a sun lounge. 14 of us went over for a friend's 50th and all stayed there. The friend turning 50 got a free upgrade to a ground floor room by the pool, which was lovely. We would recommend them as going up and down stairs 3-4 times a day is not fun with a dicky knee. We tried to upgrade to ground floor too but there weren't anymore available. Oh well!
The only problem we had with the hotel was it's location in Seminyak. It was just that bit too far to walk to places like Melasti for massages. The traffic has got so bad in Bali that every outing required a taxi and it often took a long time to get anywhere, especially over to Kuta Square. We loved going over there for Gloria Jeans. In addition to getting a coffee fix, you also get a freezing cold towel which cools you down instantly! A must when you're out and about.
We didn't do as much shopping as usual, as we've been many times and there's only so much you can have. Having said that, we bought a few new homeware items from Sita and Geneva along with a couple of copy bags and sandals. My sister had some knee high boots made for $100 which are lovely. Yogi Tailor did a great job again.
We ate our favourite restaurants such as Kori, Bianco's and Legends. we celebrated my friend's 50th there. The band was great and a great time was had by all. The cake was funny. It read Happy Birthday "Her surname" Only in Bali! We also discovered some new places near Breezes. Lucky Day is a new favourite of ours. It is very reasonably priced and the meals were really nice. You need to book though. We enjoyed Santa Fe too. Not as good as Lucky Day but enjoyable. Cin Cin down the road was very ordinary though. We also went to Mozarella on Padma St which we really loved. We went back there a second time.
Massages and other spa treatments are essential daily activities for us. Melasti Spa is our place of choice and were not disappointed. We even tried the body scrub and flower bath this time. We'll be having this again for sure. Most enjoyable. We found two great therapists there and booked them each day which was great. We also tried Carla Spa opposite Breezes. We had a fantastic pedicure the afternoon we arrived. It lasted nearly two hours and cost 80 000 rph. Amazing!!! We didn't try the massages but lots of other people were when we were there. The fish spa was very popular too and the cheapest we saw at 50 000 rph.
When we left we tried out the Prada Lounge at the airport. 100 000 rph was money well spent. Relaxing chairs, food and drinks to pass the time. Much better than sitting around the airport.
Once again we had a fantastic time in Bali. We caught up with Balinese friends, ate at great restaurants, enjoyed luxurious massages, swam, relaxed and spent time with wonderful friends! We can't wait for our next trip next year.