In Reply to: What area for us? posted by Excited Newbie on Friday, 6. August 2010 at 11:24 Bali Time:
As a first timer I would suggest Kuta for the simple reason you are central and can simply walk every where.
Traffic is getting chaotic, so you do not want to have to jump in a taxi every five minutes to go somewhere.
Poppies1 and Poppies2 are generally the hub for surfers and younger tourist.
Hotels I would recommend are Masa Inn (ground floor triple room or ground floor double at back pool area), Satriya hotel, Bali Garden Hotel, Inna Kuta.
There are many many hotels at various prices all over the place just pick the spot you want to stay and then research the hotels on here through the "search" button or use "Tripadvisor.com"