Ayodya Resort Bali

I stayed at the Bali hilton with my father in Febrary, and couldn't have enjoyed it more. I couldnt believe how friendly the staff were to both me and my father, and they couldn't do enough for you. You were given personal service and made you remember your holiday through the people you met as well as the places you saw. The hotel was beautiful, every detail accounted for and I would recommend anyone considering going to this hotel to book it as soon as possible. I am returning there again this summer, as the people there really made the holiday for me. I can't wait to return, the beach is out of this world, the food delicious and the rooms spacious and individual.

We spent 6 nights at the Bali Hilton (a Hilton until Aug 2006), we upgraded at a cost of £200 to the Ayodya Palace which is the “executive” wing. Apart from a superior room equipped with a CD and DVD player and access to a library, guests were also entitled to a full breakfast, complimentary soft drinks, tea and coffee throughout the day, afternoon tea (sandwiches, pastries and nibbles) and cocktails and canapes from 5.30pm to 7pm every day. These are served from the Ayodya lounge or pool area. On first glance every thing looked wonderful, nice setting, impressive drive to the main lobby, we soon noticed that the room was a little shabby. If you have already booked, don’t panic as this will not detract too much from the overall impressions of the place, it’s just that prior to staying here we stayed at the Sheraton in Bangkok, now that is a real 5 star. Staff were very helpful and polite but not the standard of a true 5 star. They did make the effort to call you by your name and this was a nice touch. However, they also made an effort to engage you in conversation about trips you may have arranged during your stay on the island, if you had none arranged they attempted to “sell” you various excursions at a so called “reduced price”. This was not a service we appreciated while we ate breakfast! As this Hotel no longer belongs to the Hilton Group (it becomes the Ayodya Resort in August), you feel that in certain areas of service they are trying save money as we had to ask several times for replacement packets of creamer for the coffee in the room and during the cocktail hour we had to ask several times for a refill. As our stay progressed the bathroom products appeared to be watered down and differed considerably in consistency from that of the first day. The room did smell a little of “damp” especially the fabrics (even the pillows), this may be a feature of the tropical climate/air conditioning combination but somehow I think not. There was also some maintenance being carried out and we were disturbed by the sound of drilling (this was minimal as it was carried out during the day) and when we reported this to the reception desk, it was stopped immediately These gripes are all very minor but it’s these little touches that make the difference in a genuine 5 star hotel.. Overall we had a very nice time at this hotel, and would even consider staying again, but it’s no longer a Hilton and you won’t get any reward points

We have just returned from the Bali Hilton having had a two week holiday there. The hotel was amazing, a grand entrance, huge lagoon filled with fish and iguanas, lovely public areas and really friendly staff. When we arrived in our room we were a little disappointed by the slightly damp smell. The room itself was very nice however the smell was enough to make us upgrade to a grande room. This cost us $200 for the two weeks and was well worth it as we had a big walk in shower and more pleasant views. The pool area was really nice and very quiet. The cost of drinks and meals in the hotel were hugely inflated compared to the prices you paid if you walked into Nusa Dua. We had several meals at the Bali Collection, which was a shopping centre not far from the hotel with a few good restaurants and well worth a visit. It is worth while checking that your trip does not coincide with the Balinese New Year as a couple who had arrived the day before us had had to stay in Kula Lumpur for the day before getting their flight to Bali as the Balinese do not work on their New Year and all activity stops. During our stay we went sight seeing, and would recommend hiring a car with driver and guide for the day. This cost an amazingly cheap $30 and was really good value for money. (Hiring a car looked very scary as there does not seem to be any rules on the road.) We were taken to see the volcano, temples, monkey forests, artist areas of Ubud and other places of interest, gained lots of insight from the guides knowledge and also gained an understanding of how difficult their lives have been since the bombings reduced the number of tourists visiting. Our guide comes highly recommended and can be contacted by e-mail:(---). He was not a part of a business but just worked for himself with his brother as driver. He was extremely accommodating and helpful, ensuring we enjoyed our trips. The temple at Tanahlot is well worth a visit as is the temple at Ulu-Watu and watching the Kecak dance is a must. We really enjoyed the monkey forests but would advise people not to buy the nuts or bananas as the monkeys see them and try to snatch them away. I put a big bunch of bananas is my bag and the monkeys saw me, which resulted in some screaming and a monkey swinging on my bag trying to take it off me! Dreamland Beach in the south of the island is also a must-do day out. The beach is spectacular, reached via a steep walk down the steps carved into the cliffs. When out shopping bartering is the custom, and we were advised to offer a starting price of 40% lower than the vendors asking price, negotiating someway in between. The only fixed prices seemed to be in the supermarket, which is worth a visit to stock up on Bintang beer at cheap prices. We had a fantastic time and would not hesitate to recommend Bali to anyone considering a holiday there. The Balinese people were the most welcoming people we have ever known on any holiday we have been on.

My Friend & I arrived in Bali on February 16th for a 2 week stay. We were greeted by the friendly, smiling faces of the porters and taken to the customer service desk. An attendant immediately brought cool towels to wipe our faces and offered us refreshments. We had booked our trip a little late and didn't have a choice of rooms so we stayed in a smoking room for one night, then were moved to a non smoking room. During our stay we always had a fresh fruit bowl in our room, compliments of the hotel and when we moved to the non smoking room we were given complimentary t-shirts for any inconvenience we might have suffered. Our room was kept spotless by the cleaning staff and when our beds were turned down in the early evening, a flower was left on the pillow - a very nice touch. Bottled water was replenished daily and whenever we saw any staff in the halls or out on the walkways, they always greeted us, asking about our stay. We found the service to be excellent. The pool was kept spotless and the hotel provided classes on snorkeling and scuba diving. When we walked out to the beach front, we found that the "hawkers" were not allowed onto the grassy area. This was a relief because with so few tourists, they can be quite persistant if they think there is a possible sale. The location of the hotel is very good, being right next to the golf course and the south gates into the resort area are a block away from the front gates of the hotel. There is security at all of the main gates and also at the hotel gate. It is a very easy walk to the village. There are several good restaurants, lots of shopping and a mini mart right outside the south gates. There are also free shuttle services which will take you to the Bali Collection which is a higher-end shopping/eating area in Nusa Dua and also to the Bali Galleria in Kuta. To take a taxi to the Discovery Mall in Kuta from the hotel costs about 70,000 rupiah which is about $10.00 CAD. I found that the hotel Spa was very good. I had reflexology a couple of times and the fellow was very knowledgable. My swedish massage was also very good. My friend did not like her Balinese massage. We had breakfast every morning at the Waterfall Restuarant. There was a great variety of breakfast foods plus an omlette maker and a banana pancake/waffle maker. We liked it. In fact we ate at several of the restuarants in the hotel and enjoyed them all. The service, again, was excellent. The lagoon in the center of the complex has a nice variety of birds plus there are some swimming reptiles that are pleasant to watch. On the whole we really enjoyed our stay at the Hilton and found the Balinese people exceptionally gracious and hospitable. Always ready to laugh and very helpful with our attempts at speaking their language. The few things we did not like were; every couple of days the hotel gets fogged with bug repellent. Huge billowing white clouds - very gross - All of the resort hotels do it. Also in the quiet areas of the lagoon there is alot of sludgy algae - very unattractive. They were painting one area of the hotel. It was a little inconvenient, obviously using this slow period to do some refurbishing. We truly enjoyed our visit to Bali, we found it very safe and we did it all. From white water rafting to snorkeling, we had many laughs with our Balinese guides. We could asked any question, about their culture, politics or economy and we would get truthful answers. We would highly recommend a visit to Bali and a stay at the Bali Hilton.

Stayed there for three nights and decided to move. It is a shabby place with paint peeling off the hotel. The rooms are nice but not modern. The food is over priced. It cost 78 pounds (uk) for a buffet which was very poor. The staff are quite down beat and keep on telling you how the bomb has affected there tips etc.Go and stay at the bali intercon at Jimbaran bay it is great!

just a short note, lie near the beach. drink bali coffee. eat chicken satay on skewers. must have a massage under muslin drapes outdoors on the beach(good for destressing). rooms lovely.staff friendly. buy a kite. relax.

We stayed at the Bali Hilton prior to our wedding in April this year. We were extremely impressed from the second the taxi pulled into the driveway. It is an enormous hotel, with lavish grounds and beautifully decorated lobbies, restaurants and rooms. We had a standard room but it was huge, immaculate and cleaned spotlessly every day. The grounds are terrific, with lagoons and bridges interconnecting everything. The breakfast that was included was awesome, and the location of the hotel was particularly convenient - just a short stroll to the main street of Nusa Dua for shopping and eating. The only downside in my husbands opinion was the pool. There is just the one, and it is in full sun with no shade, so it could be quite scorching - if you're like me and love the heat, then this is no problem. In general, we were very satisfied, as it is quite a good bargain for what you get - would definitely stay there again.

As a senior employee with one of the Big 4 Global accounting firms I often stay in 4/5 star hotels all over the world on business trips, so I should have a moderately good understanding what is a 4 or 5 star hotel. The Bali Hilton in my opinion IS NOT a 4 or 5 star hotel, in fact I would rate it 3 or 3 plus at best. The principal reasons for this rating are: An overall lack of service, as a guest I felt that I was a type of commodity rather than a valued customer, hotel staff while not rude were not in my opinion concerned with providing services to me or seeing if everything was acceptable to me. The lack of variety of quality food The lack of romantic aura of the hotel A feeling that I really did not get value for my money after visiting other hotels in Nusa Dua that charged similar prices. I have detailed below my principal issues as to why this is not a 4 or 5 star hotel below. I would strongly advise anyone against honeymooning at the Bali Hilton if you are expecting to pay for a romantic holiday or alternatively are looking for a "value for money" holiday. My poor opinion of the Bali Hilton was reinforced when we started frequenting other Nusa Dua hotels for dinner in order to get an impression of the range of quality hotel accomodation and services available. Based on our assessment of the hotels in the Eastern Nusa Dua area I personally would only stay at the Sheraton Lagoona if I wanted a romantic holiday. My Issues with my stay at the Bali Hilton The massive entrance and lobby that contain two bars are a pure facade, the two bars are rarely used by large numbers of guests, in the evening there is a singer at one of the bars but no one is ever there to really listen and the quality of the entertainment could be questioned. The hotel looks to be aging rapidly, both in structure and vegatation (I believe it was built in the late eigties or early nineties) and is in need of serios renovation. The vegatation and tropical plants in places appear to be on their last legs and the gardening is shabby in a lot of places particularly when compared to other Nusa Dua Hotels such as the Nusa Dua Beach Hotel and the Sheraton Lagoona. The lift in our Grande Room block is not modern and regularly was out of service during our stay, which when you are on the 5th floor can be kind of annoying. Do not get an ocean view room it is not worth the additional expense as you WILL NOT be on a beach front looking out onto the sea but will be looking at the sea from a tight angle and from a distance of several hundred metres. The reception area is understaffed and the staff or assistant managers seem incapable of multi-tasking so guests are often waiting to be served while the assistant managers sit around. This happened to me on a number of occasions where I was waiting 10-15 minutes to be served. The pool is ok in my opinion and the beach is probably larger in both width and length than most of the other hotels but is steeply inclined and it is about a 30 second walk from the sunbathing area to the waters edge. Note there are no sun loungers on the beach so you are not close to the water's edge i.e. 5-10 metres away. The hotel has a massive green lagoon area around which most of the restaurants are situated, which appears to be a kind of nature area. However, certain areas i.e. the north-west corner of the lagoon start to smell strongly of sewage during the evening. I did mention this to the management. The hotel gym-workout facilities are NOT owned by the hotel and therefore are not free of charge, you are required to pay USD 4 for a day pass to use the gym facilities. Issues with our room included the shower needing to be run for 5-7 minutes prior to the hot water coming through which seems hypocritical considering the hotel's reccomendation that guests try to save water. Obviously the quality of every room may not be the same as ours. The balcony table wobbled so badly it was difficult to eat room service on it while not a major issue it was sometimes inconvenient. The TV reception quality was poor for the majority of satellite channels, I did mention this to management while I was there. The hotel does not in my opinion openly market the menus and locations of its restaurants, it wasn't until the third week of our stay that we found out where the Meditteranean and pub bar were. At the towel area you are required to sign for towels and put your room number, however when you return the towels nothing is requested of you. Why not a real is, why this process is necessary except for statistically gathering the data of how many towels each room uses I do not know. In my opinion one of the main issues with the hotel is that it has no real open air restaurants, ok the waterfall and the indonesian restaurant are open air but they are not really romantic in my opinion. For example at the Sheraton Lagoona you can have have a romantic evening meal by the beach or in one of their special romantic canopy huts, this is not possible at the Bali Hilton. The menus of the pool bar is limited, and tend to have a lot of deep fried items, I did not think that the food had a kind of care about it that would make you think it was high quality. About 10-15% of the time the staff would bring me the a drink I did not order but more importantly they did not check guests requirements that often, for example in my opinion at the pool the staff would walk around checking guests may be once an hour and generally it was quicker to go to the bar and order. Breakfast is kind of a third US/UK, a third continental European and a third Asian. In my experience the breakfast hostesses were not that friendly. The strength of the tea served at breakfast is poor as it turns a grey-cream colour when you add milk. I suggested to the manager that they put the tea bags on the table for guests to choose and have the waiters serve boiling water.

We booked our honeymoon in Bali very late (ie, one day after the wedding) and basically went for the Bali Hilton as it was the best of what was left. When we arrived we were shown to our deluxe garden room, which was nice with a pretty satisfactory view of the gardens (my new wife thought it smelt of damp, but didn't notice it myself). However, after 2 days we got a free upgrade to a 'grande' room with a view of the stunning lagoon, the pool and the sea. It was fantastic....a lovely spaceous room with a spectacular view in a great hotel. I would highly recommend spending a little extra for this type of room as it would be well worth it. The pool was also great, especially the shallow kiddie's pool which our son thought was the bee's knees. When we were there (early to mid Sept) the hotel seemed half empty...this worked in our favour as we could take over 4 or 5 sun-loungers and make a play pen for our son. All in all, we had a wonderful time and the bali hilton is a great place to visit and (despite the recent tradgedy) we will definately be going back to Bali and most likely to the Bali Hilton.......only negative was the price in the hotel restaraunts, which was steep for Bali and the 21% government tax reserved for the 'Western' owned hotels racks up the price even further. If you go, try out the little cafe next door which has nice standard fare for a fraction of the price in the hotel (directions: go out of hotel, down to beach and turn left...you can't miss it) BTW, I was also in Bali on business in Aug and stayed at the Westin, which was a great hotel as well, but would not suit small families....much more of a business/couples hotel.

As we booked our accommodation in Bali only days before we were due to arrive we had fairly limited choice of hotels. We wanted to stay in Jimbaran but could find no free 5 star rooms. We decided on the Hilton in the sculpted resort and booked an Ayoda Palace Honeymoon room expecting to pay extra for better service and surroundings. I still do not understand the difference in the room standard. They all look the same in size to me (faily small) and the service was certainly not exceptional. We often had to wait for long periods before our drinks arrived or, indeed, even to find someone to order the drinks. The staff did not seem to know which guests were new, how long they were staying, although they were always friendly and helpful when approached. My husband and I did not sleep well during our week at the hotel and on the last day I realised that this was because of the constant noise in the mornings in the corridors caused by staff shouting to each other and the rooms not being sound proofed. The good points were the private pool and lounge. Afternoon tea was sweet and breakfast was good. However, the general hotel itself was poor value for money in terms of food and drink and service felt a bit chaotic - lots of staff everywhere but no one attending you. We got roughly what we expected and were lucky to get a good driver who showed us all round Bali. Whilst we will be coming back to Bali, it wont be in Nusa Dua or the Hilton. Next time Jimbaran - definitely.