We hardly ever stay in hotels when we travel, choosing Airbnb or family run guest houses instead, both to keep the budget down and experience the place in a more meaningful and ‘real’ way. That said, on our recent trip to Bali, we chose to end the holiday with a couple of nights at Artotel in Sanur. A touch of luxury to end what was essentially a budget break.

Keen to avoid the crowds we chose Sanur, a small town on the South East coast, across the island from the well-known party destination of Kuta. We didn’t want to be in a huge faceless hotel either so we opted for Artotel – owned by a small Indonesian group and appealing thanks to its unusual architecture and a large collection of local art on display.

Sanur is by no means off the beaten track. There are the same shops you see in Kuta selling tourist tat and the same selection of bars and restaurants offering ‘international’ cuisine. However, it also has a certain local charm which I’ll talk more about in another blog post soon.

For now, let’s take a look at Artotel, starting with THAT POOL…There’s not much to say really is there? The pictures do the talking.What a perfect spot.
The roof bar, to the back of the pool, was stunning. It’s covered roof but open air sides made the most of the evening breeze and the space was furnished in a minimal yet comfortable way. We enjoyed some excellent happy hour daiquiris up there!

 

Our room (a studio 30) was comfortable and slightly larger than I was expecting as we’d booked a cheap deal through Booking.com. I was expecting us to be at the back of the hotel with views of the bins and a tiny room. We didn’t have the best view but definitely not the worst either! 
Having just spent 10 days in basic accommodation, we were really excited to see crisp white sheets, air con and I have to say it, a TV. Yep, I said it. We don’t watch much TV but in a hot and rainy Bali, an afternoon snoozing in front of the box seemed quite appealing.
There was also a Dolce Gusto coffee machine, docking station and most importantly, universal plug sockets. I’ve never seen them before but they were awesome! Imagine the world without plug adapters, our bags would be lighter, that’s for sure!
Breakfast was nice but nothing out of the ordinary.  It’s a buffet style service with all the western food you’d expect including usually sweet beans. There’s also a nasi goreng station for those of us who prefer to eat a local breakfast when we’re travelling.
 

Our last night was marred by a very loud private function on the roof bar. We (along with most of the hotel it turns out) complained several times to reception who told us it would finish at 10 pm, then 10:30 pm, then 11 pm. It actually finished at around 11:30 pm. Not ideal when we were facing an early long flight the next day. The party had a DJ and full blown sound system in operation which drowned out our TV despite us being at the other end of the hotel.

In Artotel’s defence, they gave us a full refund for the night and apologised to us at breakfast the following morning. They haven’t been open long and are still working out the logistics of what they can and can’t do. Turns out, in a hotel made of open spaces with very little closed areas, loud, DJ led roof parties aren’t going to work. They handled the situation well enough to leave us satisfied in the end.

In conclusion, this is a nice hotel in a less touristy part of Bali. They are new and learning as they go. But as time goes on I think they’ll go from strength to strength. So, regardless of the dismay, we felt at the noise on our last night, I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a touch of luxury without breaking the bank.

One final thing to add. I left my kindle in the hotel room and they arranged postage to get it back to me. Customer service above and beyond what was required. My kindle is ancient so I was resigned to the fact that I’d just buy a new one. In fact, I think the Cath Kidston cover is probably worth more, but the gesture from the hotel to help send it was awesome and I’m pleased that we’ve been reunited (and I finished my book!).

*We stayed in a Studio 30 bedroom and paid approximately £50 a night including breakfast.  However, we did have the last night refunded due to the noise upstairs. All options are my own.*

5 Comments

  1. Wow, loving the looks of this resort. Never been to Bali but do plan to go here. So many places to check out. SO need to chillax and get away from Gotham City (sorry, London) 😀

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