We recently spent 3 nights at the Holiday Inn Resort, Baruna Bali following our birding expedition to West Papua. I chose this hotel since both my husband and I have lots of Priority Club points from various promos over the last few years and it didn’t hurt that I have permanent platinum status from my Priority Club Visa from Chase. I knew that we had a good chance of an upgrade………and it came through! Award nights go for 20,000 points. I could have booked the Intercontinental for 30,000 points a night but I thought this location was better for shopping and sightseeing.
As you first arrive, there is a security guard on the gate.
The lobby is large and comfortable. Our room wasn’t ready but since we had been upgraded to an ocean view, we didn’t mind waiting.
The decor is pretty generic but it was clean and there was a nice lounge on the balcony. The room had one of those annoying glass-walled bathrooms but fortunately there are blinds to cover it up. I would have like to see some Balinese art on the walls. We had a great view of the pool and the sea just beyond. The hotel is right on the beach.
There are actually 2 pools but we hung out at the main one. There are nice cabanas surrounding the pool and since we were traveling in low season we never had trouble getting one. Nice swim-up bar and happy hour at 5.
This stone sink in the bathroom near the pool is typical of Balinese sinks.
Massage ladies still ply the beach but they are not allowed into hotel grounds. The hotel has a spa but it’s expensive. We chose to go to day spas nearby which were really cheap-$10 for a standard one hour massage.
The first night we had the All you can eat pasta bar but it was a bit strange. It’s not like the ones where the dishes are pre-made and you help yourself. They bring you a card and you mark off which sauces, meats and vegetables you want and which noodles to serve it over. The pastas did taste good but the service was a bit slow. We are more the buffet type than the fine dining type so others may prefer the individually ordered pasta method. A dessert is included and we both opted for some ice cream from the gelati bar.
Even if you have to pay for this hotel, it’s generally around the $100 mark so a good value. It’s well located in the heart of Kuta and walking distance to several shops, we even walked to and from the Discovery Centre. Taxis are best obtained on the street after you exit the grounds so you can bargain with them. We tried to get Bluebird taxis with meters as they were the best value. In the map below, A marks the hotel and the X marks the Discovery Centre and you can see how close the hotel is to the airport. We were not disturbed by aircraft overhead. If you want to get to the Bali Bird Park from here, you are probably better off hiring a taxi for the day. Traffic is terrible in Kuta so start early!
Holiday Inn Resort Baruna Bali Location