InterContinental Hotels Group Stay Forum - HI Baruna Bali

My wife and I just spend 3 days here. Overall we were disappointed. Sure that might come from comparing to the IC (i know you cannot compare hamburger to filet mignon) but even compared to HI's elsewhere in the region this was a disappointment. The beach - well its a big stretch of sand and lots of space and the great beach chairs / lounges that Envy (the beach bar/restaurant) places are very comfy. However, the locals hassling you for sales of hats/necklaces/t-shirts/sarong/etc... is what I assume you would get at Kuta beach hotels. Call me a snob, but if I wanted to be hassled like that I would go to Penang or Phuket. The final nail in the beach's coffin though is that the water itself is filthy and would be a hazard to swim in.

The rooms themselves are small. I used points (15K) to book our stay and was afforded an upgrade as AMB to a Garden View with balcony. It says it was 30sqm (could that be sqf?) and resembled a single dorm room. While it was brand new with the new HI/HIX pillows and an empty fridge to fill as we chose and with a very good channel selection on the flatscreen, it was small. The balcony which has a nice lounge (like the beach lounges) was comfortable and there was good space there, and in fact more room on the balcony then in the tiny bathroom. The bathroom reminded me of what you get when you book a suite on the train with a bathroom included - ie 2 people could not fit in at the same time, although maybe with 1 in shower and 1 at sink...

From our observations not all rooms (defintely not all the suites) are ready for booking yet. The spa Tea Tree was open however and prices were high.

Restaurants The Palms for breakfast all-day dining. We only took breakfast which was a normal wide buffet spread with a mix of western/local/asian dishes. Oddly they place coffee/tea mugs on the tables and yet you are expected to get your own coffee from the 1 functioning espresso machine. No additional mugs to be found in the vicinity. The freshly made juice bar was great. Very good selection but crowded when we went early - opens until 1030am.

The Beach chill out bar + restaurant was a great spot to hang out and be near the beach (not on the beach for fear of having to ward off numerous sales people). Prices though were very high. The lay-out of the beach bar / Envy bar is very much KuDeTa like and I think it works for the most part. With a little more time and working through tihngs it could be a great place to be. Another surprise was the missing "Happy Hour" - not yet I was told? Anyway, my concerns about prices were solved by the resorts shop, aptly named The Shop, which had ice cold beers at only 1Krp more than the local shop price of 12Krp.

Another surprise for a new style HI was no free wi-fi and in fact only wi-fi in the rooms and this was a complicated procedure where one had to connect (wired) first in order to establish the account to access withe wireless subsequently. We did not even bother with it and from the website the prices look extoriionate at USD20/day. I just don't understand why all hotels cannot offer free wi-fi for guests. I have stayed at numerous HIX across the US and other HI in Malaysia and all of them offer comp wireless access.

My final comment and I think this has been shared elsewhere is that the prices are very high for a HI and a resort of this calibre with the smallest rooms I have experienced in south east asia. Perhaps there is a decent F+F rate available but I won't be looking b/c I won't be going back. When I do return to Bali it will be to the IC of old.

Interesting, thanks for the review!

Having lived in Bali for several months, I find the IC Bali a little boring (I know it's a beautiful property, but it's a little too isolated for me). I usually stay at the Sofitel Seminyak as I prefer the area, and its closer to my apartment in Legian.

I have a stay at the HI Baruna in a few weeks, booked a King Superior @ $69US++, I'll report back after.

I think more better they change their name to Holiday Inn Express, a HIE in Bali ???????

Thanks for the review. Sounds less than stellar.

The only HI I have stayed in Indonesia didn't have free internet access either (HI Bandung). I would say it is very, very much the exception rather at hotels in Indonesia generally.

I don't really get the comparison with Penang. Penang is much less touristy than Bali, so if you didn't want to be hassled by itinerant vendors, then it would have been a better choice.

HI Baruna really boring stuff, comparing to IC Bali.
They offer a great price for those who hold Indo ID.
Much lower than internet fares.

HI Baruna really boring stuff, comparing to IC Bali.
They offer a great price for those who hold Indo ID.
Much lower than internet fares.

So does the IC :D

Okay so after spending a wek at the HI Baruna Bali I can add another sample experience. Overall I would say that I was quite happy with the stay. Yes there are pros and cons to the hotel, the location etc. but that is often the case.

First of all the rooms. Yes they are not huge, but two people can stay at the room relatively comfortable in my book. Even the bathrooms are okay from my perspective with a reasonably large shower. Sure it is tight if two people try to squeeze into the bathroom at the same time, but then with only one sink what is the point of that anyway.

However, I can understand that someone who may be a bit larger and in particular 'wider' might feel uncomfortable and limited in space. Also people who arrive there with big bags from a long trip will have some issues storing all their stuff and suitcases. Coming from SIN we traveled only with two 22" uprights which snuggly fit on the luggage rack.

As mentioned the rooms are very new and well furnished. Our bed was King size and quite comfortable. Great TV selection and a 32" flat screen. Empty fridge for your purchases and a store in the hotel that sells drinks at Circle K or Minimart prices. Balcony or patio with day bed. No complaints there.

We did feel that the lounge chair and foot stool in the room are oversized and should either be replaced with a slimmer version or skipped entirely as it makes everything appear more crowded (but then Indonesian families use this as a sleeping bed for a kid ;)). This all goes for the Garden View room which we received as an upgrade from the booked Superior room (15K a night which was a good deal during Hari Raya where rooms were sold out most days of the week or going for 170-200 USD - crazy. The IC was sold out too all week).

Now the issue we had with the Garden view room (#3356 or 1151 - same wing) is the very musky, damp, and moldy smell that hit us when entering the room. Yes Bali is tropical and humid (I live in Singapore so no lectures please) but it is not like that. Airing out the room and letting the air con run did not help. All pillows in the room smelled musky and damp, the mattres too, and overall it was not very pleasant. After a total refurb and being open for 5 months only that should not be the case.

I asked to change rooms - not easy during one of the busiest weeks of the year - and ended up with a Family room #1122 (the kids room was locked off) which was likely a good 8-10sqm bigger then the Garden View one not counting the kids room. It has a big patio with two day beds though no great views. Very pleasant though and luckily no screaming kids even though that had to be expected as the other family rooms are right next to one another. Most importantly no musky & damp smell.

We think the overall dampness issue comes from insufficient mechanical ventilation in the bathrooms. Yes there are ducts in the bathrooms to remove moist / humid air but no fans that suck the air out. Supposedly this is done from a central fan but at least in our first room #3356 it didn't seem to work at all. Once both of us were done showering the walls inside the room (not the bathroom only), the floors etc were wet / slippery as condensating moisture had settled on them. We think that is what causes the dampness and smell in the room.

We found the price levels at the hotel in the F&B outlets as well as in the Spa quite high and on par with the Inter-Con or 5-Star properties around. Too steep for our taste. My GF is Indonesian and we went out for all our food anyway as that was the whole idea, but compared to other very good restaurants outside the hotel prices are still about 30-50% higher. If you know great local places and don't mind a less "stylish" environment you can eat even for less than outside 'nice' places and at a fraction of the hotel prices.

Same goes for the Spa. Prices are just ridiculuos at the Tea Tree Spa - sorry to say. yes you have view of the ocean and everything is nice and new but still. There are so many good upscale spa's in Bali and we went to several (in Ubud, Jmbaran etc) and even though they were at boutique small hotels they were still half the price. In the road where the HI is located is a proper spa called Balisari (Jl. Jenggala) where you can get a 90min Aromatherapy massage for 95K Rp while the HI Spa charges 580K Rp. So basically you can get 6 massages at one place while having one at the HI. Now the HI Spa is nicer but this is just to give you an idea and basically say 'shop around'.

The beach is not owned by the hotel so I think that is why the OP was hassled there. If you stay on the hotel grounds there are now security guards posted that will shush them away. The pool is nice and chairs and day beds are quite sufficiently spaced out and comfortable. Service by staff in all areas is very good and they are trying really hard. One has to comend them for the good spirit and hard work.

One advantage of the area where the HI is located - Tuban - is that it is more lively than say Jimbaran where the IC is and offers many more eating choices and access to taxis and so forth.

I think I would definitely return for 15K points (if prices for foreigners stay at that level) or ask my GF to book local Indonesian rates. Hope this helps

Okay so after spending a wek at the HI Baruna Bali I can add another sample experience. Overall I would say that I was quite happy with the stay. Yes there are pros and cons to the hotel, the location etc. but that is often the case.
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One advantage of the area where the HI is located - Tuban - is that it is more lively than say Jimbaran where the IC is and offers many more eating choices and access to taxis and so forth.

I think I would definitely return for 15K points (if prices for foreigners stay at that level) or ask my GF to book local Indonesian rates. Hope this helps

Thanks for the follow-up on this property. I suppose you could get both 6 massage and 6 Bintan for the price of 1 at the HIBB. I'd go back for 15K points as well.