After a thrilling (my wife would say "frightening") taxi ride to the R-C, we were greeted warmly and shown to the Club concierge for check-in. The whole resort seemed filled with the scent of this tropical flower (white) which only blooms/smells at night. (Can't remember the name for the life of me.) The check-in lady asked if we had our voucher, which led to the realization that we were actually not supposed to have ignored the people at the airport holding up "JTB Tours" signs. Oops -there goes $4 for the cab ride. (Although amusement park rides cost less, don't last as long and are usually not as exciting. A bargain, if you ask me.)

New to the resort scene, I was very impressed with the R-C and their Club amenities. Slightly larger rooms and of course the free food and drink in the Club room. They also offered to clean and press 4 articles of clothing for free, so I didn't even need to use any of the "For Men Only" Travel Tips for clothes.

Perhaps this is standard, but the Club food goes like this: It is open from 7-11:00, with 5 different presentations of food. We managed to hit pretty much all of them, and everything was excellent. The beer selection was a bit lacking, with only Fosters/VB/Heineken and Bintang. The food (although only the breakfast buffet was probably designed to be a meal) featured a lot of local dishes, and everything was great - especially the fresh fruit and juices. Wines and "simple cocktails" completed the alcohol offerings.

Fresh fruit was brought daily to the room, along with flowers for the bed in the morning and the afternoon turn-down. A bouquet of roses with a "thank you for choosing to spend your honeymoon with us" was a nice touch. (And one that JAL could stand to learn from.)

Craig6z would be happy to know that they had CNBC, CNN, HBO and other assorted abbreviations, along with actual (or not) words like "Cinemax" on the tube. I even caught a glimpse of MTV - my first in years. (And a short one, as there are better things to do in Bali!)

The Wall Street Journal was brought daily, but somehow I managed to stay on vacation and not look at it.

We were charged an extra $50/night for the Club room as part of our package. Since I am in Japan (and the yen rate vs the Rp was so dismal), I am sure it could probably be arranged directly for less. I was told that the normal Club rate is US$218/night. At any rate, I had very little difficulty eating and drinking $50/day to make sure that we got our money's worth!

It seems all rooms/villas have an excellent view of the ocean. The R-C is located about 6-7 miles (?) due SW of the airport (a bit longer driving as you hug the coast). At any rate, the incoming planes fly East to land, and those so interested could have whiled away many an hour on the balcony watching the planes go in and out over the ocean. -Close enough to see well, but not enough to hear.

We got in around 9:00 PM, and after some beer/wine for me and dessert for Mrs. Kid we were ready to call it a night.

Tomorrow (or whenever I can post it): Club/Pool/Strolling and Lounging. Ahh, life's rough!