Originally Posted by jamienbaker

Agree with characterization of Kuta.

However, as a fan of the W, I'd note that Seminyak is home to the best restaurants and reasonably upscale shopping/clubs. I found Nusa Dua to be too stale for my tastes (love the SR, but the entire area is simply Western mega-hotels and lacks any "local" feel). Ubud also worth it, I'd stay on the outskirts of town rather than the city centre, as it gets pretty jammed with day-trippers during the day.