FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - First Time For Everything

Aug 22, 2019 | 7:13 pm

#24

Uncle Nonny

Join Date: Mar 2018

Location: PHL

Programs: AA EXP, HH Diamond, Owner of 2,000 TWA shares

Posts: 812

Bali-Hi

The road for us to Bali was obvious. It's been a mythical land in my wife's imagination since she became a yogi. In my imagination, it's been a place where I could someday take my wife to pay her back for all she does for our family while I'm flying from city to city trying to earn a decent living.

The path to Ubud, in particular, was a little more convoluted. With the destinations of our trip set I just had to iron out a few details and everything would fall into place, right. Welp, the hardest part of this whole trip was the logistics for our six night stay on Bali. Setting up shop in Kuta was out of the question as we haven't been "clubbers" since the late 80's and we DO like our sleep.

I zeroed in on the Nusa Dua area, specifically the Conrad. I spent a few weeks reading reviews and asking questions on various sites (FlyerTalk has a very active thread about this Conrad). I didn't care whether I used points or $$. What stood out to me was the widespread reported fact that being a Hilton Diamond member is a hit or miss proposition as to how you are treated here as far as upgrades. We all know that the various programs we belong to have perks that are advertised and well earned on our part. I spend roughly a third of my year staying in Hilton properties. I do expect to be upgraded when the upgrades are available. It's part of the promise Hilton and I make to each other. I also had a hard time finding one picture of people enjoying themselves on the beach at the Conrad. I found that odd.

I turned my attention to the Hilton Nusa Dua. Better beach, beautiful vistas. The weight of reading how there just isn't much to do in Nusa Dua hit me heavily. All the day trips I was interested in making were in the central part of the island. With Nusa Dua being at the very southern tip, it was time to re-calibrate.

Ubud. Kept coming up over and over again. Everything I wanted to see on my first visit to Bali was an easy trip from Ubud. No Hilton in that neck of the woods so I expanded my scope. My search criteria on the American Airlines portal narrowed my choices. I knew little about Ubud and it's environs but one place kept popping out: Puri Sebali Resort.

Puri Sebali Resort

While not in town, it offered free shuttle service into town. I had planned to spend only a little time in Ubud proper, as most of the site I wanted to see were spread out. I was enticed by the reviews as well as the 6,000 bonus miles (whore) I'd get just for booking.

Backtracking to my previous post, we cleared immigration and customs and headed out to meet our driver. The hotel had quoted me $39 for airport pickup. I ended up booking with taxi2airport.com for $24. Our driver was kind enough to WhatsAPP me the sign he would be holding as well as a pic of his vantage point. We were collected and made the short walk to our van. We exited the airport into the hustle and bustle of the evening Denpasar traffic.

Traffic Circle

The map says it's about 40 kilometers but there are no highways and the roads seem meant more for scooters, specifically ones loaded up with four member families, than for cars. The trip ended up taking roughly two hours. An hour or so into it we were at a dead standstill in a small, remote village. Turns out it was one of many Hindu ceremonies we would come across during our visit. Though we were exhausted from a full day of travel it was very cool experiencing such an authentic cultural shindig.

One Of Hundreds

We arrived around 9:00pm to an open air lobby were check in took place at a seated desk. We were given welcome gifts (chocolates) our key (a real, live key), and a folder explaining the resort's offerings (tours, spa stuff, restaurant, etc). We were escorted to our room and our luggage was delivered. The door was a heavy, bi-parting door that used an actual padlock to secure it. The interior lock was an old school,castle-like bar of wood that slid between the doors to secure them. Crazy but cool.

Sink

Bed

Shower

Tub

And the piece de' resistance...our very own pool and private security, whom we dubbed "Nips", to guard our door:

Our En Suite Pool

Nips

As my upcoming posts will include mostly off campus activities, I'll dedicate the rest of the post to the Puri Sebali resort and it's grounds. The place was nothing short of stunning. Enjoy.