IC Bali

Here for 4 nights as a Diamond/ Ambassador/ Annual Lounge Pass holder on points. With the 4th night free, it averages out to about 20k/ night. Remarkable value.

Came over from the Conrad using the Blue Bird taxi app. Very easy and about 70k idr. 5 usd?

Check in was a bit weird, they wanted to take a picture of my Lounge Pass off the app. I had a screen shot of it but that would not do. They had it on their ipad, but that would not do. The Rewards area of the app was not working, so I showed them the Pass under my Activity area. This would not do. This went on way, way too long. Finally, they gave in and took a picture of my screen shot. They do what they are told without flexibility. Odd for a classy place like this.

Upgraded the day before to a duplex, two level room. Good size. Had two full baths, so no need to go up and down the stairs too often. Very comfortable. Again, great value given the points level.

Breakfast was very good. Maybe a 4 out of 5 for Asia. The buffet stations are a little tight. Never crowded. They had the Jimbaran Gardens pool area place open for breakfast but we never went.

The lounge is interesting. I am more of a beer fridge and wings kind of guy. This lounge is quite formal. Table cloths and little self serve. High Tea was really nice with many interesting teas. Food at Tea was very good. Not too fancy and quite a bit of it. Happy Hour was very good, but still a little formal. Only one local beer, but many interesting cocktails. Happy Hour food was 3 small bits on a plate that were a little too fancy like shaved scallops. We stopped asking for it. There were a few self serve things over in the corner, but nothing really interesting. Also, the lounge is poorly suited to lounge in during the day. For a classy place, it was very good.

We ate lunch at Jimbaran Gardens a couple of times. Huge, diverse menu, reasonably priced, and every thing we ordered was very good.

The grounds and pools are amazing. The plants and gardens are dramatic and well cared for. The fish, animals, and birds are interesting to watch. Unlike some of the resorts on the island that look like all the vegetation was stripped away for pools and lawns, this place looks like the gardens have been growing for 50 years.

My wife used the Club Pool because the main one is being worked on. She really liked the quiet at that pool. The beach is very nice here also.

This also leads to a very, very calm and quiet resort. You get here from another resort and your pulse and blood pressure drop 20%.

We were here for 2 nights about 12 days ago. No room upgrade at that time. Only the Sinjara (sp?)Access upgrade. Also, they happily took a picture of my screen shot of Lounge Access at that check in. At that time, we stopped by the Sinjara Lounge on our way to the “real” lounge a couple of times. It appeared that they had a very limited selection of food. The room is also unappealing. We never went back.

All in all, we do not want to leave. This place is very comfortable. We spent 5 nights at each of the Hilton and Conrad. The IC Bali would be our first choice among the three. Given the fact that it is half the points of either of the other two, it a clear number 1.