The Bali Tropic Resort and Spa
Being as this trip report is about more about getting there than being there, I’m going to switch to more of a hybrid written/photo report mode to describe my time at The Bali Tropic Resort and Spa.
Whaaat?! Seat 2A doing a photo report?! Well, a partial one at least.
As for the Bali Tropic Resort and Spa, let me start by explaining how I discovered it.
Two years ago, in the fall of 2022, I had made the determination that I was going to make a proper visit to Bali for the first time. Twenty or more years ago, I would have been looking for budget accommodations above all else. Access to public transportation would have been a consideration, but not much else.
Times have changed. I’ve changed. For this trip, I wanted a place on the ocean. I wanted a beach. I wanted palm trees. I wanted ocean breezes. I didn’t want a big, sprawling 300 room resort. I also didn’t want some cute little boutique place. I was looking for a happy medium, but above all, wherever I stayed had to be on the beach.
Since I’d unwittingly acquired some type of tier status over at Booking.com, that was the booking platform I used to find my hotel. I like the layout of Booking.com, and, ironically, I like the plethora of pictures they employ to better present each property and its individual room types.
Anyway, I spent an hour or two perusing the possibilities and bookmarking the properties I thought were worthy of further inspection. But ultimately, it never came to that. I knew I’d found the property I was looking for the moment I started perusing pictures of the resort…
Bali Tropic Resort – Nusa Dua, Bali
Photo courtesy Bali Tropic Resort
Bali Tropic Resort – Nusa Dua, Bali
Photo courtesy Bali Tropic Resort
Just to give you a sense of how I saw it, below is a link to the Booking.com display for The Bali Tropic Resort and Spa.
Bali Tropic Resort & Spa
During my initial perusal, the Deluxe Suite really caught my eye – so much so that I went totally out of character and booked it for my entire twelve night stay. It was a marvelous room in a great location, but it was also too big for just me alone. There was an entire separate living room area that I never even used. There was a big 50” TV in there, along with nice sofa, table and chairs, a fridge and microwave. It was very nice, but I always felt more at home sitting in the main bedroom, which also sported comfy chairs and a big TV if I were so inclined.
A suite at the Bali Tropic Resort
Photo courtesy Bali Tropic Resort
More than any others, the above three pictures sold me on the Bali Tropic Resort. The size, location and beach garden ambiance – albeit from above – looked perfect. And so it was that I booked the first of my four stays here. However, starting with my second visit, I booked into the slightly smaller Deluxe Bungalow. It was basically the same sized bedroom as the suite but without the extra living room and with a slightly smaller bathroom.
As I mentioned earlier, the Bali Tropic gets a lot of repeat business, and the hotel responds quite favorably by welcoming repeat guests to the Bali Tropic Family after three stays. Benefits include discounted rates on rooms, and based upon the rates that I’ve secured for my upcoming stay in October, that discount is quite generous.
As to life at the Bali Tropic, it is relaxation incarnate for me. During my first couple of stays, I took advantage of some local tours and car hires enabling me to see a fair bit of the eastern end of the island. For this trip, I just enjoyed doing nothing more than simply soaking up a bit of sun while enjoying the resort’s grounds, facilities and restaurants. Aside from the occasional hobble across the front road to the little convenience store across from the resort, the only time I left the property was with a group of four employees when we drove two hours up to a beautiful ridge top restaurant to enjoy the view and the great food.
A large buffet breakfast at Soka’s Restaurant is included in the room rate. They cook eggs and omelets to order, and offer all manner of traditional accompaniments, from potatoes to baked beans to chicken sausage to Balinese fare. There was also an excellent fruit bar. The wait staffs were all top notch, and they couldn’t have been more helpful to me in particular, as I arrived each morning with cane in hand.
For some reason, mid-mornings were almost uniformly muggy and humid with little to no breeze. I’d usually come out for breakfast at about 9:30am, and by the time I’d walked the approximately 250 yards from Soka’s back to my bungalow, I was a sweaty mess and more than ready for a couple of hours of 20°C air-conditioning therapy my wonderful air-conditioner.
I’d usually come out for a light lunch at Ratka’s Restaurant and Bar, located just a five minute walk from my Bungalow. This restaurant was far and away my favorite eatery and social spot at the resort. I loved the open ambiance, the view, the bar and all of the friendly staff.
Ratna’s Restaurant Bar
Ratna’s Restaurant – out on the patio
Ratna’s Restaurant Bar
My favorite luncheon spot
My favorite luncheon meal was a bowl of spicy Balinese seafood soup called Seafood Laksa. Think of it as an Indonesian Cioppino. But I also liked the Nasi Goreng and the Balinese take on Kung Pao Chicken.
Seafood Laksa Soup – My Favorite
Kung Pao Chicken
Chicken Breast Luncheon
Late afternoon was a great time to pay a visit to the hotel pool and its swim up bar.
Bali Tropic Pool
Afternoon Delight
Photo courtesy Bali Tropic
Bali Tropic Pool
I should mention that while opportunities to imbibe beer and other intoxicants are abundant, the resort’s bars also offered a wide variety of non-alcoholic drinks, cocktails and smoothies. I’d often have a Bintang Lager with lunch, a Virgin Mojito (light on the sugar, please) and two or three beers with dinner and after.
The view from the bar
I was also quite taken with a nice shady area situated amidst a grove of palm trees. Breezes would come in off the ocean most afternoons, and this was a great place to settle in with a good book and a cold beer. Or two.
Shady Grove Balinese Style
Still Life with Book and Beer
Bali is only a few degrees off the equator, so even with afternoon breezes and cold drinks, the heat and humidity were still noticeable more often than not. My solution was to retire to my bungalow for a shower and another session of air-conditioning therapy. There was a TV in the room that had about 30 channels ranging from everyday Indonesian programs to BBC, CNN, a Russian news channel (In English), National Geographic Wild, and the History Channel to name just a few. I don’t watch a lot of TV back home, but my favorite channel by far was the National Geographic Wild channel. Too bad I can’t get it back home except via the occasional YouTube video.
Evenings would always find me at Ratna’s – sometimes at the bar, sometimes at a table. To that end, I might add that as a solo traveler, I’ve never felt any sense of loneliness. As much as I enjoy and need time to myself, it’s always nice to meet and engage with fellow travelers. As one might imagine, a seat at the resort bar is always a happy, social place. Everyone is on vacation, and for many of them, Bali is the most far flung and exotic place they’ve ever been. There are a lot of great travel stories exchanged and I met a lot of great people.
Of course, what is a restaurant without food and service? The guys and gals working not only at Ratna’s but at all the restaurants were exceptionally friendly and service oriented. With visitors from all over Europe, Australia and Asia – and the odd American thrown in – me – English is of course the official business language and all the staff are generally pretty proficient. The food is good, but certainly not Michelin star standard. I was generally happy with everything I was served, with the only occasional issue being that I wish the food were spicier. But I get it – a significant percentage of the clientele don’t do spicy very well, certainly not to the extent that I do. That said, over time as the wait staff and cooks began to better appreciate my tastes, they did a much job of complying.
Each Friday night the hotel puts on a full Balinese buffet out on the lawn. Afterward, guests are treated to about 45 minutes of Balinese dance and music.
As seen from my patio – tables set up for the Friday buffet
Balinese Dancers
So in all, I had a wonderful time. Yes, this was my fourth visit to the Bali Tropic Resort and Spa, and some may find that a bit redundant for their tastes. I get it. In years past, I would’ve put an emphasis on more variety in my travel destinations, but at this point, I’ve been to all kinds of great places on six continents. It’s not important to me to see the whole world.
That doesn’t mean my future will consist of endless trips to Bali. A lot is dependent on my mobility. If I get back to being able to walk fairly well without a cane, the world is my oyster. I’ve got a lot of places I still want to see, and many things I want to experience. I have always wanted to go to the Seychelles Islands, as well as Mauritius. I also want to visit the Marquesas Islands and Eastern Europe – places like Macedonia, Romania, Serbia… And I’ve still got big eyes for that eleven day Rovos Rail adventure between Cape Town and Dar es Salaam, not to mention numerous excursion trains right here in the U.S. Oh, and I want to do a European river cruise.
For the immediate future- next fall - I’m already booked in Business Class on Royal Jordanian’s 787 across the Atlantic to Amman. There I’ll connect to Qatar Airways Business Class over to Doha, followed by First Class aboard an ex-Cathay 777-300 to Bangkok. I’ll take three or four days at the Summit Windmill Golf Resort before continuing on to Bali for about three weeks. On my return, I’ll be rolling the dice again with Sri Lankan Airlines via a Middle East connection to British Airways back to the U.S. I still want that flight in First aboard BA’s A380.
At this point, I can’t imagine any of you will want to slog another trip report covering travel on the likes of Qatar Airways or Sri Lankan, but rest assured you’ll get one if I snag that ride on Rovos Rail. I can hardly wait for that one, and very likely will combine it with a visit over to the nearby Seychelles.
Sear 2A I am always in awe of your trips I too have coveted a trip to the Seychelles. We have a safari trip to Kenya and Tanzania in Oct, 2025, At end of that trip we are going to the Seychelles for 4 nights.
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