IC Bali Jimbaran Master Thread [merged]
Jun 11, 2019, 12:59 pm
#1291
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold / Hilton Diamond / IHG Diamond Ambassador / Marriot Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 2,527
AMB status will get you a club duplex suite (def worth the 150 $) - that is especially worth it with kids, as they then have an entire floor.
Club is in my opinion worth it, especially when you go for drinks in the evening. The club policy, as stated on the website (note, Luxury Jimbaran Bay hotels |InterContinental Bali Resort takes you to another one than when accessing thru www.intercontinental.com), not to allow kids under 12 during happy hour has (thankfully) never been enforced when I was staying there.
Club is in my opinion worth it, especially when you go for drinks in the evening. The club policy, as stated on the website (note, Luxury Jimbaran Bay hotels |InterContinental Bali Resort takes you to another one than when accessing thru www.intercontinental.com), not to allow kids under 12 during happy hour has (thankfully) never been enforced when I was staying there.
I love this hotel and have been regular ( every two year) for sometime now. My daughter was 1 and is now 17 and she has celebrated a number of her birthdays at the IC Bali. My last visit was in 2017 and I return ahgain in August for a further 12 nights. I thinks that takes us past about 60 nights at the hotel.
The duplex suite last time was looking tired but for a family it is still great. My kids (now young adults) have been made very welcome by the hotel and have graduated from the kids club to the club lounge. However, the hotel always enforced the no kids under 12 rule in the main club lounge during evening cocktails. They also requested they did not use the club pool. I was happy to comply and in any event they always did it so nicely it was hard to argue...plus there is the pool and beach club for all sorts of drinks and nibbles. I have also seen the staff ask patrons who were not club guests to leave the pool and they have always done so diplomatically and quietly.
I have had few complaints and incidents ( room not available from 3pm till 6pm on day of arrival was worst arrival experience) but the hotel have always compensated us royally when things have gone wrong. Dinner for 4 in KU and dinner for 4 in Bella Cucina. The latter following an incident with drunk yobs on a stag do by the club pool
The service has generally been superb and the club wing a haven of peace and of course I am looking forward to going back.
Jun 11, 2019, 6:56 pm
#1292
Join Date: May 2011
Location: South Island, NZ
Programs: IHG Ambassador, Air NZ lowly Jade now, Emirates
Posts: 559
I love IC Bali. Stayed in April in a newly decorated duplex club room. Ocassionally the club lounge service was a bit hit and miss but really, all the staff are quite charming. The grounds are beautiful. Great spa. I would happily return to this hotel again and again.
Jun 27, 2019, 4:13 pm
#1293
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SCQ
Programs: tk gold, lh ftl, ab gold
Posts: 352
Is my understanding correct that Duplex Suite also comes with Club access? What makes me doubt is that Duplex Suite costs less for my dates than a regular Club room.
I was considering booking a standard room and buying Club access separately, but they replied in an email that they don't sell Club access. Is it correct?
I was considering booking a standard room and buying Club access separately, but they replied in an email that they don't sell Club access. Is it correct?
Jun 27, 2019, 11:56 pm
#1295
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SCQ
Programs: tk gold, lh ftl, ab gold
Posts: 352
This is the description of the suite in question.
1 King Premium Duplex Suite
Ideal for family, this stylish newly renovated 79sqm duplex suite with integrated living area plus balcony and upper level ensuite master bedroom. Enjoy the latest technology including Smart iptv system and exclusive complimentary access to premium lounge and kids Club. Extra person charge applies.
1 King Premium Duplex Suite
Ideal for family, this stylish newly renovated 79sqm duplex suite with integrated living area plus balcony and upper level ensuite master bedroom. Enjoy the latest technology including Smart iptv system and exclusive complimentary access to premium lounge and kids Club. Extra person charge applies.
Jun 28, 2019, 5:15 am
#1296
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SIN (LEJ once a year)
Programs: SQ, LH, BA, IHG Diamond AMB, HH Gold, SLH Indulged, Accor Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,726
I understand what it says, misleading if you don't know the property, but this is not the Club Lounge. It is the Singaraja Premium Lounge and has a few (very few) refreshments and some cookies, chips fruits.
It is not the Club Lounge. Just read the lounge description under the Club room and you will see the difference.
It is not the Club Lounge. Just read the lounge description under the Club room and you will see the difference.
Jun 28, 2019, 8:49 am
#1298
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SIN (LEJ once a year)
Programs: SQ, LH, BA, IHG Diamond AMB, HH Gold, SLH Indulged, Accor Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,726
Club only for RA or pay for it. The old days where you could book a Singaraja Duplex and get upgraded to a Club room with Club benefits as AMB are gone.
Jul 1, 2019, 10:46 am
#1299
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Denver, CO
Programs: Delta GM, Delta Amex Plat,
Posts: 148
Trying to get caught up on everything in this thread but interested in staying here in late August. Newly matched Spire from Marriott, any ideas of what to expect as a Spire member?
Jul 1, 2019, 4:51 pm
#1300
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: London
Programs: Hilton, IHG - BA, GA, LH, QR, SV, TK
Posts: 17,005
Buy Ambassador membership and you'll get some sort of upgraded room plus the $20 per stay F&B credit (whoopee!). I'm told that buying into Ambassador at the hotel can generate more enthusiastic upgrading.
Aug 27, 2019, 1:17 am
#1301
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold / Hilton Diamond / IHG Diamond Ambassador / Marriot Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 2,527
I have just spent a further 12 nights in the Club Intercontinental. This was my 6 or 7 visit and I have now been here for more than 60 nights over a long period of time. I love the resort and my stay was great but ........ I have left with a sense of disappointment and some concern for the future of the hotel.
The highlights.
Firstly the staff continue to excel, they are wonderful and make this place what it is. Their training must be fantastic and this combined with the natural Balinese charm makes it a winning combination.
The refurbished rooms are very nice and my duplex has been greatly improved with a downstairs en-suite and storage under the stairs.
Tamin Gita - fabulous for breakfast. The club also has good reports also but it’s too formal for me on when in on holiday. The refurbishment has extended the outdoor area of Tamin Gita significantly.
Checkin was a joy as always and the meet and greet at DPS is brilliant.
The grounds remain outstanding.
I have been coming here since the early 2000’s and I love it however for the first time ever I am not sure I will go back!
Why,
Firstly there is nothing I can pin point precisely as a reason not to return. It was a feeling I got while there and a number of small issues the cumulative effect of which, was to make me reconsider my choices for the future.
Firstly a lot of staff are leaving including the resort manager (who has been in post just over a year) and the F&B manager who doesn’t have a job to go to! Many others are also leaving and there was a distinct sense that all was not well with the staff. Some were more open than others and of course in any organisation not everyone will be happy.
Club benefits have been eroded and “enhanced” away. For example they don’t extend to the Sunset bar now! A separate area for club guests has been created near the club pool overlooking the beach and cocktails are available from 5pm- 7pm.
It does not work. The infrastructure is poor, it’s not comfortable and has all the style of a pop up cafe that was an afterthought. The drinks menu is limited and there is not enough equipment to deliver decent service. I waited 40 minutes one night for 2 drinks! The lights failed more than once!
Drinks are still available at the pool bar but no food.
The period when drinks are available has been reduced by at least an hour and is now from 5pm to 7pm. 5:30pm to 7:30 would have been more reasonable but apparently this change brings things in line with ICs globally. Personally I think it’s just cheap!
The club itself continues to provided an exceptional experience but it too has a very limited drinks menu and the hours are the same.
Afternoon tea is still a feature but in 12 days I had it twice, the first time at checkin.
Ambassador status if worthless on a points stay. My last two nights were using a 241 so I did get an upgrade from club room to club duplex but only because I already had the duplex for 10 nights. The initial offer was 10,000 points as no upgrade was available allegedly.
KO ( Japanese) remains an outstanding experience but is dizzyingly expensive. It starts around £110 for 2 excluding any drinks! Specials are now available on Sunday’s but were poorly advertised. One couple I met spent over 4 million rupiah (£220) on dinner for two.
Jimbaran Garden is poor both in terms of comfort and selection. You will pay 10 times the price of local restaurants for local food. It needs a lot of work to justify the prices charged.
Bella Cuccina had a limited and pricey menu and we didn’t eat there this time.
The discount incentive for eating in the hotel has been enhanced away. Consequently we ate out and noted that there were an increasing number of very good places to eat within 5 minutes walk.
Overall food is very limited in the hotel. Breakfast is exceptional as is the Japanese, but the rest is not what it once was.
The Uluwatu Spa is great but the villa retreat is overpriced for what it is. Facilities just don’t match the prices charged and my treatments were double what I had paid a week earlier at another hotel with far superior facilities.
Massages and reflexology is available across from the hotel at prices that are a tiny fraction of the resort and just as effective.
Price is now a major issue. I had been talking of returning next year and a rate of $385 was available for a club room. This jumped to $415 a day later and with 21% tax and service this makes Club rooms $500 a night. It’s a good hotel but it is not $500 good.
I also met the GM who was worryingly uninspiring! Points guest are an issue for the hotel. Apparently we only spend cash in cities and use the points in resorts. He claimed the value the hotel gets is insufficient which I took to mean a major hike in point rates from January next year.
He also justified the Sunset bar move as being necessary as 150 club guests were drinking complimentary cocktails!!! I did have to point out that they were very far from being complimentary. I also explained that whilst the idea may have been right, it’s execution was a mess.
It was very clear that improving revenues was the number one issue for the hotel. The average stay is just 3.5 days and returning guests account for 22,000 room nights a year. This is not a big number. I was amazed that the GM could not say how many of those were club guests.
In my time there I met 4 separate families who, like me, had been multiple times. We recognised one another from previous stats. One Aussie family have been 90 times but the GM had never spoken to them.
The refurbishment which drags on is nearing an end with buildings 5/6 closed until Christmas. The plan is then to deal with the club pool and villa retreat spa area in the wet season.
My refurbished duplex was, as I said , very nice. My wife didn’t like the bathroom as it’s dark and there is no mirror near a power socket to use a hairdryer. Running a bath takes an age as the water pressure issue was not addressed. Still it’s a good space for families. Being in block 3 however felt like a downgrade and there is just one lift.
Overall I had a great time but on leaving I just didn’t have the urge to go back as I have had before. That might change in the months ahead when a European winter kicks in and I dream of Jimbaran beach and the warm welcoming smiles at the IC Bali.
The highlights.
Firstly the staff continue to excel, they are wonderful and make this place what it is. Their training must be fantastic and this combined with the natural Balinese charm makes it a winning combination.
The refurbished rooms are very nice and my duplex has been greatly improved with a downstairs en-suite and storage under the stairs.
Tamin Gita - fabulous for breakfast. The club also has good reports also but it’s too formal for me on when in on holiday. The refurbishment has extended the outdoor area of Tamin Gita significantly.
Checkin was a joy as always and the meet and greet at DPS is brilliant.
The grounds remain outstanding.
I have been coming here since the early 2000’s and I love it however for the first time ever I am not sure I will go back!
Why,
Firstly there is nothing I can pin point precisely as a reason not to return. It was a feeling I got while there and a number of small issues the cumulative effect of which, was to make me reconsider my choices for the future.
Firstly a lot of staff are leaving including the resort manager (who has been in post just over a year) and the F&B manager who doesn’t have a job to go to! Many others are also leaving and there was a distinct sense that all was not well with the staff. Some were more open than others and of course in any organisation not everyone will be happy.
Club benefits have been eroded and “enhanced” away. For example they don’t extend to the Sunset bar now! A separate area for club guests has been created near the club pool overlooking the beach and cocktails are available from 5pm- 7pm.
It does not work. The infrastructure is poor, it’s not comfortable and has all the style of a pop up cafe that was an afterthought. The drinks menu is limited and there is not enough equipment to deliver decent service. I waited 40 minutes one night for 2 drinks! The lights failed more than once!
Drinks are still available at the pool bar but no food.
The period when drinks are available has been reduced by at least an hour and is now from 5pm to 7pm. 5:30pm to 7:30 would have been more reasonable but apparently this change brings things in line with ICs globally. Personally I think it’s just cheap!
The club itself continues to provided an exceptional experience but it too has a very limited drinks menu and the hours are the same.
Afternoon tea is still a feature but in 12 days I had it twice, the first time at checkin.
Ambassador status if worthless on a points stay. My last two nights were using a 241 so I did get an upgrade from club room to club duplex but only because I already had the duplex for 10 nights. The initial offer was 10,000 points as no upgrade was available allegedly.
KO ( Japanese) remains an outstanding experience but is dizzyingly expensive. It starts around £110 for 2 excluding any drinks! Specials are now available on Sunday’s but were poorly advertised. One couple I met spent over 4 million rupiah (£220) on dinner for two.
Jimbaran Garden is poor both in terms of comfort and selection. You will pay 10 times the price of local restaurants for local food. It needs a lot of work to justify the prices charged.
Bella Cuccina had a limited and pricey menu and we didn’t eat there this time.
The discount incentive for eating in the hotel has been enhanced away. Consequently we ate out and noted that there were an increasing number of very good places to eat within 5 minutes walk.
Overall food is very limited in the hotel. Breakfast is exceptional as is the Japanese, but the rest is not what it once was.
The Uluwatu Spa is great but the villa retreat is overpriced for what it is. Facilities just don’t match the prices charged and my treatments were double what I had paid a week earlier at another hotel with far superior facilities.
Massages and reflexology is available across from the hotel at prices that are a tiny fraction of the resort and just as effective.
Price is now a major issue. I had been talking of returning next year and a rate of $385 was available for a club room. This jumped to $415 a day later and with 21% tax and service this makes Club rooms $500 a night. It’s a good hotel but it is not $500 good.
I also met the GM who was worryingly uninspiring! Points guest are an issue for the hotel. Apparently we only spend cash in cities and use the points in resorts. He claimed the value the hotel gets is insufficient which I took to mean a major hike in point rates from January next year.
He also justified the Sunset bar move as being necessary as 150 club guests were drinking complimentary cocktails!!! I did have to point out that they were very far from being complimentary. I also explained that whilst the idea may have been right, it’s execution was a mess.
It was very clear that improving revenues was the number one issue for the hotel. The average stay is just 3.5 days and returning guests account for 22,000 room nights a year. This is not a big number. I was amazed that the GM could not say how many of those were club guests.
In my time there I met 4 separate families who, like me, had been multiple times. We recognised one another from previous stats. One Aussie family have been 90 times but the GM had never spoken to them.
The refurbishment which drags on is nearing an end with buildings 5/6 closed until Christmas. The plan is then to deal with the club pool and villa retreat spa area in the wet season.
My refurbished duplex was, as I said , very nice. My wife didn’t like the bathroom as it’s dark and there is no mirror near a power socket to use a hairdryer. Running a bath takes an age as the water pressure issue was not addressed. Still it’s a good space for families. Being in block 3 however felt like a downgrade and there is just one lift.
Overall I had a great time but on leaving I just didn’t have the urge to go back as I have had before. That might change in the months ahead when a European winter kicks in and I dream of Jimbaran beach and the warm welcoming smiles at the IC Bali.
Aug 27, 2019, 7:30 am
#1302
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SIN (LEJ once a year)
Programs: SQ, LH, BA, IHG Diamond AMB, HH Gold, SLH Indulged, Accor Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,726
Thanks for the detailed account and update. I can only echo your overall observations. Prices have been going up steadily and not just by a few dollars. F&B was much better in our view 10-15 years ago and started to get more expensive while quality / execution / taste went downhill.
The current GM - mehh, no presence, no genuine interest in the guests. The Resort Manager leaving - not a big loss. The most I saw of him was in Ko with his family focused on getting staff attention over paying guests and demolishing a 50$ sashimi bowl. All personal views of course.
As a guest for 15+ years with 3-4 visits a year, it has been a slow but gradual decline of those things you describe. I have also given tons of feedback over the years, but more recently to no avail and staff in Club (incl. the always nice Asst Mgrs) are barely empowered. Club experience watered so much down over the years while prices really went up a lot.
Grounds are great as always, refurb rooms good, regular staff warm and try a lot, leadership declined from the GMs of the early to mid 2000s steadily. The fact that IHG compensate poorly for points nights makes a redeeming guest an unwelcome cheapskate. Well we don't set those rates after all.
We do stop by every now and then still, but have spread out stays more widely these days and there is a lot of choice at those lofty Club prices, mostly us having our own 1 bedroom Pool Villa. YMMV
The current GM - mehh, no presence, no genuine interest in the guests. The Resort Manager leaving - not a big loss. The most I saw of him was in Ko with his family focused on getting staff attention over paying guests and demolishing a 50$ sashimi bowl. All personal views of course.
As a guest for 15+ years with 3-4 visits a year, it has been a slow but gradual decline of those things you describe. I have also given tons of feedback over the years, but more recently to no avail and staff in Club (incl. the always nice Asst Mgrs) are barely empowered. Club experience watered so much down over the years while prices really went up a lot.
Grounds are great as always, refurb rooms good, regular staff warm and try a lot, leadership declined from the GMs of the early to mid 2000s steadily. The fact that IHG compensate poorly for points nights makes a redeeming guest an unwelcome cheapskate. Well we don't set those rates after all.
We do stop by every now and then still, but have spread out stays more widely these days and there is a lot of choice at those lofty Club prices, mostly us having our own 1 bedroom Pool Villa. YMMV
Last edited by demue; Aug 27, 2019 at 7:50 am
Aug 27, 2019, 8:45 am
#1303
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AA EXP, IHG Diamond, IC Amb
Posts: 5,508
I have just spent a further 12 nights in the Club Intercontinental. This was my 6 or 7 visit and I have now been here for more than 60 nights over a long period of time. I love the resort and my stay was great but ........ I have left with a sense of disappointment and some concern for the future of the hotel.
The highlights.
Firstly the staff continue to excel, they are wonderful and make this place what it is. Their training must be fantastic and this combined with the natural Balinese charm makes it a winning combination.
The refurbished rooms are very nice and my duplex has been greatly improved with a downstairs en-suite and storage under the stairs.
Tamin Gita - fabulous for breakfast. The club also has good reports also but it’s too formal for me on when in on holiday. The refurbishment has extended the outdoor area of Tamin Gita significantly.
Checkin was a joy as always and the meet and greet at DPS is brilliant.
The grounds remain outstanding.
I have been coming here since the early 2000’s and I love it however for the first time ever I am not sure I will go back!
Why,
Firstly there is nothing I can pin point precisely as a reason not to return. It was a feeling I got while there and a number of small issues the cumulative effect of which, was to make me reconsider my choices for the future.
Firstly a lot of staff are leaving including the resort manager (who has been in post just over a year) and the F&B manager who doesn’t have a job to go to! Many others are also leaving and there was a distinct sense that all was not well with the staff. Some were more open than others and of course in any organisation not everyone will be happy.
Club benefits have been eroded and “enhanced” away. For example they don’t extend to the Sunset bar now! A separate area for club guests has been created near the club pool overlooking the beach and cocktails are available from 5pm- 7pm.
It does not work. The infrastructure is poor, it’s not comfortable and has all the style of a pop up cafe that was an afterthought. The drinks menu is limited and there is not enough equipment to deliver decent service. I waited 40 minutes one night for 2 drinks! The lights failed more than once!
Drinks are still available at the pool bar but no food.
The period when drinks are available has been reduced by at least an hour and is now from 5pm to 7pm. 5:30pm to 7:30 would have been more reasonable but apparently this change brings things in line with ICs globally. Personally I think it’s just cheap!
The club itself continues to provided an exceptional experience but it too has a very limited drinks menu and the hours are the same.
Afternoon tea is still a feature but in 12 days I had it twice, the first time at checkin.
Ambassador status if worthless on a points stay. My last two nights were using a 241 so I did get an upgrade from club room to club duplex but only because I already had the duplex for 10 nights. The initial offer was 10,000 points as no upgrade was available allegedly.
KO ( Japanese) remains an outstanding experience but is dizzyingly expensive. It starts around £110 for 2 excluding any drinks! Specials are now available on Sunday’s but were poorly advertised. One couple I met spent over 4 million rupiah (£220) on dinner for two.
Jimbaran Garden is poor both in terms of comfort and selection. You will pay 10 times the price of local restaurants for local food. It needs a lot of work to justify the prices charged.
Bella Cuccina had a limited and pricey menu and we didn’t eat there this time.
The discount incentive for eating in the hotel has been enhanced away. Consequently we ate out and noted that there were an increasing number of very good places to eat within 5 minutes walk.
Overall food is very limited in the hotel. Breakfast is exceptional as is the Japanese, but the rest is not what it once was.
The Uluwatu Spa is great but the villa retreat is overpriced for what it is. Facilities just don’t match the prices charged and my treatments were double what I had paid a week earlier at another hotel with far superior facilities.
Massages and reflexology is available across from the hotel at prices that are a tiny fraction of the resort and just as effective.
Price is now a major issue. I had been talking of returning next year and a rate of $385 was available for a club room. This jumped to $415 a day later and with 21% tax and service this makes Club rooms $500 a night. It’s a good hotel but it is not $500 good.
I also met the GM who was worryingly uninspiring! Points guest are an issue for the hotel. Apparently we only spend cash in cities and use the points in resorts. He claimed the value the hotel gets is insufficient which I took to mean a major hike in point rates from January next year.
He also justified the Sunset bar move as being necessary as 150 club guests were drinking complimentary cocktails!!! I did have to point out that they were very far from being complimentary. I also explained that whilst the idea may have been right, it’s execution was a mess.
It was very clear that improving revenues was the number one issue for the hotel. The average stay is just 3.5 days and returning guests account for 22,000 room nights a year. This is not a big number. I was amazed that the GM could not say how many of those were club guests.
In my time there I met 4 separate families who, like me, had been multiple times. We recognised one another from previous stats. One Aussie family have been 90 times but the GM had never spoken to them.
The refurbishment which drags on is nearing an end with buildings 5/6 closed until Christmas. The plan is then to deal with the club pool and villa retreat spa area in the wet season.
My refurbished duplex was, as I said , very nice. My wife didn’t like the bathroom as it’s dark and there is no mirror near a power socket to use a hairdryer. Running a bath takes an age as the water pressure issue was not addressed. Still it’s a good space for families. Being in block 3 however felt like a downgrade and there is just one lift.
Overall I had a great time but on leaving I just didn’t have the urge to go back as I have had before. That might change in the months ahead when a European winter kicks in and I dream of Jimbaran beach and the warm welcoming smiles at the IC Bali.
The highlights.
Firstly the staff continue to excel, they are wonderful and make this place what it is. Their training must be fantastic and this combined with the natural Balinese charm makes it a winning combination.
The refurbished rooms are very nice and my duplex has been greatly improved with a downstairs en-suite and storage under the stairs.
Tamin Gita - fabulous for breakfast. The club also has good reports also but it’s too formal for me on when in on holiday. The refurbishment has extended the outdoor area of Tamin Gita significantly.
Checkin was a joy as always and the meet and greet at DPS is brilliant.
The grounds remain outstanding.
I have been coming here since the early 2000’s and I love it however for the first time ever I am not sure I will go back!
Why,
Firstly there is nothing I can pin point precisely as a reason not to return. It was a feeling I got while there and a number of small issues the cumulative effect of which, was to make me reconsider my choices for the future.
Firstly a lot of staff are leaving including the resort manager (who has been in post just over a year) and the F&B manager who doesn’t have a job to go to! Many others are also leaving and there was a distinct sense that all was not well with the staff. Some were more open than others and of course in any organisation not everyone will be happy.
Club benefits have been eroded and “enhanced” away. For example they don’t extend to the Sunset bar now! A separate area for club guests has been created near the club pool overlooking the beach and cocktails are available from 5pm- 7pm.
It does not work. The infrastructure is poor, it’s not comfortable and has all the style of a pop up cafe that was an afterthought. The drinks menu is limited and there is not enough equipment to deliver decent service. I waited 40 minutes one night for 2 drinks! The lights failed more than once!
Drinks are still available at the pool bar but no food.
The period when drinks are available has been reduced by at least an hour and is now from 5pm to 7pm. 5:30pm to 7:30 would have been more reasonable but apparently this change brings things in line with ICs globally. Personally I think it’s just cheap!
The club itself continues to provided an exceptional experience but it too has a very limited drinks menu and the hours are the same.
Afternoon tea is still a feature but in 12 days I had it twice, the first time at checkin.
Ambassador status if worthless on a points stay. My last two nights were using a 241 so I did get an upgrade from club room to club duplex but only because I already had the duplex for 10 nights. The initial offer was 10,000 points as no upgrade was available allegedly.
KO ( Japanese) remains an outstanding experience but is dizzyingly expensive. It starts around £110 for 2 excluding any drinks! Specials are now available on Sunday’s but were poorly advertised. One couple I met spent over 4 million rupiah (£220) on dinner for two.
Jimbaran Garden is poor both in terms of comfort and selection. You will pay 10 times the price of local restaurants for local food. It needs a lot of work to justify the prices charged.
Bella Cuccina had a limited and pricey menu and we didn’t eat there this time.
The discount incentive for eating in the hotel has been enhanced away. Consequently we ate out and noted that there were an increasing number of very good places to eat within 5 minutes walk.
Overall food is very limited in the hotel. Breakfast is exceptional as is the Japanese, but the rest is not what it once was.
The Uluwatu Spa is great but the villa retreat is overpriced for what it is. Facilities just don’t match the prices charged and my treatments were double what I had paid a week earlier at another hotel with far superior facilities.
Massages and reflexology is available across from the hotel at prices that are a tiny fraction of the resort and just as effective.
Price is now a major issue. I had been talking of returning next year and a rate of $385 was available for a club room. This jumped to $415 a day later and with 21% tax and service this makes Club rooms $500 a night. It’s a good hotel but it is not $500 good.
I also met the GM who was worryingly uninspiring! Points guest are an issue for the hotel. Apparently we only spend cash in cities and use the points in resorts. He claimed the value the hotel gets is insufficient which I took to mean a major hike in point rates from January next year.
He also justified the Sunset bar move as being necessary as 150 club guests were drinking complimentary cocktails!!! I did have to point out that they were very far from being complimentary. I also explained that whilst the idea may have been right, it’s execution was a mess.
It was very clear that improving revenues was the number one issue for the hotel. The average stay is just 3.5 days and returning guests account for 22,000 room nights a year. This is not a big number. I was amazed that the GM could not say how many of those were club guests.
In my time there I met 4 separate families who, like me, had been multiple times. We recognised one another from previous stats. One Aussie family have been 90 times but the GM had never spoken to them.
The refurbishment which drags on is nearing an end with buildings 5/6 closed until Christmas. The plan is then to deal with the club pool and villa retreat spa area in the wet season.
My refurbished duplex was, as I said , very nice. My wife didn’t like the bathroom as it’s dark and there is no mirror near a power socket to use a hairdryer. Running a bath takes an age as the water pressure issue was not addressed. Still it’s a good space for families. Being in block 3 however felt like a downgrade and there is just one lift.
Overall I had a great time but on leaving I just didn’t have the urge to go back as I have had before. That might change in the months ahead when a European winter kicks in and I dream of Jimbaran beach and the warm welcoming smiles at the IC Bali.
The Club experience is a rip-off at this hotel. We did it the first trip and didn’t see the value at all whereas at HKG and Paris Le Grande it is always worth it.
I agree that The hotel restaurants are also ridiculously overpriced!!! But what makes this hotel so great is it’s location right next to some of Bali’s best places to eat next door.
The hotel’s main breakfast is one of the best in the world and I always book a rate that includes it.
The rates have gone up....but interestingly enough, I don’t stay here for all of my semi-annual 12-night vacations due to the other nice places in Bali and Lembongan being less than 1/2 of the IC rates—I usually stay here 4 or 8 nights max and move on.
Aug 29, 2019, 10:08 am
#1304
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2002
Location: NC
Programs: AAConciergeKey/1MM, DL DM/2 MM, UA Gold,Hilton Diamond, IHG Plat, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 11,961
Is the beach still dirty with trash and dead fish often washing ashore? or have they addressed that issue now?
Is it true that kids under 12 are not permitted in the club lounge during evening happy hour?
Outside of the room renovations, it seems like nothing else at the hotel has been updated in the past year or two...is that correct?
Aug 29, 2019, 4:57 pm
#1305
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: London
Programs: Hilton, IHG - BA, GA, LH, QR, SV, TK
Posts: 17,005
Are these no longer distinct wings? have they been renamed or moved? or are they just using it at the moment since the Club wing has been closed?
Is the beach still dirty with trash and dead fish often washing ashore? or have they addressed that issue now?
Is it true that kids under 12 are not permitted in the club lounge during evening happy hour?
Outside of the room renovations, it seems like nothing else at the hotel has been updated in the past year or two...is that correct?
Is the beach still dirty with trash and dead fish often washing ashore? or have they addressed that issue now?
Is it true that kids under 12 are not permitted in the club lounge during evening happy hour?
Outside of the room renovations, it seems like nothing else at the hotel has been updated in the past year or two...is that correct?
We went back for a weekend, after giving the place a miss for quite some years. And that's it, we shan't be back.
Swamped by electronic messages welcoming us, entreating us to have a great time, asking us just how great our time was: even a totally useless welcome call in the car from he airport... yet they managed to get so many things wrong on the ground, in the physical world. From a miserable room, through stained sheets to mistakes in the bill.
The location and extensive grounds remain superb, but someone in charge has taken his eye off the ball.