kmklint

Sayan:

A true representation of Balinese beauty (location). The main building is artisically stunning. Get a river villa, its worth it. (sense of seclusion, private outdoor space, views and the river.) Felt sparsely populated and private.

Very few negatives. My villa was showing some age. Materials were not "as fresh." I believe the resort was built in 1998.

In terms of privacy and beauty it edges out FS Chiang Mai.

Jimbaran:

The villa had fine attention to decorum, architecture. Spared no expense in materials used (loved the thatch roof and all the marble). The villa gave a sense of privacy with good use of small outdoor space. Had every service/amenity you would want on a large resort.

Negatives: Looking at the AIRPORT. Don't let others fool you, it's not off in the distance. Being awoken to a jet flying over your thatched villa at midnight. Too many villas. A fair amount of children, its the "family" resort of the two. Ugly beach. Ugly view. Its psychologically hard to accept that your on a remote and beautiful island when your main view is of the industrial looking airport.

Next time, if I want an ocean view I'll stay at Amankila. Does anyone know if the Ritz Carlton has a nicer view? Also, I question the appeal of staying in the Jimbaran bay area. Too touristic.

DrivingRain

Short answer to this is yes.

Long answer is that they are very different properties. The RC is a large-family resort similar to what is found in the US...only better in every way and less expensive. If that is the experience you are looking for, then it is hard to beat the RC Bali. It is not, however, a secluded couples resort. If that is what you want, FS Sayan or Amans are much better choices.

All that being said, the RC has a new set of villas away from the resort (the Cliff Villas) that are meant to be more secluded. Perhaps those villas address the couples market in a better way...

stimpy

Surprisingly, Jimbaran is one place where the Intercontinental is much better than the FS. Especially if you book a Club suite.

kmklint

The intercontinental would be a poor choice for me aswell. Because they both have that dreaded airport view and poor quality beach.

stimpy

Huh? Have you ever been there? The beach is great and while you can see the airport from the beach, you can't see it from the rooms and you can't hear the planes either.

kmklint

I walked right past the intercontinental several times since the Four seasons share the same beach ( there both in the bay.) The IC is actually closer to the airport. Its also closer to the fishing village/ public beach and all those tired looking seafood outlets. The property & grounds of the IC looked very nice though. For me, I felt that the Jimbaran bay area could of been plucked straight from south Florida. It hardly scratches the surface of "real" Bali.

stimpy

I haven't been to the FS, but if it indeed shares the same beach with the FS, then there is no way the planes are going overhead. The runway is perpendicular to the hotel. And if you look around I find that Jimbaran is indeed the real Bali. It's Kuta that is more like Florida.

Go on the IC board and ask around. Most Flyertalkers who go there feel that this IC is the top IC resort in the world.

Kagehitokiri

the private pools and rates are the only things i really see as negatives for the IC

stimpy

When you factor in 24hr free food in the club, free drinks at certain times, free pickup inside immigration (no other hotel does this) then the Club rates really aren't that bad. If you happen to be RA too, we'll it's a no-brainer.

kmklint

I'll say it again. The FS and IC share the same beach. I literally walked from the FS to the IC via the beach. The properties are just on different parts of the same beach and are fairly close to each other. One (the FS) is parallel and the IC is perpendicular to that eyesore of an airport. The IC just gets a different view of the same airport activity.

Ericka

I agree that the view of the airport from the Jimbaran properties is terrible and the area in general is too touristy - which is why it was bombed a few years ago. I think the more secluded parts of Bali (like Amankila) offer a better beach, better view and more of a feeling for the "real" Bali. The more secluded areas are also safer.

Then again, some people really like all that hustle and bustle. Different strokes...

xracer

It's funny how two people can stay at the same places and have completely different views on them. When I was at the FS Jimbaran, I remember seeing the planes in the distance but never heard them and certainly didn't think the airport was close enough to be an eyesore. Maybe the villa one is in makes a difference.

Agree that no resort in Jimbaran could compare to Amankila. I liked FS Jimbaran quite a bit, but Amankila (both the resort and the area which it is in) was an order of magnitude superior.

And I was completely unimpressed with the FS Sayan and Ubud. The area itself is lovely, but in my opinion, the architecture of the resort, while visually intriguing, has no sense of place, the service was mediocre at best and the room (except for the outside space) was very average. I much preferred the FS Chiang Mai, as the architecture really seemed to fit in with the surroundings and the service was out of this world.

Ubud may have been the 'real' Bali at one point, but I found it to be as crowded (if not more so) with tourists as Jimbaran was.

Just my $.02

DataPlumber

Good review.

I will say of Jimbaran that it is the nicest airport hotel I've ever stayed in. The FS Sayan rocks in everyway.^

Pauldublin

I like the beach at jimbaran. The sand is softer and lighter than the volcanic sand at Amankila (of course the privacy at amankila beach is unbeatable).

We stayed at The Royal villa (2 bed with extra bedroom for butler) at the FS and we could see planes taking off while swimming in the villas' pool. But the noise wasnt noticeable.

The FS is a short stroll from the IC and they are on the same beach.

The landscaping at FS with beautiful flowering trees attempts to block out (and succeeds in some areas) the view of the airport. The landscaping at the IC is not as good.

Im sure anyone who has stayed at Amankila noticed the regular industrial barge/ship crossing the sea in front of the resort, I found that more irritating than the planes in front of the FS.

Neither 'intrusion' would stop me from going back to either resort.

Michelin Girl

My husband and I chose between FS and the Amans for a one week stay in Jimbaran Bay followed by another week in Ubud. We decided on FS for both because, although both were expensive, FS seemed slightly more reasonable. We had a villa looking out on the sea at Jimbaran and one of the newer villas up on the ridge rather than down by the river at Sayan. I chose the ridge villa over the riverside ones after I rang the hotel and one of the staff told me that the river villas had lots of mosquitoes at that time. So, since he was so nice, I asked him to please put us in the nicest ridge villa available since we were staying a total of two weeks in FS Bali hotels.

We were very pleased with the accomodations provided at both. I loved the Jimbaran Bay villa and it had a beautiful view. Yes, you can see the airplanes but I don't recall it ever bothering me. The interiors were nice and very local.

Our Sayan villa was reportedly the one that the owners use when they are there. It is one of the newer/ newest villas so the interiors are modern and lovely. I had a chance to look at several of the river villas and they indeed looked old and worn-out compared to our ridge villa. Our ridge villa was also much quieter. The river is the one of the attractions at Sayan, but if you are concerned about shabby-ish interiors, I suggest asking the hotel to give you their newest villas.

Also we ate at the Amans and the food was the same quality as at FS : good and enjoyable enough, but not a Michelin 3-star meal. In fact, FS had more variety. I would stay there again.