Seminyak has very similar feel to Nusa Dua, I'd cut one of them and split the whole stay between beach and Ubud to get to experience both sides of the island. Otherwise you will feel that it's too rushed.

I would pick Seminyak over Nusa Dua

I think it'd mainly come down to the particular property he'd be staying at, Nusa Dua has some nice hotel like the StR or Ritz. I'd take 3 days just relaxing at the resort (there isn't much to do around Nusa Dua or Seminyak anyway, nothing unique that you couldn't find anywhere else) and then move on to Ubud to get to actually experience the island.

Had a very nice stay here. Food is excellent, hardly ever had such nice meals in a hotel restaurant. Tried all their signature dishes.
Room service only until 10pm though...

Bed was so comfortable...
Great place to stay and chill.
music at pool during happy hour a bit loud though...

any recent stays here.
any plat upgrades to suites now?
also see that the plat benefit is now 500 pts only.

Had a 2 night stay here as we go hotel hopping in Bali. Initially was going to stay at the Alila Ubud but decided it was too far from Ubud central. Settled for this Element that looked relatively nice and close to the center.

Arrived from Sanur. The resort is a little set back from the main road which is nice. Open lobby. Welcomed as a titanium member and was told it was not a brand standard to upgrade but was offered a pool access room. Selected bonus points as titanium member. Breakfast was for all guests.

the lobby is on the 5th floor and the rest of the property slopes down (also rooms on the 6th and 7th, there is no 4th floor) and 2nd floor was the pool floor. Got a nice room with two doubles (two twins per the category but the beds are doubles and can be good for 2 adults and 2 kids). Standard looking room with shower only. Walkout patio directly to the pool deck was convenient for the kids.

the pool is split into three parts. A shallow pool for the toddlers, a connected main pool that is semi long enough for laps. The main pool waterfalls into a smaller pool on a lower level between the main pool and the spa/fitness center. There is a pool bar with fast food and beverage service.

the fitness center is small next to the spa with limited machines and some free weights. The spa prices were hotel prices.

main restaurant is on the 3rd floor serving breakfast and all other meals including room service. Breakfast had a wide variety of dishes, both western and local, egg station, and lots of bakery and fruits. A great breakfast considering it’s included for everyone staying.

the location of the hotel is nice. Maybe a 20-25 minute walk to Ubud central. You can also take the hotel shuttle to central and the monkey forest (schedule is every 2 hours starting at 9am to 7pm). We missed a shuttle to central but the driver was kind enough to take our group anyways (we tipped him well). Pickup is only from monkey forest because of the taxi stronghold in central area. Taxi back to element ended up to be 60k-70k (with prices initially requested at 100k). Ubud has lots of good cafes and massage places. There are bikes for rentals but Ubud roads are not exactly good for bikes…

overall a great property at an excellent price point of around $85 including tax and breakfast.

I just checked in and I can't believe this is a Element property. Strong contrast from Element in North America when it comes to service.
As soon as you arrive the large open air lobby and a person playing some traditional balinese instrument struck quite the impression on me. Is this really the same select tier Element brand that I discount as being budget hotel?
I booked a basic king room as I always do with hotels and was upgraded to the deluxe premium king with balcony on the second floor. I inquired about suite upgrades but they were fully booked (app wasn't showing any suites as well). The penthouse suite supposedly is not in the upgrade pool unless you use NUA.
As a titanium elite I was offered 500 pts vs a stuffed owl plushy which is a miniature version of the owl plushies they have in the lobby couches. Obviously went with the plushy.
They also had a little game for us where they had a deck of cards that had one of three prizes that you choose at random:

• Complimentary beer at pool bar
• 500 pts
• 100,000 IDR F&B credit

We ended up selecting the beers but then they asked if I was positively sure and offered to switch with any others. I kept the beers.
And as a result of having no lounge, they offered to make us cocktails as welcome drink while we wait for the room to be prepared. There was one alcoholic option and two mocktail options.
We were also given a voucher for 250,000 IDR of laundry. The front desk staff said it was enough for one bag worth but the voucher text seemed to imply standard pricing applies but it'll deduct 250,000 IDR.
All in all, very impressive soft product offerings.

The room itself was very nice for an Element. Great wood accents all over, big living space for a room, and the linens were surprisingly not scratchy (I'm looking at you, Element Edmonton) but actually rather soft like I was at a Westin. The second floor room had the balcony facing one of the garden walls. They also had prepared some treats for us in the form of a tart, chocolates, and fruits to celebrate our anniversary, along with the bed decorated with rose petals and towels folded as elephants holding a rose! Again, am I in an Element or a Westin???

Will update on how the brekkie and showers are like but so far I am so damn impressed with this hotel that I booked for under 3.1M IDR all in for two nights.

Good rate. May I ask how far in advance you booked?

I'm really tempted to stay here for a few nights in November. How does this hold up against the Westin also in the area? The Westin is double the price of Element....

depends on your needs. Element is small footprint wise so with just a party of +8 using the pool at once (aka the centre of the property) it can feel somewhat busy. If you don’t need much amenities and are very very very simple with on property dining then you’ll be fine.

hard product wise the element is fantastic, and you’ll be questioning whether you’re at the right property or not. Fantastic staff as well.

but at that price difference, and assuming you won’t be using the property as a resort stay but will be out and about in Bali, I’m going Element.

It is nice to hear that the hard product is fantastic. We want to stay in the Ubud area to access the nearby attractions such as the rice fields and the monkey forests. We are not the type of people who lounge all day in the resort. As it will be our first time in Bali, would you recommend that we stay for 2 or 3 nights? We only have 6 nights in total, unfortunately.

if you just need a nice bed to sleep in then Element is more than sufficient. I stayed here 2 days before moving onto a resort (Mandapa). I'd just treat it as your home base for trips around the area and stay as long as needed for that. Can't really speak on how many days since everyone has diff taste on sightseeing.

I think we’ll be in the camp of needing a nice bed to sleep in. We appreciate a nice FS/RC but I think we’ll be spending a lot of time exploring the area.