I recently completed a very good 7-night stay at Grand Hyatt Bali.  I paid $122 flexible rate per night which I suspect is at the low end of the range for this property given rates that I saw for other dates.  Overall I found this hotel to be great value for this price especially for a Globalist.

Location

Upon exiting baggage claim at the airport, I went to a taxi stand and was told it’s 300k IDR to go to the hotel.  Based on limited research I had done prior to the trip, I knew this was too much so I left the counter.  Someone approached me and asked how much I would pay and we settled for 200k IDR.  On the way back at the end of the trip, I asked hotel staff to call a taxi with Grab Taxi and it cost only 67k IDR including motorway toll and airport entrance fee, plus tip.  Regarding the location of the hotel, it was my first trip to Bali so I was not familiar with the differences between different areas of Bali.  I am still no expert by any means, but I would make a few comments about the Nusa Dua area.  The entire area is gated with security at the entrance.  Inside Nusa Dua you can find lots of 5-star hotels. The entire area is very well maintained and is completely different from the chaos in other areas such as Ubud or Kuta. If you want action and nightlife, then Nusa Dua is not for you.  If you want a relaxing trip, then Nusa Dua is perfect.  The downside is that you won’t see traditional Bali unless you get out of Nusa Dua for a day tour.  There are several restaurants and shops at Bali Collection which is a shopping area within walking distance of Grand Hyatt.  

Beach

Many hotels in Nusa Dua do not have direct beach access, but GH does. The beach is generally good but I was surprised to see a lot of trash on the beach during an early morning walk. Various hotels on the beach have crew to clean the beach early morning, but the problem is that there is a lot of trash washing ashore from the sea during the night.  If you go to the beach late morning after cleaning is finished, the beach is very clean.  However as trash comes in during the day, then late afternoon it’s not as nice although some staff is there to clean some parts of the beach during the afternoon.  During the night you have a few hours of trash coming in without anybody to pick up the trash so early morning the beach is not so nice unless you walk close to hotels rather than close to the water.  

Room

I used a Globalist Suite Upgrade award and got a room which looked exactly the same as Singapore_Air’s first room based on his detailed review earlier this month.  The suite upgrade award books into the Grand Suite King room type and this is the room I think I received.  I do not think Singapore_Air is correct when he says it’s a Club Executive Suite King. The executive suites are supposed to be 141 sq m whereas the grand suites are 98 sq m.  The room is very nice as you can see from the pictures he posted so no need for me to add more especially since his pictures are of better quality than mine.  The only thing I would add is a picture of the balcony which is of a good size and which is overlooking the garden.  The room is very comfortable, AC is strong, water pressure in the shower is good, and for convenience there is a DVD player in the living room.

Dining

Not many hotels in Bali have a lounge, in fact most do not.  None of the Starwood hotels have a lounge as far as I know.  Hilton has a lounge, but Conrad does not.  I am not sure about other hotel chains, but I am only aware of Sofitel Nusa Dua and Intercontinental Jimbaran that have one. So the fact that Grand Hyatt has a lounge was a plus for us, and it makes the hotel more valuable for a Globalist compared to other options in Bali.  Unfortunately, the breakfast in the lounge was disappointing.  On some days it has only one Asian option (noodle soup), and other days none at all because the chef station was serving something else, for example oatmeal.  The rest was very typical western, such as omelets, bacon & sausage, bakeries, fruits, and yogurt.  Globalists do not get free breakfast in the restaurant and you have to pay $26 per person which I thought was a bit expensive for Bali standards, and in contrast with the price of the restaurants on the resort for lunch or dinner which were more reasonably priced.  While breakfast in the lounge was not a hit for me, happy hour in the evening 5pm-7pm was very nice.  The quality of the food was excellent and they have great variety changing every day as you could see from the previous reviewer.  During my entire stay the lounge was very quiet and a peace haven, for both breakfast or in the evening.  At no time was it more than 30% full.  So given that it was a great place to relax and that many other hotels in Bali do not even have a lounge, in conclusion I cannot complain about breakfast. I usually enjoy a quiet place for breakfast rather than a busy buffet, and I got exactly that.  I just think it would be fairly easy for the hotel to make a significant improvement by adding one or two noodle / rice dishes, or an Asian mixed salad.

Pool

The resort has several pools and for sure anybody can find one that will please them.  The main pool is the lagoon pool which is a traditional pool with lots of chairs all around.  

There is also a river pool which reminded me of the pool at Hyatt Regency Hua Hin.  My pictures do not do justice because you cannot see the long winding river of the pool; you only see a small section of it. 

There is also a small pool for Club Lounge guests only which is very quiet and private.  

The traditional Balinese pool also seemed quiet although I did not go there except to take a couple of pictures.  

There is another pool outside the Fitness center.  Finally, there are a hot whirlpool, a cold pool (15C), and a toddlers’ pool.  All of this on top of being right on the beach with plenty more chairs over there. In some resorts, I am sometimes a bit irritated when I cannot find a spot to sit by the pool.  At Grand Hyatt I do not think this happens.  Even at peak times in the afternoon, no more than half the chairs were occupied at any of the pools or at the beach.  During one of our day tours, the guide told us that the Hyatt Regency has been undergoing renovations for the last 5 years and that it should re-open later this year.  Since it’s the same owner for GH and HR, there is a shuttle bus to allow guests to use facilities of the other hotel.  So once HR is open, the pool and beach area of GH is probably going to be a bit more crowded because of guests coming from HR, but it seems to be fully able to handle a greater volume of guests. 

Service

Service at the hotel is generally very good.  The only hiccup we had was a “welfare check” done on our first two days despite the privacy sign being on the door.  I had called housekeeping a few hours earlier so I did not think security had to check if we were all right – they should have known.  I mentioned this in the Club Lounge and the problem did not occur again.  Overall the resort is very well maintained throughout with lots of staff to take care of plants, flowers, etc.  

Also in my room I noticed one light bulb went out, and it was replaced that same day without me asking anything.  Turndown service was done every day, conveniently during happy hour in the Club Lounge so I also did not need to ask anything to have it done. Housekeeping did a great job every day. The hotel has a travel agency on site which we used to book a day tour.  We subsequently found out that if we had booked from another source, we could have had a day tour for less than half price what we paid at the hotel.  So if you don’t mind paying far more for the convenience of booking at the hotel then fine, if not you can save considerable money by finding an alternative way to book. 

Amenities

Regarding amenities, I was not a big fan of the hotel’s generic brand of soap and shampoo.  On the plus side, you will never lack any bottled water there.  They had more than a dozen bottles scattered in the room and replenished frequently.  Finally, wifi has good connection speeds and was better than I expected for a resort in Bali.  Wifi was good not only in the room, but also in the Club Lounge.  At the pool it depends where you sit.

Overall

Overall GH is a solid option in Nusa Dua.  On a future trip to Bali, if I am in the mood for more action for example in Seminyak then obviously I would look somewhere other than Grand Hyatt.  But if I want to stick to Nusa Dua, if the price is not unusually high at GH, and if I can secure a suite upgrade, I would not shop around much and just book GH.