FlyerTalk Forums - Bali 2002

My wife and I went to Bali on our honeymoon two years ago, so I can't speak to the current political situation. Keep in mind however, that Bali's population is made up of primarily Hindus, and has escaped much of the unrest that has plagued other parts of Indonesia over the years.

As far as hotels, we bounced around somewhat to try out as many as possible. We started out at the Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay, which was spectacular. I'm sure you've already heard about the indoor/outdoor layout of the rooms, the plunge pool, outdoor shower, etc. The service was every bit as spectacular as the rooms. It seems like most of the staff knows your name (which is amazing in a hotel of 147 rooms). The food is wonderful. One night we had the traditional Rijstaffel (sp?) dinner with a small group of other guests, where we were able to try a wide variety of Balinese and Indonesian curries, rice dishes, etc. I would also recommend a trip to the market in Jimbaran, with a guide from the hotel. I think I took as many pictures in the fruit/veg market and at the fish market as I did at the hotel. We're really into food though!

From the FS Jimbaran we went to Amankila, on the Eastern coast of the island. When we were at the FS, we never wanted to leave our room, because as beautiful as the grounds were, the room was even better. At Amankila the reverse was true. We would leave our room (nice, but not spectacular) in the morning and spend all day at the tiered pools on the cliff above the ocean, at the beachside pool, or in a bale on the beach. Amankila is much smaller than the FS, and while there were other guests around, it felt extremely private and secluded. Service excelled the FS. We arrived late in the afternoon, and didn't do much but have dinner the first night (a delightful fish curry). The next morning at around 10, we were lounging in a bale on the beach when a man came up to us. He introduced himself, with an Australian accent, as the hotel's chef, congratulated us on our wedding and asked us if the fish curry was to our liking!!!

The hotel hosted a traditional Balinese dance presentation, which was flawless, a sate barbeque for dinner one night, and an afternoon tea with cakes with sweet palm sugar every day.

From there we went to Amandari, which was, quite frankly, a disappointment. The rooms seemed a little dated, a rooster from the house next door kept us up much of the night, and some of the activities that we were interested in were fully booked. We decided to cut short our stay there and move to Amanusa for the final two days. As a side note, I mailed a letter detailing our disappointment with Amandari upon our return home, and the management was extremely gracious and generous in their response (as you would hope when you are paying $700 a night).

Amanusa, despite being about a mile or so from the beach and set on a golf course, was spectacular. It also seems to be the least visited of the three Amanresorts in Bali, and is the newest. We enjoyed it very much, and while it may not be at the top of some visitors lists, I would actually recommend a couple of days there if you have them. Also, we took an Indonesian cooking class in one of the hotel's restaurant kitchen, and we got to eat what we prepared afterwards http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif.

Make sure that the hotels all know it is your honeymoon, as they all did something nice for us (from special decoration to chocolates).

We flew LAX-NRT-SIN-DPS on SQ, which was a long haul. We flew in Y, so tough to say too much about service. I like CX Y class a little better than SQ, but both are good for Y. Maybe you could go through HKG on CX and cut out one stop. We really wanted to spend a few days in SIN at the end of the trip to eat pepper crabs, noodles, etc., which was well worth the extra stop.

ENJOY!