In Reply to: Le Meridien vs Grand Hyatt posted by Zahi & Ghada on Friday, 30. April 1999 at 14:40 Bali Time:
My family stayed at both properties during November with our seven year old son. We found the Le Meridien to be a far superior property! It is newer and in pristine condition, while the Grand Hyatt looks to be about 20+ years old with many areas in need of repair or refurbishing. The Grand Hyatt had the worst mattresses that we have ever slept on. As far a water slides, the Le Meridien has the best and the longest (105 meters). Both have nice grounds. The Grand Hyatt is almost too large but does have a usable beach, while the Le Meridien is off the beaten path near Tanna Lot (a great place to watch the sun set but not suitable for swimming). Both have kids clubs. The Le Meridien's kid's club has a three story pirate ship/fort that my son found very fun. They also have an air-conditioned building where the kids can watch video tapes, and a small shallow pool. We did not use the kids club at the Grand Hyatt. On a scale of 1-10 the service at the Grand Hyatt was a 7-8, while the Le Meridien was a Perfect "10". Several last items that we appreciated at the Le Meridien included:
1. A good breeze most of the time.
2. A French pastry chef that produced wonderful baked goods.
3. Free (at least in November) bottled water with meals. After being at the pool or on the various tours we drank a lot of bottled water with our meals. Many of the hotels (like the Hyatt)in Bali charge for drinking water during meals. It can get quite expensive if you drink as much as we did.
Additional things that we did not like at the Hyatt include:
1. Having to use a coupon/ticket to get and return towels. If you did not return all your coupons you would pay. Sounds like spring break in Florida.
2. Having to come to the front desk and fill out a form to get a $4 electrical plug converter.
3. Having to beg for a bottle opener to be brought to our room.
4. Broken elevators.
We are going back to Bali in May and will be staying at the Le Meridien. If we were not staying there we would stay at the Ritz or Nikko. Both are newer properties located in the Nusa Dua area.