My final instalment
So far we had stayed in 2 very different locations - Novotel in Tanjung Benoa and the Bali Beach House in Amed and really enjoyed them both. We then moved on to the Dynasty in Tuban for our final 5 nights - hoping we wouldn't regret it and wish we had stayed longer at the other places. The Dynasty would not be my own personal choice but as it was a family holiday it seemed a good place to stay with my 6 & 8 yr old daughters. Hubby and I wanted to hit the shops and restaurants and the girls were looking forward to having more kids around etc. Well , it was a great choice and we didn't regret it for a second. The busyness of the place and the huge number of Australians all in one spot, was a bit of a shock to the system at first, but we soon adapted !!! At our previous locations - (being aussies) we were definitely in the minority.
After good advice on the forum - we booked an executive suite for the 4 of us and it was fantastic. After no tv for awhile the girls loved having their own big screen tv and dvd player and we loved our huge separate bedroom with our own tv. The suites are newly renovated and have a kitchen area with full size fridge and water dispenser, a living area with 3 sofas - 2 of which became the girls beds , a separate main bedroom and a huge bathroom with separate shower and bath with 2nd shower and a bidet. Our suite was on the ground floor and looked out onto the garden area which I preferred, as it was far too noisy during the day around the pool for my liking. The atmosphere around the main pool is great if you like lots of activities and things going on - but the constant whistle blowing and the loud speaker when Bingo was on I personally found a bit annoying sometimes. However the kids were happy - so I was happy to put up with it. The new waterslide was a big hit with all of us and the newly refurbished kids club looked great too! My girls did use the kids club a couple of times mainly because they didn't want to go shopping with us. But when we were at the Hotel, they preferred to either be in the pool or back in the room watching a dvd. My girls are good swimmers so I didn't worry too much about them in the kids club - but I'm not sure if I would be happy with the supervision if they weren't. I did comment on this on the feedback card and to the Hotels credit, they responded personally to me via email with in a few days of us returning home. I also noticed on their web- site that they are improving the training of their staff in the childcare centre. We used a babysitter for 3 of our 5 nights - organised thru the hotel for 20 000 rp an hour ( there is a minimum charge of 40 000 and an extra 25 000 for taxi fare if you keep them after 10pm - which we weren't told about initially). The same lovely lady came each time and the girls were very happy with her and their room service and a movie. The food at the Dynasty - I thought was fantastic. It is affordable - there's lots of choice both western and Indonesian and they cater for all tastes really well. A highlight was the dim sum lunch at the Chinese Restaurant at the Dynasty- very yummy and so cheap. We had some great meals out at Un's ( just love the frozen margaritas ), TJ's Mexican and Kin Khao Thai. Also had a splurge one night and went to Ke De Ta. Well - be warned !! It was a much bigger splurge than we intended - it is very expensive even by Australian standards. It is a fantastic setting and a stunningly beautiful place , but I think one visit is all I will ever be able to afford.
Did the usual shopping things in Kuta - got some business cards printed at Legian Cyber Café on Garlic Lane - happy with the result and very cheap. Girls - there is a fantastic handbag shop on this street too - huge range all in one shop. One side of the shop has better quality bags made from proper leather , suede inners etc and the other side had cheaper ones. Great for choice in the one spot. I also found a lovely lady who made me 8 curtain drops for my 4 poster bed. Her shop is on the corner of Jalan Legian and Jalan Melasti St's and I was very happy with the quality and price ( 200 000 rps for the lot !!)
After 13 nights away - it was back to cold Perth and a severe case of the Bali Blues. Already planning the next trip - think it might be the Medewi Beach area and Lombok/Gilis next time - have to spend my time reseaching them now !!( especially after the story on Getaway on the weekend )
Hope I haven't bored you all too much- feel free to ask questions.
Jenny