JBR 16th - 30th Jan 2007
Background
We are a family of 4 with 50 visits to Bali between us. Jane & I are 40 somethings, & our 2 children are 14 (girl) & boy (12). This trip was booked using QF FF in February 2006 & changed from Aus Airlines to Qantas & then finally Jetstar. We booked most of our time in Sanur (the site of our 1st visit in 1984) with a couple of days up in Ubud.
Hotels
Sanur Besakih Beach Resort
Although over the years we have stayed at 7 hotels in Sanur this is no doubt our favorite for location, staff, beachfront activities, & proximity to restaurants shops etc. I had requested via email adjoining rooms on the top floor in the main block & this was supplied on arrival. I had a couple of chats to the manager Ricki about recent renovations (the beach front restaurant & the addition of a couple of free standing rooms near the restaurant, rooms 215 & 216) there is no doubt that this great little hotel needs a bit of TLC to keep it up to the required std & Ricki realizes this but he needs to have the money from guests to keep up the renovation program. As is common for a lot of Hotels in Sanur this time of year the Dutch retirees come out into the sun, apart from a bit of sun lounge hogging they are quite a good group to share a hotel with as you are guaranteed no noisy nights from their parties or boisterous activities in the pool
Ubud Village Hotel.
I had booked this based solely on the glowing reports from other forumites as previously we had stayed at other locations in Ubud, I am happy to say that we weren't disappointed either with the hotel, staff or location as all managed to please, both rooms had courtyards, spacious internal bedroom areas & outside bathrooms, & we would certainly return here again if we planned to stay in Ubud.
Restaurants
Sanur
There is no doubt our favorite here was Kami Sami, only a 100 metres up the beach & great for a lunch not too far away with great value & tasting food. Others which rate a mention for quality & value for money where Bonsai, Bennos & the restaurant at Besakih, We also ate at Mangoes & the restaurant at Villa Shanti but where disappointed with what was delivered so would not recommend them. Based on the Bali Eats awards we also ate at Beach Café next to Mangoes, there is no doubt that the food & service offered here is of high quality but our only questions is whether or not it is worth the 2-3 times premium that you would pay at other restaurants along this stretch of the beach. Generally we did not spend more than Aus $30 on a full meal for 4 of us including drinks.
Ubud
We did not venture far from Monkey Forest road during our stay but would be happy to recommend to following eateries close to Ubud Village Hotel, 3 monkeys (my daughter loved the fruit juices & lazzis here & insisted we return), Barberkyu, Wardanis Garden (great garden setting) Cinta Grill & Baby Face.
Activities
My wife & daughter took a trip to Lembonang Island on the Isaland Explorer cruise from all accounts it was quite worthwhile & with the lack of tourists was great for all activities,
My wife & children also went on the Elephant safari & found it a worthwhile day especially enjoying the elephant ride.
Whilst in Ubud we all did a cooking class with Casa Luna, this class started with a market tour of approx 2 hours & then back to the Honeymoon guest house for the preparation of food & cooking of some dishes which we all had for lunch. For me this was one of the highlights of the trip, we all absolutely enjoyed the tour of the market
Jetstar
I know that recently there has been lots of comments & about Jetstar & even before we stepped on the plane I was of the opinion that some of the commenter's had to build a bridge & get over it, some of the pent up feeling some of the forumites have displayed must be burning them up. I have been a Frequent Flyer in Australasia for over 14 years & with the opportunity to sample lots of different airlines & quite frankly Jetstar is budget, but no worse than we have experienced over the years. In our opinion bring on all your own food & buy the minimal for Jetstar, if it makes the trip more affordable all the better.
Shopping
Whilst in Sanur we mainly shopped at Tootsies in the Sindhu Beach market, there is no doubt that if you want to get a bargain or an idea of the price to pay at other shops this should be you 1st stop. We where amazed on day to go up to Tootsies late in the afternoon & be told that we were the 1st customers for the day, there is no doubt that given the current level of tourists in Bali & particularly Sanur there is too many shops in this market.
On a rainy day we ventured over to Discovery Mall, (opposite Waterbom Park), this is a great shopping centre for variety & prices but at the end of the day all they have on offer for tourists you can find elsewhere.
We also restocked our mini bar from the local Circle K & at the bigger shopping centre, Hardys. It must be noted that based on advice from the Forum my wife purchased up on Martha Tillar & is now a convert
I did intend to write more but at the speed I'm putting this together it will never get posted, please feel free to ask specific questions if you have any.