Well here goes. A little disclaimer, I have never written a JBR before.
We are a family of four from Tassie. Our kids are aged 4 & 6. Our travel dates were 2 June to 17 June. This was the kids first trip overseas, my third time back, and the wife's fourth trip back.
After months of counting down and cut and pasting forum tips we were finally off. Jetstar all the way, domestic to Melbourne and international!. We held our breath after reading some scary reports. It was goodbye to chilly Hobart as the first winter snow was falling in the highlands. The family were all pasty white and we drastically needed to thaw out. The wife and I had colds and we were a symphony of snot!. Passing travellers could well have mistaken us for Brits, Ha Ha.
No problems with the flights and we touched down in Denpasar at around midnight. (2am Aussie time). I'm tall and managed exit rows on all flights. After dicking about waiting in the VOA line we quickly cleared customs and emerged into the balmy smell of Bali, ahhhhhhhh. As expected the kids told us how hot it was and the youngest kept asking ,'Is this Australia?'. This was the start of two weeks where the kids eyes kept popping out accompanied by their loud,(sometimes embarrassing) remarks of the new sights, sounds, tastes etc. that they were experiencing. They treated it as their BIG adventure and we were just their tour guides.
Our first of four accommodation choices (it was meant to be three) was at the Sanur Paradise Plaza Suites (SPPS) for five nights. After check-in the porter led us through a maze of grubby underground carparks up a lift to our room. We were starting to question what was this place going to be like in the morning. The two bedroom apartment was nice and very roomy. The beds were comfy and the linen and towels clean and crisp. The apartment was a little dated and could have done with a paint in places but we weren't expecting the Ritz.
Next morning we arose from a sound sleep to what was to be two weeks of fantastic weather. My four year old daughter was up at 6am living on adrenalin so I took her out to explore the hotel. She let out an excited shrill, 'wow it's just like the pictures' as she spied the blue hotel pool surrounded by palm trees. She skipped about finding the separate kids pool, waterslide and playground. I must say the grounds are very well kept and inviting here. The kids area is a huge draw card and we will definitely return. Why on earth we weren't taken the short way past the well lit pool and grounds to the apartment when we checked in I will never know. That's just Bali and you have to smile and chuckle to yourself.
Breakfasts were pleasant in the open aired 'Terrace Restaurant'. The clientele were mostly young families with a fair amount being Aussies. There was a really nice social feel to this place. The kids made friends easy and parents chatted away. On the second morning there plonked at breakfast was a lady from work with her extended family in a group of eleven. Sometimes it really is a small world.
The SPPS had a regular (and on time) shuttle bus which zipped between Hardys Supermarket, the back of Bonsai Café at the beach (near Sindu Markets) and the Paradise Plaza Hotel. We changed money at the Kodak money changer just down from Hardys (no problems).
Places we ate dinner and recommend are,
Bennos (On the beach. My son discovered sates presented with the little burner with coals to keep them warm. He still believes he was always cooking them)
Bonsai Café (Kids propped at the bar gorging on Banana splits chatting with staff who taught them some basic lingo)
In fact after that it became a novelty for the kids to prop themselves at restaurant bars having a soft drink or dessert and chat to staff, away from Mum and Dad, everywhere we went.
Cat & Fiddle (Fantastic food, rate it as the best Guinness Pie I have ever had. The band was definitely entertaining. Met a lovely lady from Hello Bali Magazine)
La Tavena (On the beach next to Bonsai. Best Italian food. Not a huge portion for mains so go an appetiser or dessert)
Lunches were split between the hotel, waterbom park and a place called Smorgas a short walk north from Hardys. Smorgas is clean, air-conditioned and makes deluxe sandwiches and rolls. Oh and the wife says it has a clean loo. In fact clean loos everywhere.
We had only ever stopped in Sanur to jet ski before. After staying there we are very impressed and will return again. The place has a nice vibe. Every Sunday afternoon local families hang out at the beach and they seem very happy. The beach had a cooling breeze and was dotted with brightly coloured fishing boats. No doubt we will return to the SPPS until the kids grow out of the waterslide thing. (Although Mums and Dads are welcome to use it with the kids). We found the hotel waterslide a good warm up for the kids for Waterbom Park. Our kids lived for the pools the whole trip.
We had a swim at the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel. We didn't see any kids here. Many couples turning into lobsters on the deckchairs. We didn't find the pool as nice as the suites but the building was more lavish. I understand the rooms are of a higher standard here.
We did check out Zen Villas whilst we were there. They are managed by a polite and chatty ex-Tassie lass. They were spacious, modern and clean with top little pools in fantastic grounds. Everything was like the pics on their website. For us, they are also a future option if we travel with another family and grab a villa each.
Oh and the Beach Café which is near Bonsai, Bennos & Sindu Market has internet which is only 6000RP for 15 minutes. Cheap when all we needed was a few addresses off white pages and the suites charged 120 000RP for a minimum of hours.
Tell me if I rattled on. There are a couple of more instalments to come. If you want you can check out some pics at our webshots page (see link).
http://community(dot)webshots(dot)com/user/tassiemays