In Reply to: Nah, he's got a case of Filosyndrome.... posted by slab on Thursday, 27. September 2007 at 10:27 Bali Time:
watch the Bintang pile rise I occasionally check out the odd pub - and yes I have stayed in both.
Current price of both, I believe, is Kamala, 275.000 for superior room and Maharta around USD 45.
Both have abridged sat TV, marble floors, mini bar etc with the Maharta rooms a bit smaller, so with King size 4 posters ther room is pretty full.
Both are also subject to the quick once over and are never really cleaned. On the last occasion we stayed at the Maharta, the good Wahine, Mrs Rangatira, scrubbed a patch of floor which came up a different colour. ( She is a fine woman but has these cleanliness attacks on a regular basis)
Both have their devotees, and since the first bomb the guest mix has changed at the Maharta. Prior to that it was marketed heavily in Austria and Germany and that was where almost all the guests came from. ( The manager is Gorge, an Austrian ) Since then things have changed and the mix is now much more cosmopolitan.
Prefer the Maharta as the restaurant is just off the beach boulevard with superior rooms directly behind.
Watch the narrow doors though. Last time I stayed I invited Slab over for a crate or 3 of Binnies and the poor guy had to drink his sitting in the corridor.
Another detraction, for the Slabbed one at least, is the fact that for some reason the Maharta stocks Bali Hi beer. On the one occasion Slab strayed form the Bintang path and consumed a Bali Hi we had to have him hospitalised for 10 days.
A close thing but with the benefit of a Bintang drip he pulled through.