In Reply to: Pirces for August 09 OMG! posted by chupachop on Friday, 3. October 2008 at 18:12 Bali Time:
nearly doubled their rates, but thats life i guess.
you have to really weigh up the pros and cons when it comes to the cost of your holiday to see if it is still worth going to bali.
food is a heck of a lot cheaper than in other places. PRO
souvenirs are cheaper than in other places. PRO
its a short trip in a plane. PRO
most people here speak english. PRO
australians are welcome here. PRO
hotel prices have increased. CON
overall, despite the hotel rate increases, you can still get a cheap holiday in bali. all you need to do is calculate the cost of your spending when here against another location and you will have the answer.
hotel staff do get a service charge on top of their salary, and this is a percentage of the room rate as well as F&B, so the increases do go to the staff in some way.
the balinese have been doing it hard for 6 years now. the more people that come to bali, the more locals get to prosper. these are the people that everyone on this forum seems to love so much, but it appears that the love is only there as long as the deal is cheap as chips (this comment is not aimed at anyone in particular - it is a general observation).