Just back from a very quick 7 day trip.Flew JS out of Sydney. Our 3rd trip in 11 months.
Before we left there were some very helpful people who gave me some info on Kumala Hotel/Grand Kumala (not Kumala Pantai) and some others asked for info on the property when I returned so....
Previously we have stayed at Jayakarta, Puri Raja, MBR and Besakih at Sanur, but this was an unplanned almost spurr of the moment trip thanks to cheap JS flights from Sydney, so being budget minded we booked the Kumala Hotel to be near family staying at Jayakarta.
We enjoyed Kumala Hotel. We were there over the change over from high season so the per night price varied from 420000rp to 350000rp but all up avge cost was $48aud night.
We didnt have to pay a deposit prior to arrival and they asked for nothing at all until we checked out and paid in RP.
Its a small property, the grounds were nicely kept and had a nice 'Bali' feel to them.
Our deluxe room was very spacious with a big bathroom and huge shower.
Cleanliness was pretty good and mostly on par with anywhere else we have stayed.
The huge bed was fantastic. We had TV fridge, mini bar, aircon, fan, all the essentials.
No tea or coffee or jug, but my brother who was already in Bali brought us a cheap plastic one from Carrefour along with some tea/coffee/mugs etc ready for our arrival.
Breakfast was basic but ok and what I would expect from a budget property, toast, fruit, an indo dish, and an egg station.
Two pools were small and could do with the tiles having a good clean, but the water was nice and clean and cool.
Not much of an atmosphere around the place was the only negative, people didn't seem to congregate around the pool and chat etc, but the bonus of that was that it was a lovely quiet place to stay.
Location was good, exit left to Double 6 two minute walk, exit right to Jayakarta a few minutes walk, and down a laneway to the right to the beach a few minutes walk.
We would stay there again if we were looking for cheap accommodation.
Ate at Goodies, very nice,can not believe we havent eaten there before. Wali Warung - great service and food, best value meal was at Bamboo Warung, (I hope I got the name right) up rum jungle road past Kusnadi on the left hand side, you climb a ladder to get to the eating area, cost us $12 for dinner for two with drinks and two courses each, best lumpia, yummm, and a very popular place. Just give the toilet a miss.
Had a few coffees at Mug Shot and made use of the free Wi-Fi. Also, as usual, had a few massages, and pedicure at Inner Glo in the same part of the street as Mug Shot and Wali Warung.
Also we ate at Jadi (spelling?) cafe across the road from Kumala Hotel, wow, the food was soooo nice, we did however wait just over an hour for our food and had to help ourselves to beers from the fridge, but we knew about the wait beforehand, and sat and enjoyed a lovely relaxing chat, and the food was well worth the wait.
Went to Sanur for lunch and some shopping at Jennys and Tootsies,managed to escape almsot untouched from the flesh eater market ladies, and ate at Bennos, had the fried Banana and Coconut with palm sugar for desert, my favourite desert from my favourite place in Bali! A happy relaxing place to eat with nice staff and a fantastic beach front setting.
Hubby's went to Waterbomb and tried out the new Climax ride while the women went to Discovery mall and Mataharis for the morning, I am told the Climax ride is great, it looked like fun from the car park, lol. I brought a few months supply of Revlon products at Discovery Mall, always good value.
We also did the Bounty sunset cruise, good food, and nice boat, what a shame there was hardly anyone else on board, only about 15 other people.
Spent some time on the beach out front of Jayakarta, loved laying there deciding whether to buy something off the peanut man, the pineapple lady, Mr Icecream etc. Its a passing parade of business on legs. Didn't get too hassled by the beach vendors, however, begging children who don't want a lolly or Bali coins and will only take Aussie dollar were a bit overwhelming at times. The water was probably the cleanest and clearest I have seen it.
Also its the first time that consistently, on the street, after a price was agreed upon for a purchase that I would then be asked for just a little bit more before they handed over the purchase,which I wouldn't do as I already usually pay a bit more than I know I can get things for, and if one more person asked me for aussie gold coin on top of the purchase price I was going to scream.
Paid for V*P VOA, I don't want to start a raging discussion, but its first time we have used it in 4 trips, we have always waited over an hour and two hours on one trip, our flight landed early ahead of 4 other flights,late at night and immigration was empty, lol,that's the risk you take, and as our bags came off nearly last we were out of the airport within 20 minutes, but behind everyone who's luggage came off before ours. I am not saying this to deter people from using VIP as I think it is a good service, its just that this was the first time we used it and the first time we really didn't need it.
Something that surprised me was the Taxi line, it was huge and we waited maybe 15 minutes for a Taxi.
Sydney airport was horrific the morning we flew in, over 2 hours to get through immigration and customs and we didn't have to declare anything. The immigration line for foreigners was backed up all the way through duty free, many many times worse than Denpasar!!
We had a fantastic trip, I was hoping to get Bali out of my system after so many visits in such a short time, but unfortunately we are back home and pining away to go back again as soon as possible, probably March, and It didn't help that my brother and his wife we went to be with were staying for a month and lucky them stayed on after we left and are still there. So we checked out Andari Villas, Pearl hotel, Sun Island Villas and Villa Naga Maya as possibilities for our next trip....Andari Villas are high on my wish list!
Thanks for reading :)