In Reply to: sparkyperth posted by Barlee on Wednesday, 1. September 2010 at 09:28 Bali Time:
Everyone is going to have different views on things. My view is quite different to JamesJeffery, but that may be for a number of different reasons. We have stayed at KTH 4 times now and have another 2 holidays booked for next year. I cannot recommend the place highly enough, but that may be because we travel with our 2 boys (8 and 5) and have also taken my stepson (15). Finding nice, reasonably priced accomodation can be an impossible task, so KTH ticks the boxes for me. For $120ish per night, we can get a massive 2 bed, 2 bath room with kitchen, lounge dining. We stayed at Aston Inn earlier this year and got the standard queen bed with 2 rollaways in a 1 room set up. It was nice, but KTH offers us an apartment for the same price. Beds are one thing, but you've also got all the suitcases and shopping which needs somewhere to live and a 1 room set up makes this all a bit squeezy. Having 2 bedrooms means that the boys can go to bed when they are worn out and we can watch TV without worrying about them not going to sleep.
Location: It can take a couple of days to get used to it! It's not on a main strip, which has advantages as well as disadvantages. We have had taxis say they can't take us, but have offered them double (another $1-$2) and they suddenly can fit down the lanes. The walk is fine as long as you aren't laden with shopping or carrying kids.
Facilities: I agree with JJ that the pools are a bit of a worry with the kids. HOwever, I haven't seen many hotel pools that aren't. Mine run along the edge and give me a heart attack!! However the staff always have an eye on them. These ones have splash pools which is pretty kid friendly, I think. The grassed area is often muddy and they have been 'replanting' every time we've been. Lots of tables to sit at and lots of lounges.
Food: From memory, most items are 25 000 - 45 000. Not sure what some people are expecting for $3, but we've found the food to be fantastic. The pork chops are divine, the fettucine carbonara has flavour and the (I forget the name) dish with the sausage, steak and chop is unreal. Breakfast is set plate, not buffet which was a little dissapointing for me at first, but we haven't had a less than satisfactory breakfast there yet. Having kids who don't understand the concept of 'eat up big at breakfast and then we won't bother with lunch' means that we have to have lunch of sorts anyway, so not having a buffet isn't a real downside. Yes, the OJ is sickly syrupy! I order the standard omelete and have bacon and cheese added in. I think it costs me about 50cents more.
Staff: Fantastic! There do seem to be some issues with the manager (an Aussie) and in our stays there, he hasn't bothered to acknowledge us once, while the staff come up to us and greet us with huge smiles and hugs. Maybe that says more about Aussie service than it does about Balinese? We have always found the staff to be great. Nothing is any trouble, we always make friends with them and they are great with the kids. The towels are a sign in, sign out system but we haven't lost any, so we haven't been charged. They are big, stripey, freshly laundered towels and aren't easy to lose.
Room Quality: Cannot fault it!!! We have definately stayed at much worse. KTH has massive rooms, it's clean and has a full size fridge. Serviced daily. It's important to remember that these are all owned by other people, which is why all breakages and missing bits have to be accounted for. It's also why some have slightly different facilities to others as it's up to the owners as to whether all the rooms have TVs etc. It's also what helps keep the price so reasonable. The air con is operated by a tag on your room key. You can't really leave it on all day while you are out (saving power and keeping costs down). But it doesn't take long to cool the rooms down when you turn it on. Housekeeping is all about consistency - the clerks will be instructed on how to present each apartment every time it's cleaned. If you want the curtains left closed, leave them a note.
JJ is pretty spot on with the car comparison. KTH is a Kia. However, I would say a 5 year old Kia, not 10 year old. But for my money, I am happy with a Kia because a BMW is going to blow the budget out and we wouldn't be able to go. If you want to drive a BMW, you need to pay BMW prices. You can't buy a $20 000 car and then complain that it's not the same as a $60 000 car. Of course it's not. If you expected it to be, then you will be dissappointed. But if you were happy to pay $20 000 for a car, I think you will be pleasantly surprised about how much car you will get for your buck at KTH. Especially when you look at what $10 000 will buy you!!!!! Yuck! With our 2 adults, 2 kids we are looking at more like at least another $100++ per night to go up to the next level by the time they add on the kids which are hardly ever included in the basic room price. That's another $1000++ for a 10 night holiday. We will take $120 with both kids included any day of the week.