Apologies for length and waffling!
We flew out on the 11th September on Jetstar. Good flight, no dramas there and back. Paid for VIP and although probably not necessary we loved it and will probably do it again. This holiday was purely about relaxation so not a lot done except reading, eating and relaxing!
Accommodation - We stayed at Kumala Pantai. Its been about our fifth visit and although we had a wonderful time there we will be looking for somewhere a bit quieter next time. It has become very much a family place and a bit noisier. The biggest thing the hotel has going for it, in my opinion, is its staff. The restaurant guys (well most of them) are fantastic and we love the pool guys. Everything everyone has said is somewhat true, room towels and pool towels are a bit old and rooms could do with a little renovation. We mentioned this to the desk and they said they are painting one room at a time. Interestingly whilst at reception one day, a lady came up and complained about the smell of sewage in Y Block. They told her they would report it. After she left, they turned around to us and said 'Unfortunately Y Block has a sewage smell problem that we can't get rid of'. So beware! Also it's about time the restaurant changed its evening menu! We have stayed for the last five years and it hasn't changed once! The other thing that drove me mad was not lack of sun beds, but how thin they are getting! Could only lie on them for so long..
We also stayed at Segara Village Hotel for a couple of nights due to a credit we had from another holiday. We stayed at the Bungalows. It was nice, the two hours of free cocktails was good and the grounds are beautiful. But very over priced and wouldn't pay those prices again. (Approx. $250 per night). For that money you expect a lot and we were a bit disappointed.
Restaurants -
Seaside - food great, service good, prices good.
Mozzarella - food very ordinary, service good, cocktails 2 for 1
Stones - best meal here,. New place 200 metres from Melasti Street heading towards Kuta.. It's massive and called an Entertainment Complex. At the moment it has on the top floor, spas. You can have drinks in the spa then shower and go down for dinner! There is a night club too. A hotel is being built behind. Food was very very good. Service was great. Not cheap in Bali prices but worth it. On an end note the toilets are fantastic! The lid lifts up when you go in and then flushes when you move away from it! Cool (...)
Niksoma - They have built a new restaurant at the front. Sat upstairs. Food and service was great - 2 for 1 cocktails. Went twice here.
Toot Sie, Sanur - cheap and nice.
Little India, Sanur - food lovely but have built a very noisy Stadium right opposite so has totally lost its atmosphere, shame.
Yutz - always good food.
Uncle Norms - best Mie Goreng in Bali, according to me!
La Monde (opposite Sports Bar) - cheap drinks and good food.
Pearl Restaurant - fantastic food, service and atmosphere. Not cheap by Bali standards but lovely, lovely food. The chef, Jeremy, came out and gave us recommendations. Dessert platter to die for!
Jadi Café - little place left from front entrance of KP. Very cheap, we took our own wine. Food is cooked as ordered. Lovely and tasty.
Wayan & Friends - love this restaurant, food still good.
Lanai Restaurant - right of KP on the beachside. Never again. Food very ordinary, expensive drinks and then to top it off they put 21% tax on top of bill which included a service amount too!
Koreys, Poppies Lane 2 - fantastic food and lovely atmosphere. Good prices.
Bali Biku, Seminyak - for high tea. Quite a hike from KP. We got the Asian high tea and it was lovely! Gorgeous restaurant and lovely book shop along side it.
Corner Bar
That's about it for the restaurants!
A couple of things as an after thought. We love our coffee and found a great coffee shop owned by a lovely Australian lady called Donna. It was called Mugshots and its just up from the front entrance to Niksoma. She had Decaf too which is hard to find in Bali!
Massages - tried it at KP but overpriced I think. Tony had one at Carla which he didn't like. Kept going back to Melasti Spa, our favourite.
Did the bintang bike ride and managed to fall off going up hill this time! Was still fun and lovely meal at the end. A word of caution, a few of the children that usually high five you are now grabbing your hand and one girl nearly had an accident.
Shopping - not a lot done here. A few DVD's, a visit to Marks & Spencers in Discovery and wandering around Matahari's. Bargains at Carrefour - Oil of Ulay Total Effects only 100,000 Rph! Very cheap. Also my daughters 'Clean and Clear' stuff was soo cheap ($3 bottle) . Electric toothbrush heads were good too - $7 for 3 packet of 3 heads!
Transport - Only got taxi's about 5 times. A good trick now is to get into a taxi and when you go to pay they haven't got any change! Which is pretty ridiculous for the middle of the day. So consequently you give them 100,000 rph for a 60,000 rph trip and get no change. I know it's not a lot of money but its annoying and a con.
Our main mode of transport was the bike taxis. We felt very safe on the back of these bikes, it was soo much quicker because traffic is terrible over there at the moment.
Glad we had 3 weeks, it rained quite a bit - for 4 days we didn't swim. Weather is strange at the moment and they are saying it will be the same next year. La Nina I think!
Returned on the 30th September and could not believe how cheap the alcohol was at Bali airport. We paid $48 for a bottle of Benadictine at Perth Airport and in Bali it was $32. Same went for most of the other prices we compared. Perfume was cheap too. So if we go again we won't be buying any to pick up on the way home we will just buy it at the Bali airport to bring home.
Not sure if we are heading to Bali next year... perhaps Malaysia. Who knows! Thanks for advice from the forums it all helped.