My wife and I are returning to Bali for the first time in five years but this time we will have our two young boys (aged 3 1/2 and 20 months) as well as nine other adults (all family) of varying ages and four more littlies aged under four. On previous trips we mostly stayed at the Padma in Legian and really enjoy it's facilities and the openness but decided Novotel Benoa might better suit our group after recommendations from a colleague and the paper. Just last week a friend stayed there based on our info and lasted half a day. They hated it and checked out. Their issues were as follows
Limited open spaces
Small pools and limited space and lounges
Tired décor
Disgusting beach
Kids club dirty and dingy
Food average
So here come our questions and concerns. We would normally trust our friends judgement and are familiar with other hotels in Bali and Thailand that they have liked, so what are we missing here? We like the look of the hotel on trip advisor and it gets mostly glowing reviews. It's obviously smaller than Padma but is it of a similar standard? Any thoughts, suggestions or opinions appreciated. Our group may grow by five more adults and five more kids so the logistics of moving may become too great but we still have time to get it right. We travel in October two weeks. Staggered arrivals and departures.