ok guys, manage to read through all the posts in this thread and it really enjoy to spend time in Bali..as of that, i already done my flight booking which i will be going with my frenz (2 of us) to Bali on 31-Dec-2008 until 4-Dec-2008. i know that the season on the day i'm going is a peak season but if anyone of you have information regarding travel agents that can suit my day, do let me know..i really appreciate it.

thanks..

Just DIY..cost saving, more time & no nonsense side trip to cookies factories/gem factories & etc

stimix, i'm noted about the DIY is better instead of taking travel tour package but since this is my first time going to BALI and going with my gf (on that time change the title to wife lorr) and also consider as honeymoon, i would prefer to have tour..

but if anyone think that better to do DIY, please feel free to wrote some comments.

SEASON PEAK...is it hard to have a hotel booking in BALI?

Hi Guys,

I am planning to go Bali with my friends during August.
Air Asia two way flight ( around RM300++)
I am planning on DIY
Q1.Should i wait for next Air Asia promo or just book the current now?

Q2.Furthermore is it cheaper to book package (Flight+hotel) or separately

Q3.Please advice on the best month to go as well.

RM300+ is quite cheap if you ask me and it's a good buy already, I think the AA promo has already begun i last saw it was from RM50 to Bali. It's definitely cheaper to book a package through Go Holidays (yes flight + hotel) rather than you finding the hassle of searching for hotels.
I've been there twice and i should say between June~ September is a good time cuz that the time period i was there and weather was fine.

HELLLLOOOOOOO............. just came back from Bali on Thursday night... wish i am still there right now.... it was full of fun!!! i'm giving my vacation about 70%....
-15% because i had a bad accommodation (1 night) in Kuta + Blackout!!!, moved to other place second night
-10% because had not enough time for shopping/street seeing in Kuta/Ubud,
-5% because i missed the rafting....

Below are some of my Accommodation Recommendation:
Ubud:
Hibiscus Cottages at Jln Bisma - IDR 130-200K*/night


IDR 130K Rooms: ground floor
Room 1

Room 2


IDR 150K Room: upper floor, nice paddy field view


IDR 200K Room: upper floor (2 stories), 1 double bed downstairs, 1 upstairs, nice paddy field



all come with clean room, nice tub, good breakfast, friendly owner (younger than me!), Highly Recommended!!!

our photo with the owner (center) n the worker on the day we checked out. If wanna go, tell the owner (Pak Wayan), recommended by PS Lee... might get extra discount or better print out this photo for him la...


*Price above is exclusive of 10% gov tax, n for 2 person sharing. Need to pay more if you want to fit 4 pax in the IDR 200K Room

Kuta:
Pesona Beach Inn at Poppies I Lane - IDR 100K/night (for fan, not sure for air-cond as not available anymore during my visit)
Clean room/bathroom, balcony, average breakfast, recommended



Bali Diva Homestay at Poppies I Lane - >IDR 120K/night
Owned by the brother of Pesona Beach Inn owner
Received a good review from other travelers forumers. Said to be newly built.
Too bad it was fully booked when i was there... can try as it is situated beside Pesona Beach Inn

Ayu Beach Inn at Poppies I Lane - IDR 150K/night
Clean bed, air-cond old/dirty bathroom, some rooms are very dark...
My stay there was the worst in all my vacations in my life, dark room, wrecked shower, blackout (our block), then blackout again in the whole area (Poppies I Lane)!!!



La Walon at Poppies I Lane - IDR 180K (fan), IDR 220K (a/c)
Elegant outlook, average room...


Mimpi Bungalow Off Poppies I Lane (Gang Sorga) - IDR 150-200K
Received quite good review from some travel site forumers, but highly depend on the rooms/bungalow you choose.
Been to 2 rooms, all dark and old rooms...


New Arena Hotel Off Poppies I Lane (Gang Sorga) - IDR 200K
Said to be newly built, but looks old, especially their wall
Average room, not worth the price paid


In Kuta, I've just visited some accommodation in Poppies I Lane, which i think it is recommended if you want to go to the beach frequently coz it is not far from the beach. I believe there are many other better/cheaper accommodation around Kuta area, such as Legian street n other places. Poppies is a bit expensive i think because many 'ang mo' surfers stay there...
Another thing to bring: Mosquito repellent or Mosquito Coils!!

This post has been edited by ...PS...: Feb 23 2008, 04:42 PM

Transportation Recommendation:

YES... It is better to get a driver than to buy a tour package as you get control of your own time. Unless if you're lazy enough/no idea how to plan your itenary... My suggestion is ask around or get idea from the predefined tour package from many travel agents out there...

During our trip (8 pax), we booked a driver thru a travel page in the web site below:
http://www.balitrips.net/rentcar/rentcar.html

for
Airport pickup + 5 hour charter service (USD 30) -> we went to Denpasar & Goa Gajah before ended up in Ubud for our first stay
+
Kia Pregio for 3 days (USD 150), max 12 hours/day, but they gave a free upgrade to Isuzu ELF (3 months old) which can fit 12 pax max for the same price.

The Road Condition
If you're thinking about the travel time, i suggest you use Google Earth n roughly draw a path from one destination to another. Then use the distant n calculate with the average of 40km/hour driving speed to get the travel time.
During our journey, i can see our driver drive about 40km/hour at most of the area and might be less in some area like Kintamani/Besakih/Uluwatu(Blue Point). The fastest i can remember was only 60km/hour. I miscalculated our timing as i thought the slowest should be 60km/hour..

Below are some of the photos of the road condition in Bali (rural area). Many peoples walking, many dogs, narrow road, etc:


Vehicle Rental/Driver
We had a local driver named Pak Mul. He speaks quite poor English, but i suggest you all to speak malay ++ some indonesian malay so that he can show you more of Bali... Highly recommended Pak Mul as he is a very careful driver, on time, give good suggestion, honest (told us that he can eat for free if he brought us to some restaurant), take care of you at Uluwatu against "friendly" monkey, etc...

After a few days going around with Pak Mul, I asked him about his salary, n he said around IDR 300K per month regardless of whether there is any trip for him. Even if he got more trip, the pay is the same, except that sometime tourists will give some tips (up to individual, i'm not asking you all to do so)... There are about 20 supir (driver) in his company and they get turns to go out for trip. Another bomb in Bali = no work for coming 6 months!
I can see he barely eat outside, and even most of the meals we asked him to eat together, he was very very shy to do so...

When we required an airport transfer, he charged us only USD 10 for 8 pax which i think is very cheap even though the ride was only about 30min. I saw some travel agent publish about IDR 50K/person for airport transfer, which is about RM 17...

I know there are many drivers in Bali with their own vehicle, but i highly recommend you all to book Pak Mul for your day-to-day trip. He can arrange for a good vehicle with a good price compare to what you may get from his company thru the web site The only problem is as i said above, his English is not good, so if you cant speak malay, suggest you get other driver...

Below are some of our photos with the driver n our Isuzu ELF. If any of you wanna hire Pak Mul, maybe you can help me to print out the photo below and give it to him as i have no chance to give it to him. Or you can let me know so i can send for printing and have you to pass it to him. Thanks ya..


Contact Number:
+62 8133 869 5576 (Pak Mul)

if you need any help contacting Pak Mul, please let me know. I'm not earning anything, just helping him for a better living...


This post has been edited by ...PS...: Feb 23 2008, 01:23 PM

Place of Interest Recommendation:

Goa Gajah

Entrance Fee: IDR 6K
Place for meditation. You can hire local guide at site (not sure how much)

Ubud Street

Place selling a lot of art n handicraft work. Quiet n lovely small little town

Tegalalang

Famous for its terrace paddy view. There are many nice place to take photo. Ask your driver for best spot for photo.
There are many art n handicraft shops along the road from Ubud to here...

Tampak Siring (Holy Spring Water)

Entrance Fee: IDR 6K
Need to wear sarong. Sarong is provided, but a small donation is expected.
There is a small market place selling souvenir, etc with a good bargain.
Don't take the banana offered by the local once you got out from the market place!

Kintamani

Entrance Fee: IDR 3K
Place to have lunch with a good view @ Puncak Sari Restaurant. IDR 65K/person for buffet lunch.
Should follow stimix suggestion: go early before noon as you will only see cloud after noon hour. During my visit, the weather was not good, started to raining, so we didn't have the chance to see the peak!! So sad...

Besakih Temple

Entrance Fee: IDR 10K, can ask your driver to bargain for you
Need to wear sarong. But i saw some tourists didn't wear anything. Can hire local guide at site (IDR 20K for whole group will do).
1 thing to be careful when you hire the umbrella, make sure you fix the price before getting it. We were told IDR 3K, but were asked to pay IDR 5K when we're returning the umbrella. Better if bring your own umbrella as the places always rain.

Sukawati Art Market

You can get many cheap souvenirs here. Bargain hard, n try to go into the shop at the back side as the price normally will be cheaper...

Tanjung Benoa

Many water sport activities available. Suggest don't waste your time visiting here if you're not doing any water sport activities.

Nusa Dua

Place famous for many high class accommodation... Whole area is security guarded. Clean place, nice beach

Dreamland

Entrance Fee: (Not Sure)
We just stop by at the statue outside the main gate. You can take photos at the statue n not going into the Dreamland

Uluwatu

Entrance Fee: IDR 3K
You can see Kecap Dance here for IDR 50K/person. Show start at 6.00pm. We didnt see it because 50-50 said the show is good-bad
Becareful of the "friendly" monkey at this place. They like to make an ambush and try to steal anything from you. Better to get a stick (you can find it anywhere around, used by previous tourists), just to scare it, but don't hit the monkey, or else you know yourself the consequences!

Jimbaran Bay

Place to have seafood dinner. Suggest by other forumer to go for Mia, if not mistaken. But we're brought to AMC bumbu Bali as suggested by our driver. Price: 100K/kg for fish, around 200K-300K/kg for others...

Barong Dance

Entrance Fee: IDR 50K (1 hour show)
Show starts at 9.00am. This one is in Kuta area. I think the show was not good. Many time wasting act. We wanted to go for the show at Batubulan, but due to time constraint, we ended up here... So i suggest you wake up earlier so that you either try the show at Batubulan or IMO, dont watch the show at this place.

Taman Ayun

Entrance Fee: IDR 3K
Nothing really special. But good place to take photo.

Candi Kuning Fruit Market


I personally think you should visit this place if you like to see local fruit n vegetable being sold at local market. Here i can see most of the people are Islam, compare to in Ubud where most of them are Hindu. One thing to buy called kerepek, not sure what was it made up but you cannot find it anywhere else. Price is IDR 10K for 5 packs, or try to bargain for 6 packs.

Bratan Lake, Bedugul


Entrance Fee:IDR 10K
Cool n comfortable place to be. Nice lake n nice view...

Puncak Bagus

Peak of the mountain where you can see 2 Danau (Lake Tambingan & Lake Buyan) from 1 place. These 2 Danau are beside Danau Bratan.
Sadly it was still raining n we can barely see any Danau at all during our visit

Tanah Lot

Entrance Fee: IDR 10K
Place famous for sunset. Sadly it was raining season in Bali during our visit. So no sunset, just clouds... Beware of the high tide...
There are a market place where you can buy many souvenir as well. Make sure you get your things here as the price in Kuta is slightly more expensive than this place.

Gound Zero, Legian Street, Kuta

Monument built to remember the death of the Bali bombing. Nice to visit during night time.

Kuta Beach

Beach famous for surfing. You can get a tutor here, and pay only if you manged to stand up on the surf board.

Kuta Square

One of the famous shopping spot in Kuta. Many shops, many tourist. Matahari shopping complex is at this place.

This post has been edited by ...PS...: Feb 23 2008, 03:22 PM

Shopping/Buying Guide:

There are many place you can buy local stuff n also branded stuff (i'm not into branded stuff, so can't really give opinion)

If you're looking for local souvenir, buy at these places:
- Sukawati
- Tanah Lot
- Tampak Siring
- or buy from local kids at some tourist spot especially at Tanah Lot, Besakih, Tegalalang. Can bargain more as they do not pay for shop rental.
- Kuta (more choice, but higher price, expecting 20-50% more compare to the place above)

Below are some of the stuff i bought:

Lady's bags bought at Sukawati @ IDR 20K each
Photo Album bought at Candi Kuning @ IDR 25K for 3
Kerepek bought at Candi Kuning @ IDR 10K for 5 packs
Ninja Turtle bought at Sukawati @ IDR 15K per pack of 10 (Big Turtle), and IDR 5 per pack of 5 (Small Turtle)
Monica Layer Cake bought at Matahari Shopping Mall @ IDR 20-24K each. Were told famous from Indonesia


Bottom left pant bought at Tanah Lot @ IDR 15K each
The rest bought at Kuta area @ IDR 25K each (similar quality as above)

Lady's dresses around Kuta area @ IDR 25-30K for half n whole dress..

As for branded stuff, my friend bought a polo shirt at Ubud area and found out it as a fake one. Not sure, but just becareful of what you paid n what you're getting...

Tip: if you want to buy more, not necessary to buy a whole lot at the same place. But a few, then you can use the price you bought and ask for even lower at other shop... , but do pity those sellers as i believe they only earn a very small portion of what you paid...

*The above price is only for guideline only. Price might be higher or lower than what you might be getting...

This post has been edited by ...PS...: Feb 23 2008, 03:40 PM

Food n Drink

Puncak Sari Restaurant, Kintamani


Price: IDR 65K, subject to 21% gov tax, buffet lunch
If you're going in a group, try to get some discount. We paid IDR 60K per person. But the 21% tax is killing you ...
Here the food is average, what you're paying is for the view. There were other restaurant around the area, 1 facing the other direction was IDR 60K, but better pay additional IDR 5K for the good view. I think this was the best and most visited restaurant at Kintamani.

Bebek Benggil, Ubud


Price: IDR 175K for 2 pax (Smoked Duck), including satay, vege n drinks, 1 day advance booking is required
Highly recommended by many forumers to try the smoked duck... I think nothing really special though, except you don't have the bad smell of what normal duck would. Some more it think it is a bit pricy... I think 1 duck for 2 is a bit too much. Better have 3 persons sharing it... if you just wanna try, just get one for the whole group. Other special is Crispy Duck. Cant remember the price, but it was half portion for 1 person...

Seafood Dinner, Jimbaran Bay

Price: IDR 100K/kg for fish, IDR 100-200K/kg for others
There were 24 seafood restaurants at Jimbaran Bay according to our driver. We just stop at this AMC Bumbu Bali as recommended by our driver. Dunno got commission or what la... he just told us the taste here is better, price is better... Not sure about other places, but i think it was still a bit pricy... Maybe can try other restaurant as recommended by other forumers...

Kedin's Cafe, Poppies I Lane

What's special i wanna recommend of this cafe is its Avocado Juice, price @ IDR 8K. Forgot to take the photo of it. I didn't have chance to try it, but my friends tried it here, and other 2 places, and they all agreed it was much more tastier and slightly cheaper at Kedin's Cafe compare to other places. Should go and try. Other food such as Nasi Goreng cost slightly higher @ IDR 20K, same for the pasta (cant really remember the price)

Warung Sedap, 5-10min before Candi Kuning Market (Superbly Cheap! )


Price: IDR 500 - 10,000
This is a local warung beside the main road to Candi Kuning Market or Danau Bratan. I remembered somebody mentioned about the bad buffet food near Bratan so we decided to move to local stall. Our driver recommended this place. The setting was special where you have to sit on the floor and there was a nice fruit/vege farms view at the back. The food was absolutely cheap! We ate a lot, averagely 2 meals per person and the price was about +- RM 5 per person only. One thing you should try is the Jeruk Hangat/Panas (Hot Orange) @ IDR 7K. It was really nice and we had 3 glasses of it... hehehe... another thing to take note: this is warung sedap, so if you ordered Mie Goreng or Mie Rebus, you will ended up "Mie Sedap" plus some vege n eggs.... But hey, this is original Mie Sedap from Indonesia cooked by Indonesian leh!

This post has been edited by ...PS...: Feb 23 2008, 05:58 PM

Tourist Trap n Danger

Dark Magic - Money Changer
As said by Traveler in the earlier post, the money changer will give you many many many many small note of IDR 20K.... BE EXTRA CAREFUL!!!!!!!!............... Why? here are what happened...

During the last night in Bali, 3 of my friends changed money at Legian Street near the bombing site. The rate given was much more better than other places! They wanted to changed together, but were told to change separately... What they got was all in IDR 20K note...

On the last day in Bali, i found out i was running out of money and decided to change for USD 25 and another USD 25 together with my friend. We came across a money changer at Legian street, right at the corner where you can turn into Poppies I Lane. The rate given was much more higher than what the other 2 money changers gave right across the road. I went into the shop which sells other stuff n there was a table for money changing. I told him that i wanted to change USD 50, so he pressed his calculate by himself n then re-pressed again infront of me using the rate written on the board outside of the shop (value was IDR +-452K)... To double confirm, i calculated again using the SAME calculator with the SAME rate, but the result was NOT THE SAME (value was IDR +-459)!! Thinking that maybe he pressed wrongly, i didn't suspect anything. So he just say "OK OK... you're right..."

Then he started to take out the whole stack of IDR 20K note and counting the money infront of me. Putting 5 pieces of 20K note in each stack, with about 5 stacks, plus additional 60K at a side. Then he took all the money and passed to me. I thought 5 stacks will be 500K and i should only be getting 400K ++...
Luckily i wasn't greedy , I re-counted the money again and put 5 pieces in 1 stack, and another 5 pieces on top of the previous stack, horizontally n vertically to make it easier for me to count. The suspicious came when he started to touched the money stack i just made up of. And toward the end, i found out there was a short of 20K. Then he acted like i miscounted the money and out of nowhere, suddenly a brand new 20K note appeared at the stack where the 20K was short of.
Then i bundle all the money again, counting one by one. Still, not enough... so i passed back to him and he like blur blur, re-pressed the calculate again n again because the calculator itself was a trick, giving different result every time! He said "pening, pening..." Then again he counted the money infront of me, my friend n my gf, putting 5 pieces in a stack, this time it seems like alright, 4 stacks X 5 pieces of 20K note, added up 20 pieces == IDR 400K. I was very fed up counting the money again n again, so i passed the money to my friend, and preparing to take out the balance of 1K from my wallet which i should give him. My friend counted n counted, the total was only 15 pieces!!!!!! There was only IDR 300K in his hand. I looked at the person and at last he said "10% Commission"...

Saying nothing, i just put back whatever he passed us and take back my USD 50 and walked away....

On the way to airport, my other friends who exchanged money night before all asking "Did you notice that you're running out of money very fast?" When we told them about the story... they were all very angry, found out roughly they lost 1 stack of 5 x 20K notes... what do to?.... Luckily i remembered what Traveler said in the earlier post of making sure you count your money right... Thanks you Traveler!

So if you want to see free Magic, you can go to this place. Along Legian street from bombing site, walk down the street until you can turn into the narrow Poppies I Lane, you will see the "Un's Cafe/Hotel (can't really remember)" signboard at the turning. The money changer was at the right hand site, just before the turning. Or you can just go to any money changer which give a suspiciously much better rate than others around. But becareful, dont fall into the trap. If feeling not right, just walk away with your own money!

Accommodation
When look for room, make sure you check for the light n everything. We looked at a room at Ayu Beach Inn during the day time, and the room looks fine. But when we moved in during night time, one of the light wasn't working. Ended up the room was very dark. Then when I wanted to take shower, I found out the hose was broken, then suddenly, there was a blackout at our row of rooms... We called the person in-charge, came in after a while and switched back the electricity... i asked him to change for a white bulb, and replace the one which was not working, together with the shower hose. Didn't want to waste anymore time, i went for a walk at the Poppies I Lane hoping he can fix my problem while i was away....
I passed thru a DVD shop, then it started to rain... so i decided to buy some DVDs... in less than 5min, there was another blackout. This time it was the whole area... OMG... what a bad day... With a dark street, n no where to go, we went back to our room and were given only 1 candle, no more no less... my friend asked for mosquito coils coz might need to open the windows... the person in charge just said "You can get it at the store across the street..." ... The electricity came back only at 1.30am, and we found out the bulb wasn't change to white bulb as promised... dissapointed...

Next day, we checkout and moved to Pesona Beach Inn which was right opposite the road, with a much more cleaner room, better rate of only IDR 100K for room with fan. Luckily that night, it was raining heavily and we wasn't really need any air-cond afterall...

Bargaining
Bargain only if you wanted to buy. Don't offer a price and then walk away when they gave you the price you're asking. Just like Petaling Street, they will scold you (at some area, not all though). And at some place like Tegalalang, out of nowhere, someone will cover you with sarong and said nice nice, and ask you to buy. And some place like Tampak Siring, some selling will just grab your arm and asking you to buy their stuff... What i can say is only that most if not all the sellers in Bali are very desperate to do business for living. If can, buy some from a stall and some from other stalls. Give chance for everybody...

Transportation
I didn't drive in Bali... but from what i observed, it was NOT EASY! The roads were narrow, full of pedestrian, dog, motorcycle, etc... And most of all, the signboard are not complete. Some places like town area like Denpasar, Kuta, Ubud have many one way street. So it might further confuse you. If you really wanna drive, maybe you can get some tips n advised from Stimix as he used to drive there according to his previous thread...


This post has been edited by ...PS...: Feb 23 2008, 06:12 PM

My Overall Opinion n Thought

This was my first time visiting to Bali n also Indonesia. Been to Langkawi, Hat Yai, Chiang Mai n Bangkok, and i think Bali is the best place to be!
Sometime i think it is better to travel abroad than to local destination as you might ended up spending about the same and you can get more in other countries. Why i said Bali is the best is because you have everything! If you like the sun, go to the beach, if you like quiet place, go to Ubud, if you like a cool and refreshing place, go to Danau Bratan, Bedugul area... and if you like shopping, Kuta will be the best.. So ideally Bali is for everyone. Another thing i notice about Bali is the local people are very friendly, except those dishonest money changer, umbrella services, etc... Overall they're alright... not like Petaling Street... sorry ha...

But if you want to visit Bali, i would suggest you to stay away during raining season, mainly Jan or February. It was raining for 4 days during our 5 days visit to Bali on 17-21 Feb 08. Although the rain was just a light one, but for weak person you might get sick easily... But try to stay away from the peak season also la... I heard everything is expensive, hard to find place to stay, at the end, it will ruins your vacation... Well... Happy Holiday in Bali... i just wish i can go back to Bali again one day!


p/s: sorry for writing so much... just giving my opinions and guides for those who wanted... They are all only for guideline... the info might not be the same as the fact of what you're getting.

Wow the above are the best all-in one travelogue so far... Glad u enjoyed Bali as me..& yes so far Bali remained my best overall tourist destination.... ..So sorry u missed the Batur Volcano view...nevermind probably on your nxt trip.. ...

haha... thanks... just try to put everything in one place to ease n help others on their trip next time.
Ya... so sad we missed the Mt. Batur Volcano, the season wasn't right. Raining season = no Mt. Batur view, no sunset and Uluwatu nor Tanah Lot... maybe next time, sure next time...
Last night when my group came out for dinner and talk about the travel fair that is happening lately, 1 did mention to go to Bali again! wow...
We have made booking in every single airasia travel fair since 2005, this time really have to give up liao... too rush, coz the travel period starts June to Jan 09. And we already book for Seam Reap in July or Sep (cant remember)... maybe next round... Long Live Air Asia ... So stimix, you been to Seam Reap before? Might need your help next time...

This post has been edited by ...PS...: Feb 23 2008, 07:31 PM

Recommendation On Stay...

AnyOne?

Oh, stay hmm.. this is quite subjective onto where you want to be near to. Kuta alone has alot of motels/hotels around and they can be quite cheap and expensive depending on seasons. I last stayed at Kuta Lagoon Resort and it cost me about RM140 per night but there are even more cheaper ones which go for around RM70~100 per night.

For Accomodation?

Can We Book On The Spot?

U mean walk-in? Sure there are lotsa accomodation in Kuta/Ubud..check-out b4 u like..but sometime u can get cheaper rate in internet rather than walk-in...most walk-in are rack-rate...i.e u are paying 100% of the stated price.. Internet rate sometime can go as low as 50% cheaper or ebven 75% cheaper than walk-in rate..

However internet booking only for those wth established & star rated...for budget a bit difficult...
This post has been edited by stimix: Feb 24 2008, 11:45 PM

This Is The Problem We Meet.

Dun Know Go Which Resort Or Hotel

It is difficult to recommend u a resort/ villa bcos it's all up to ur budget...My last 2 trips, I stayed at Balisani Padma which is located at Legian ~3KM away from Kuta centre. I hv no problem as I'm having my own rented car. The internet price is at USD19 or ~ RM70 . It's rated 3 star & really hv those Balinese design & the bathroom is also authentic Balinese....abit open actually... ..so those going wht children - not adviseable..On 2nd trip I was on FOC hotel (Bali Holiday) which is located at Seminyak ~10KM from Kuta....rated 3 Star as well. Pretty common hotel room without any Balinese design to the room so a bit dull...well it's free can't complain much..

If u have $$$$ I suggest u goto Nikko Hotel at Geger Beach (Near Nusa Dua)- I visited that hotel for look see only...and damn big & nice + crystal clear water!! - Price/nite =USD200!! ...Try checking those that hv posted earlier....and as i hv mentioned, check the villa that PS went...looks OK & good to me ..but most of private villas are in Ubud whcih is about 30KM away from Kuta...