Conrad Bali Resort and Spa

The accommodation is very clean, the butler's service attitude is good, and the food in the seafood restaurant is also very fresh. As long as the requirements are made to the housekeeper, they will do it as much as possible. The most important thing is that the service staff is very warm. I go to have breakfast every day, and the staff at the door remember my name. Thank you very much for your efforts! And as a Chinese, I don't feel discrimination against different countries, which is rare. It is also the most visited hotel in Bali. I look forward to seeing you next year! Thanks to every service staff for their efforts!

This review includes two separate stays at the resort, apx. ten days apart. The first stay was for three nights and would've earned a solid FOUR mark and the second stay was for four nights and would've earned a poor TWO mark. So instead of writing two separate reviews, I've combined them and the total mark is a THREE.

First stay: We arrived to the beautiful hotel lobby and checked in around noon. We booked a Twin Suite and were upgrade as Diamond members to a Sea Facing Twin Suite - suite 3514. Then we started marching towards the suite - and it's a LONG 600 meters walk, which is only partially covered.

Arriving to the suite we immediately noticed how it and the entire building both need some serious TLC, as the wear and tear were apparent all over the place. The suite opens up to a living room with two sofas, a dining table with three chairs, and armchair, a TV, a ceiling fan, a kitchenette with a sink, a coffee machine and a minibar. The TV was showing a message of a "private event" planned for that evening. This was the case during most of our stay.

The double balcony was facing the sea, but was also facing the main wedding venue of the resort, which meant a VERY loud wedding almost daily. It also featured a sink, two chairs, a table and a hanger for laundry.

The bedroom featured two king beds, a small TV and a ceiling fan. While the mattrasses were fine, the beds themselves were peeling off and looking pretty bad.

Next, there was a closet room, a safe and a powder table with chair.

The bathroom was large and featured a sofa of some sort, two sinks, a bath tub, a toilet with a hose bidet and a shower with a good water pressure (but a severe leakage, too). The bathroom amenities were the Mojave Ghost by Byredo.

The A/C in the bedroom was constantly malfunctioning (it took three separate requests to have it fixed), the bedroom doors to the balcony were not sealed at all and hot air always kept entering the room. This made the A/C drip constantly in the closet room, sometime on the floor and sometimes into our suitcases. The room was not soundproof at all, and was anything but lightproof, too.

For the second stay, we were allocated the exact same suite.

The resort features several pools: A lovely pool located next to the suites' building, an adult-only pool located in the spa area, not too far from the suites' building (the spa also features a hot tub, a cold tub, a dry sauna and a wet sauna) and the main pool next to the lobby. The pools are all open until 10PM.

Unfortunately, the beach is literally non-existent - it's shallow, dirty and we never saw anyone entering it, other than local fishermen.

Breakfast is served in several restaurants. We had one breakfast at Rin, the Japanese restaurant, located next to the suites' building and it was small and not impressive, so we had the rest of our breakfasts at Suku, the hotel's main restaurant, which had a wider buffet and while being chaotic at times, was much better. We also had a single dinner at Rin, which was very disappointing.

We had the rest of our dinners at Suku (four of them) and at Eight Degrees South (two of them), which were all very nice.

All the restaurants and the lobby bar had a FANTASTIC team.

I've written separate reviews about all the restaurants.

The Club Lounge was located above the Rin restaurant, overlooking the pool. It was open from 11AM until 11PM and featured an A/C room and an outdoor seating area, too. It was unmanned most of the day and you could only get soft drinks, hot drinks and some nibbles. Between 3PM and 5PM, there was a little buffet of sandwiches and scones. Between 5PM and 7PM, there were only cocktails, mocktails and small japanese canapes served from the Rin restaurant. While the lounge was not amazing, it was a tranquil place were you could relax, read and get some work done.

We requested a late check out at 1PM but were told the hotel is fully booked. We checked the Hilton app and immediately saw this wasn't the case, so we confronted the duty manager with this information. After a long conversation we were granted our 1PM check out.

So, what went wrong during our second stay? Well, a whole lot!

Upon checking in, we were cordially informed that the Club Lounge is now permanently closed and that we can have a coupon for a drink instead. This was a shock for us, as nobody bothered to inform us when we check out from our first stay that the resort is shutting down the lounge PERMANENTALLY in between our stays. The duty manager tried to put the blame on us, saying "you never asked", which was mind-boggling. Only after requesting a meeting with the GM, we were told that all Conrad resorts (not city hotels) are now obligated to shut down their lounges. The GM explained to us that the "club benefits" are now available during "happy hour" in the lobby bar, which most guests prefer. This is, of course, not the same as having a separate, quite and A/C Club Lounge. As a gesture of good will, the GM granted us unlimited non-alcoholic drinks at the lobby bar and three small dinners at the hotels' restaurants. While the gesture was appreciated, we couldn't enjoy the drinks at the lobby bar during the day, as it was too hot for comfort and while the weather was pleasant in the evening - the mosquitoes were not.

To add insult to injury, there was nightly smoke coming from the nearby property, which made the balcony useless and even penetrated our suite. It took several requests (and days) from the hotel to stop this.

Bottom line - two very different and contrasted stays left us truly disappointed. The resort is dated (although a renovation is expected in the future, according to the GM) and with the elimination of the Club Lounge, there's no reason to prefer it over the nearby Hilton.

Last year, I returned to Conrad Bali for the first time on a solo trip because my husband no longer travels. It still felt like home because the GM Kevin and DO Evelyne checked in with me regularly and made sure I was well taken care of. The loving and caring team members ensured that I was never alone during mealtimes. Managers were allowed to sit with me, while others would stand while talking to me. Even team members who have moved to other properties would return to Conrad Bali to visit me.

This year, I was more hesitant to visit alone because both Kevin and Evelyne are no longer at Conrad Bali. However, the team members (current and departed) continued their tradition of spoiling me. I alternated having breakfast at Suku (on TWTh when it is less busy) and at Rin on the remaining mornings.

At Suku, Chef Manik, Manager Ridwan. Yatni, Adi, and many others pampered me with more food than I could eat. And one day, on his day off, Exec Sous-Chef Esteban brought his new wife to have breakfast with me – a most special day.

I was similarly spoiled during breakfast at Rin, and it was wonderful to see so many familiar faces whose names my old brain cannot remember. I met the new manager at Rin whose name also escapes me. Again, a great team who took care of all my needs.

A few people deserve special mention:

The new GM Marco with whom I emailed a few times before my arrival. I was blunt and to the point with my disappointment when he shared that the Exec Lounge was permanently closed. Yet, Marco did not hold any grudges, and we both bowed politely upon my arrival. We even hugged at my departure. A la prochaine quand je me comporte mieux…..

Wayan, to whom I had the privilege last year of presenting an international Hilton award for her dedication to her job. Thank you for fixing another dress for the Spoiled One.

Chandiki at the spa who gives me the best massage and mani/pedi while serenading me with her beautiful voice.

Gede, the new spa manager who has replaced the beloved Arini. I was very impressed when I showed up at a Zumba class to see Gede as the instructor. I look forward to more classes next year.

Pastry Chef Putu who created another huge chocolate display that was impossible for me to eat by myself. Once again, it was delivered to the staff canteen where I shared it with the team during lunch. Even Marco showed up to have some chocolate!

Rin Chef Handayani who is patient and puts up with my ridiculous requests for more food, both at breakfast and at dinner. More scallops, please!

Exec Chef Semawan, who never disappoints me. Thank you for the special time spent with your family and for the priceless gift that ensures I will always stay warm. Thank you, also, for the special poutine cooking class that was done right with beef gravy! The Spoiled One will forever cherish her special plaque and for her role within Conrad Bali’s culinary team.

Dwi, a behind-the-scenes manager, whom I met for the first time last year. With Kevin and Evelyne gone, she took on the role of my babysitter by texting me frequently to ask if I needed anything. I appreciated the many times she showed up unexpectedly at different venues to entertain me. Thank you, also, for introducing me to fried garlic peanuts. Delicious!

Evelyne, who returned to Conrad Bali for a weekend to keep me company. I am so grateful for your thoughtfulness. May we meet annually going forward wherever you are located!

Cicilia, my curator for the second year. Once Evelyne left, I thought there would no longer be any annual videos for the Spoiled One. I shared with Cicilia my dream of having another video with the Spoiled One featured in a Conrad Bali video. Amazingly, Cicilia made that dream a reality.

Thank you to all Conrad Bali team members for another memorable stay!