Melia Bali Villas and Spa Resort

We stayed as a family with our 17 year old son and honestly could not fault this resort. The all inclusive is unbelievable value, and it runs right up until you leave. There is every taste of food you could want, and every restaurant is five star in both quality and presentation. The à la carte restaurants are delicious, but book a few days in advance as they fill up. We definitely ate and drank enough to make the most of it! The service was outstanding. When we had a loose strip in our room, it was fixed within minutes. We always got a sun bed and always found a place to eat, even at busy times. For those on a night flight, the departure lounge is a lifesaver, letting you relax, freshen up and keep enjoying the inclusions before heading to the airport. Tip for other travellers: download the Grab app for easy, cheap transport around the island. A huge thank you to Dita, Aditya, Peni, Angustwo, Dewi, Dewa Krishna, Resti, Suastini and Aris. You made our stay so special and nothing was ever too much trouble. We would recommend this resort to everyone. Families will love it, couples will find it just as relaxing and romantic, and it suits young and old alike. We will be back!

We stayed 14 nights all inclusive at the Melia Paradisus in September, booked through Luxury Escapes & based on the great reviews I'd read on their site & on Tripadvisor but also on general reviews elsewhere on the internet. At first glance it's a very attractive, well laid out resort - it's been recently refurbished, the rooms we had were spacious & well furnished with a generous balcony, the resort has a number of different restaurants, Asian, south American, Middle Eastern, Japanese, Spanish, a dinner buffet restaurant & some beach/pool outlets. In general the food was OK but quite bland, none of the dishes we ate were particularly memorable which is a shame because the surroundings in some of the restaurants are stunning - most have to be booked in advance & there's a great service one level below Reception where you can book restaurants for your whole stay.

Our biggest shock was the amount of children at the resort - there's a waterpark which you'd expect to be busy with children & it was, but the main pool area which is designed for ALL guests was literally full of children from morning to evening, during water aerobics they'd be dodging in between the adults taking part in the exercise, sometimes with motorised boogie boards! if you were doing lengths they'd be all over the place, there was literary no area in the pool that wasn't full of children. The noise was continuous, screaming, shouting, crying, howling. We hadn't seen any mention in reviews or in the resort's information that the resort was predominately for families with children so this was a huge surprise & disappointment. (We are in no way anti children, we just didn't expect so many of them to be at the resort, especially during school term time).

The resort also has a luxury adults only area, The Reserve with a private pool, different bedrooms & a dedicated restaurant, all of which you pay extra for. Unfortunately when we originally booked nothing was available in The Reserve, after 5 days we did manage to get an upgrade (at a substantial price) for the remainder of our stay which was bliss.

My advice to travellers would be if you're travelling with children this is a great resort, if you're travelling on your own or as a couple & you're looking for rest & relaxation you may want to book The Reserve or try somewhere else.