Gold status, so I have booked 6 nights at the Novotel Benoa and day use at Novotel Airport hotel for the last day, thanks all for suggestions.
The novotel benoa has two sides… the classic ‘beach wing’ resort, and a new ‘garden’ wing which is across the road. The beach wing is the one you want.
The classic ‘Tropical Terrace’ rooms in the beach wing are great. The beachfront cabana rooms were not so great in terms of lack of privacy and noise. Didn’t really seem vfm or much benefit over the terrace rooms when compared to the private villas which are absolutely stunning.
As a gold you can request late checkout. We got 5pm, after initially being offered 2pm.
The airport hotel is great… private security screening to enter the checkin area. But i’d leave it as late as possible to go… it doesn’t compare to the Benoa resort in terms of the ‘bali feel’.
If you have accor plus breakfast is worth it… around $12 per person. At full price it’s ok for the first morning, but it’s a bit ‘same same’ after that. The room service breakfast is a good alternative… same price as a full-priced breakfast for one at the restaurant but you get more than enough food for two! The only thing is that while the room service menu lists the full breakfast as cereal, bakery, eggs, fruit, juice and tea/coffee, you actually need to ask for each thing when you order. You’ll know what i mean if you order it… but the bakery and fruits and stuff only get put on the tray if you ask!
Other than breakfast, which is great sitting in the outdoor wing of the restaurant overlooking the beach, the food is really underwhelming. A snack for lunch is just ok, but dinner is really disappointing, We tried lots of dishes, over several stays, a couple of years apart. It never got any better.
But bumbu bali is just a few minutes down the road, and if you have accor plus you can go for a good meal at the sofitel, about 10 mins away.
