Bali with a young toddler

[southside852]

We are thinking about going to Bali this Christmas. Would love to hear feedback from a parent's perspective on the following resorts:

1. Westin
2. Grand Hyatt
3. Ritz-Carlton

We will be with our son who will have just turned 2 years old then so we are looking for a hotel that is of course family friendly, good food or choice of food, larger rooms and has a lot to entertain our highly energetic son - perhaps playground, great pool, indoor playroom, camp?

Would love to hear your experience and feedback on the hotels. We also want it to be a fun vacation for us!

If I am missing a great resort too, please share!

Thanks everyone!

 

[Michelle2009]

Hi Southside

My husband and I just returned from Bali. It was actually our pre-baby break as our first little one is due in October. We stayed at the Intercontinental at Jimbaran Bay (the Ritz was fully booked) and during our trip, we often remarked at how family friendly the resort was and how we would definitely consider the resort again when the baby is older.

They have a very popular kid's club within the resort, although I am unsure of admission age. The grounds are vast and the beach is also very private (no hawkers, thank goodness). I didn't notice whether they had designated play areas but it would not surprise me if there were and I just didn't notice.

There is a large 'main swimming pool' with plenty of podiums/shading and shallow areas for little ones, and there is also a more private Club pool. During our stay in July, there were lots and lots of families with toddlers around and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

We stayed in a Club Room and it was very large and roomy. The food was very good although expect to pay in line with 5* prices. Service was friendly and efficient. Overall, we enjoyed it as we just spent most of our time chilling at the resort rather than do all the touristy thing with my bump in the heat!

The only thing I would double check, in the event you do go for the Intercontinental, is to make sure they have no corporate events on during your stay. One night during our stay, they had an outdoor corporate dinner/event on the grounds we overlooked which went on past 11pm which annoyed me a touch, so that was the only downside during our stay.

Best of luck.