The Hotel Located within Bali Tourism Development Complex, the Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Beach Resort is within a quick under-30mins drive from the airport. The 5-star luxury resort welcomes you with a Balinese inspired entrance with its inverted-cone shaped roof and sprialing stairway down to the hotel’s all-day dining concept, Kwee Zeen. Guests will get to enjoy an inviting view from the lobby lounge Le Bar looking out to the swimming pools and the sea beyond.

The Room Majority of the rooms at the hotel measured 48sqm, although the most sought-after rooms has to be the Luxury Rooms with Plunge Pool access. Located on the first floor, the rooms get you direct access into the swimming pool right from the balcony. And if this does not sound enticing yet, the swimming pools in the hotel are all linked as it meanders around the whole complex, and you can take a slow swim while exploring the property.

Back to the room, the spacious space gets you a separate bathtub and rain shower area. Forget about lounging out at the beach too, with lounge chairs at the balcony facing the pool and gardens – which impedes fellow guests from disturbing your privacy. If the weather gets too hot, head back to the room, where the 2-seater lounge sofa looks like a perfect spot for a lazy book-reading corner to chill the afternoon away.

The Facilities One of the most important thing at a beach resort must be its facilities. Basically you ought to have no reasons to leave the resort whatsoever. Here at Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Beach Resort, we have to admit that we did not step out from the property for the 2 nights we were here. Starting with SoFIT, the fitness centre in the hotel has all the right equipments, and a recent updates of the machines also saw a couple of the latest Technogym installed here. If you are looking to play some tennis or something on a smaller scale, the table tennis, all these are available just outside of SoFIT.

The swimming pools tempts you throughout the stay, and I do strongly encourage you to give in your desire. Head out to the swimming pool, and grab a drink at the L’oh Pool Bar with in-water tables for you to enjoy your cool drinks. We saw bicycle rentals available as well, although we could not afford any minute more outside of the resort, and have decided to circle back to our poolside suntanning.

To pamper yourself, head over to SoSpa to get your massage done. Lucky for us, the hotel prepared vouchers for guests checking in to enjoy the facilities at SoSpa for a slight discount. Located just next to SoFit, enter SoSpa and you will immediately feel relaxed with its scented environment and slow Balinese music playing in the back. If having your massage indoors has become a tad too predictable for you, the resort offers spa options at the beachfront, in Balinese pavilions. From here, you can enjoy your massage with the sea waves clashing just steps away from you.

To complete the relaxing experience, the hair salon located inside SoSpa is a perfect spot to enjoy a traditional Indonesian hair treatment (also known more commonly as Cream Bath). In addition to the hair treatment, guests gets to enjoy a head and shoulder massage!

For rooms booked with Club Millésime Lounge access, it is a far quieter space to have coffee or tea at any time of the day. The club lounge runs a daily Afternoon Tea and Evening Cocktail with canapes, and the best part of the lounge for me is its spaciousness and library-like interior. I also chose to have my breakfast here, which is an alternative to heading to Kwee Zeen.

 

The Restaurants No stay is complete without enjoying some good food, especially for the pandas. The all-day dining concept at the resort, Kwee Zeen, offers a mix of both local Indonesian and other Pan-Asian cuisine options through a buffet selection. The spread here was exhaustive, though this is a more family oriented restaurant offering something for everyone.

The fine-dining Cucina, focusing on Italian and Mediterranean, is located in the middle of the resort amidst the swimming pools. If you happen to be in the resort, or in Bali, during the weekends, make sure you head over to Cucina for its Sunday Brunch. Enjoy a wide range of spreads, especially seafood selections, and pair this with a champagne package to dine the weekend away. Best of all, guests gets entertained by a live band and are welcomed to stay and enjoy the the swimming pool facilities even after the Sunday Brunch. When night falls, Cucina turns itself into an intimate setting for the couple looking to spend some quiet romantic time, while sipping on Italian wines.

Of course, there are other options in the resort, including the beachfront casual diner Toya Beach Bar & Grill and the 2 bars at the resort, Le Bar (at the lobby) and L’oh Pool Bar (at the swimming pools).

If you are looking for a beach club, there’s no need to even step out from the resort. Within the resort, the Manarai Beach House is the latest beach club to open in the Nusa Dua area. Managed by the Ismaya group, famous for its D’Journal cafes and Skye rooftop bar in Jakarta. We were impressed with the food and drinks on offer here, and the vibe was very on point.

Rants Not the newest resort in Bali, though the upkeep of the property deserves a mention.

Overall Experience Always love the opportunity to head out to a resort and have little reason to step out from the property, Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Beach Resort is one. Luxurious room, ample facilities to keep me occupied, and enough activities to keep the day going – and most importantly, being able to take a break from the busy world outside. Only qualms will be for the property to up their ante on their restaurants, which we found slightly lacking – though the next door Manarai Beach House is a great plus to the resort.

Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Beach Resort
Lot N5, ITDC Tourism Complex
Nusa Dua, Badung
Bali 80363, Indonesia
Tel: +62 361 8492888

For more information, check out the Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Beach Resort Website.

Ranted by The Rantee