The Hotel I have been to Potato Head Beach Club on a few occasions, and I was excited to book my stay for the second time during my recent trip to Bali this year at the Potato Head Suites & Studios, which is only a few years old where the building of Potato Head Studios is the newer of the two. The Desa Potato Head development is huge, as it comprises of the beach club, Potato Head Studios and Potato Head Suites. Both studios and suites are in separate buildings, though the whole development is very well-connected. 

Desa Potato Head is also ranked Number 21 on The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2024 list.

This was the first part of my Bali stay in Seminyak, before I moved over to check out The Apurva Kempinski Bali in Nusa Dua.

I love that wide, open design of Potato Head Studios as the design is quite progressive. Co-designed with OMA, there are 168 rooms in Potato Head Studios. 

The reception is pretty open concept and I was served a welcome local drink Jamu. It was nice to soak in the resort vibes and definitely a great first impression. 

One of the staff then explained to us about the various eco-initiatives at the resort. Each guest gets a reusable stylish metallic water bottle where you can use to refill water in the resort and I thought this idea is absolutely fabulous. 

The Room I love the corridor leading to the rooms, where you get little nice pockets of sun rays at certain times of the day.

I booked the Bamboo Studio which looks out to the bamboo courtyard. At 36 sqm, the room size is quite decent and the woody interior resonates with me. Head over to Trip.com for special deals and promotions!

The room is very well-stocked. There is the zero-waste kit where you get the reusable water bottle, tote bag, bamboo cutlery and straws, organic cotton pouch, ointment pots and a lunchbox. 

I also like the refillable essentials – All-natural sunscreen, after-sun care, hand sanitiser and insect repellent. It is great if you forgot all about sunscreen for your trip as this comes in handy. 

The in-room bar comes with a built-in ice well, custom cocktail tools, house-infused spirits, natural syrups, aromatic bitters, fresh fruit, and a recipe book from award-winning mixologist Dre Masso. 

The king bed is comfortable for me too, as the mattress is quite firm and there is plenty of tabletop storage behind the bed. 

While the bathroom is not huge, it is cleverly designed where you get a standing shower. Doesn’t it look like a Japanese theme ryokan? 

The Facilities The best part about staying at Potato Head Studios is that guests get beach club pool and daybed access. You get priority booking at the Potato Head Beach Club, though I would advise you to just stay within the Potato Head Studios pool. 

The day bed at the resort’s pool is on a first come first served basis, which I spent most of my time at. You get a pretty view of the sea, coupled with the infinity pool which is a very good size. 

The food menu at the pool also offers a great variety be it for bites, large bowls or drinks. 

The best time to lounge in the pool is late afternoon to sunset, where it is gorgeous over the sea.

Otherwise, there is also direct access from the pool to the beach, which can be equally mesmerising as well.

For fitness junkies, there is a decent gym with mainly weights training with no chest bench press. It is also a rather gloomy setting with no windows at all. 

Right next to the gym is the spa, where the spa menu is priced very reasonably. I had the 90 minutes deep tissue massage which cost about IDR950,000 after taxes. I love the dark ambience of the treatment rooms which come with single or couple rooms. Shower facilities are available in each room.

My advice is to pre-book the massage well ahead as there are only a couple of treatment rooms.

And of course, you can always stroll to the Potato Head Beach Club to soak in that beach club vibes with people watching and loud music.

The Restaurants The daily breakfast is located at ground level, in an open setting overlooking the sea. You can even request to have your breakfast at the beach bed right beside the pool! While the spread is not that wide, it is a good balance of Indonesian and International delights. You can still have your Nasi Goreng and fresh juices. 

I love to sit by the pool, sip my morning coffee, and just order at my own pace.

I also managed to have dinner at Kaum located at the beach club complex. I highly recommend a meal at Kaum which serves a wide variety of local Indonesian dishes with recipes from over 600 Indonesian islands. 

I managed to have dinner in Dome, a contemporary European cuisine paired with Natural wines. It is a lovely space which feels like you are entering someone’s house. The dishes I had were generally good, and you get to try local Balinese wines from the wine list as well.

If you happen to stay on Friday or Saturday, there is an amazing rooftop experience Sunset Park where you can get evening drinks and local delights with one of the best sunset views in Seminyak in my opinion. The crowd descends from 5pm onwards, so head up early if you want to secure a good seat! 

Other dining concepts include Ijen, a seafood-focused restaurant; Tanaman, a multi-sensory dining experience with a set menu of 9 courses; and of course, at the Beach Club itself.  

Rants Taxis or private care hires are allowed to drop you at the lobby while you head back, but not permitted to pick you from the lobby if you are heading out. I guess this is to minimise car traffic in and out of the Potato Head development, and in any case, there is buggy service to bring you to the main entrance at the main road where you can board your hired taxi or car. 

As a returning guest, I also find it a slight disappointment that there is nothing extra to make me feel special. I think every small gesture makes a difference, especially for a brand which is not part of any hotel loyalty programs. There must be a differentiating factor.

Overall Experience Second time back at Potato Head Studios and it still feels like home. The service is warm and hospitable, with staff being very attentive in a few occasions. Of course, there is always room for improvement and some staff are just better than others in terms of being more attentive and less intrusive than others.

The view of the sea and the pool are the biggest draw for me, though I also noticed that the gap in the room rates here have narrowed in the past year as compared to the neighbouring beach front resorts such as W Bali – Seminyak and Alila Seminyak.  

Potato Head Suites & Studios 
Jl. Petitenget No.51B, Seminyak, Kec. Kuta Utara, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia 

For more information, check out the Potato Head Suites & Studios Website.
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Ranted by The Ranter