Serela Legian Hotel

The location is excellent, right in the heart of Kuta, and at $25 a night the price was part of how I judged the stay. The room was fine, but service fell short in a couple of ways. We were only given one room key, with no second key available. Breakfast was supposed to be out at 7:30, but at 7:50 the outside caterer was only just arriving, and we were already late leaving for Lempuyang. They should at least have coffee and bread ready in-house. The second morning was better, with the food ready at 7:30.

I’ve stayed in about 50 places in Bali, and this was one of the worst. I can’t accept being asked to sleep on bedding stained with sweat and so dirty. The first sheets in our room had clearly been slept in many times. I asked for clean sheets, but the replacement was still dirty. When I asked for clean pillows, I was told none were available. The curtains and nets were stained too. Even with a fresh set of sheets, I could still smell the previous guests on them. Sleep was difficult for several reasons. People drank and made noise by the pool past midnight, and the noise wasn’t managed. Swimmers were in the pool at 6:30 in the morning, so there was no chance to catch up on sleep. Dogs barked at midnight, 2 a.m., and 5 a.m., and roosters nearby started at 5. The air conditioner at the far side of the hotel is broken, causing noise in the rooms on that side on every floor. There was also steel cutting directly below that area outside. The top-floor rooms seem to be inside the roof. Who designed that? The balcony looks into the roof and has no light, and that isn’t advertised. To be fair, the room was generally okay for cleanliness, and the mattresses underneath were good quality. The front desk staff were willing to show us other rooms until we found one without a daytime noise problem, which was good service. This rating isn’t about them. But who makes the decisions here? Why do they keep using such dirty items? In my opinion, they don’t care about tourists and have only one goal, profit. Also, at the Circle K next door, the tall young guy was skimming my cash and giving me the wrong change. I caught him three times, and he still argued about giving me the correct amount. Welcome to Bali!

The Nadi Hotel team were awesome. Had the best experience here.

There’s a wonderful pool, and if other guests leave early, you may be able to check in ahead of time. They also have a luggage storage room. The location in Kuta is good, the room price is normal, and the staff are very nice. Room cleaning is only done on request. The towels are terrible, there’s no toilet paper in the lobby bathrooms, and some rooms have poor ventilation.