Inna Samudra Beach

The view from my room was amazing during my one-night stay. The food needs a lot of work, though, and breakfast had a very standard selection. At least they had indomie and an omelette station, because honestly I wasn't sure what else I could eat there.

We got absolutely no help, just repeated answers of “no taxi.” My girlfriend needed to see her doctor, so after a medical emergency on the day we arrived, we had to get to Jakarta that evening. Grab was having technical problems, and we had no local SIM card to call anyone. At reception, a woman stood beside a man who was looking at a screen. I explained that it was urgent and asked if they could call a taxi. They mumbled to each other, then she said there was no taxi. When I asked how we could leave, they looked at each other instead of at me and again said no taxi. I wondered if they hadn't understood, but when I asked if they spoke English, they said yes. The same staff had checked us in and had spoken and understood English then. I eventually walked away without any idea how to get out of there. They hadn't called a taxi or even explained public transport. People who've travelled around Asia might know the empty-eyed, emotionless distance I mean when you ask someone for help. I've never experienced it at a hotel reception while an actual emergency was happening. It was shocking.

For what we paid per night, the hotel's upkeep was disappointing and didn't feel worth it. There was no hot water or shampoo in the bathroom, and no shampoo at the pool wash area either. The shower water wasn't draining, which was disgusting. When I asked for pool towels, the guy said, “Kosong/no more towels to give.” The food was ordinary, like a three-star hotel. I'd heard this was a four-star hotel, but the service felt like three-star.

The room was clean, and the balcony had a nice view. But there was a huge problem in the restaurant area: smoke from smokers filled the space, even though lots of kids and babies were there.