Griya Sunset Kuta

I’d been staying here since 2022, when the price still seemed reasonable for an older place. But the furniture is all old, and the building isn’t maintained. The landlord is slow to respond and, when something breaks, doesn’t want to pay for it. I also found the location inconvenient, with a chaotic intersection on Sunset Road. The shower was already half broken in my first week. I asked for it to be replaced, but she told me to ask the cleaner to check it, even though the cleaner isn’t a handyman. She later said she’d replace it only if I paid. I complained that it was old and half broken when I moved in, and eventually she agreed to replace it. There’s a table hanging near the TV that can fall easily because the wall is weakened by damp and mold. It fell once even though I hadn’t put anything heavy on it. The landlord wanted me to pay a handyman to fix it. He said it happens in other rooms too, which points to a poor setup and lack of maintenance. Over time, the landlord takes advantage of tenants. If you leave the room for a week or more, mold develops quickly. The wardrobe can become completely covered, the desk gets moldy too, and the whole room smells of it. The TV, fridge and air conditioner are old, the fridge is small, the shower pressure is terrible, and the walls are peeling. The landlord keeps raising the rent each year. It was 3.5 million a month and now she wants 4 million, though she said she’d charge new people 5 mill. She still refuses to replace furniture or upgrade or fix things. She wouldn’t replace the old air conditioner, just had the aircon guy clean it. Before I moved out, it completely broke down. She sent him, but nothing improved. He said it needed replacing, and it still didn’t cool. After a big argument she finally agreed to replace it, but she always wants the cheapest fix. The new unit was installed badly, still didn’t cool, and the technician left a big hole. I was fed up and paid to stay at a hotel because the aircon guy said he’d come back the next morning. You can see how poor the installation was. When I returned after being away before checkout, the room was covered with flies, which shocked me. She didn’t tell me what she planned to do about the aircon. I slept without it, then called her in the morning and got no answer until my fiancée texted her. She finally replied, said she’d been tired the night before, and said she would replace it. It felt crazy and selfish that she could say she was tired without updating me about the plan when I was paying rent. I was waiting and stressed. She changes cleaners constantly, sometimes in less than a month. I’ve lost count of how many have come and gone since I moved in. She insists that one cleaner handle the whole building, which seems unreasonable. The place is the worst, the building never gets maintained. Wifi is very bad, and Telkomsel only has 2-3 bars.

For a budget place in Kuta - Bali, I highly recommend this hotel. It’s easy to find on Google Maps, in the middle of a pretty nice housing complex not far from the main road. The place was quiet, the air con was great, and the TV had lots of local and international channels. It was incredibly good for the low price of Rp 300-350K ($ 20-25) a night. The sheets on the bed and pillows were clean, the shower had hot water, and breakfast was decent as long as you don’t expect too much. The pool wasn’t huge but the water was clean. Staff were super nice, and they also offer cars and motorbikes for rent.

The only hitch was checking in late at night. Only the security staff were there, and they didn’t know how to handle payment. Apart from that, my stay was perfect. Staff were great, and the place felt new and was clean. It wasn’t too expensive for what it offers. Each room has a balcony right by the pool, a nice touch. Parking fits three cars at most.

The photos are very misleading, and the hotel isn’t worth anywhere near the price. It sits down a dark, quiet side street that didn’t feel safe to walk alone at night. Staff weren’t attentive on arrival and barely spoke English. The corridor walls and ceilings had damp, and there was a nasty smell. My room was spacious, but the door lock was faulty, the aircon was filthy with dust, and there were ants and bugs in every corner. The sheets were clean but discoloured, as if they were five years old. Some plug sockets were loose in the wall. The bathroom flooded if the shower ran for more than two minutes. I didn’t use the pool, but the sunloungers were ripped to shreds. Luckily I only stayed one night before going elsewhere in Bali.