Kuta Suci Guest House

The location is hard to beat. The beach is at the end of the road, and Jalan Pantai Kuta is lined with restaurants, coffee shops, market stalls and convenience stores. At around £9 a night, it was very affordable, and the basic room had everything I needed for a short stay. Still, the interactions with some staff left me uneasy. When I arrived, a man in reception who seemed to work there was talking with the receptionist, staring at me, then calling me “beautiful.” A compliment might usually be harmless, but this came across as a pickup line and crossed a boundary. As a 19-year-old solo female traveller, I found it especially unsettling, given staff can see guest names and room numbers. There was also a mismatch with the booking: it said streaming services like Netflix were included, but Netflix wasn't available on the TV. I asked reception for help. A staff member came out smoking and wearing AirPods while on FaceTime, followed me to my room still smoking, put the cigarette out in my balcony ashtray and kept talking on the phone while trying to fix the TV. It felt awkward and unprofessional. The guesthouse met my basic needs and was good value for the price, but those staff encounters affected the whole experience. I wouldn't rush back, and I'd encourage other young women travelling alone to consider what happened before booking.

The location is handy, close to the beach and right by the main road, and the AC worked really well. Amenities are limited, though. I stayed four days and needed WiFi, but it didn't work at all. I asked staff to fix it and nothing happened. The room was only cleaned every three days, not daily. I also often found nobody at reception. When employees were there, they were busy on their phones and didn't greet customers. I didn't take photos because there was nothing interesting to photograph.

If I could give zero stars, I would. The place was gross, just look at the bathroom floor. There were two pieces of used gum on a shelf and an empty coffee can in the room, which says plenty about the cleaning. They advertised fast WiFi, but there was none in the room. I told the host and got ignored until I involved Airbnb. After Airbnb contacted her, she offered another room, but I had to wait a couple of days. I agreed, then she started ignoring me again when the day came. I had to contact Airbnb support a second time and finally got a refund. The host didn't approve it, so Airbnb itself issued it. Save yourself the time and money and don't book here. The host cares very little about you.

The staff seemed more like security than hospitality workers, and they were pretty unhelpful. The WiFi was awful. There were several network IDs, but none worked properly. Even the WiFi at Caracara just behind the place was much better, and I'd stayed there before.