ZenRooms Kuta Bakung Sari 2

I found this place about four years ago, and now it’s my regular choice. It’s always peaceful, the staff are consistently nice, and the setting is fantastic. The pool is pretty damn good too. I like that it’s outside the busy heart of Kuta, but the street has great places to eat and some great massage shops. There’s also a fantastic cafe just around the corner called buddy hatch. Hotel breakfast for $5 is pretty damn good. A great place to relax by the pool.

The rooms could be cleaner, but this place was convenient and cheap, and did the job for me. I needed somewhere near the airport, and the location was great, within walking distance of the center and beaches. I liked the Balinese touches and atrium style.

The staff were lovely, but I wouldn’t stay here again or recommend it to anyone. I’ve stayed in both cheap and expensive places on many trips to Bali, and this room was disgusting, with poor upkeep even by the cheapest standards. The bed felt like a bag of rocks. The sheets were stained and threadbare, and the old pillows were stained too. The walls and floors were filthy, as if they hadn’t had a deep clean in months. The shower head was crusted with buildup, and long brown hairs were all over the floor, toilet and basin. I have very short grey hair.

Room 301 was spacious, and the pool was decent, though some of its tiles need fixing. That’s about all I can say in its favour. I booked mainly because the resort is close to the airport, and we arrived at 2am. I knew the reviews weren’t great, but the room still surprised me. It was beside the stairs where staff and guests gathered to make calls or watch videos, so it was noisy. The ceiling had water stains, and the bedding looked dirty white rather than clean white. They provided only a tiny soap, barely enough for washing hands. The shower head holder was at my waist, which made it hard to shower properly. The toilet tiles and the room also needed a much better clean.