Bali Hotel Review: Bali Tropic Hotel (Nusa Dua)
I’ve been to Bali a couple of times before but I was always busy with events. This time, I was coming for a week-long eat, pray, love session with one of my best friends. We took a while to decide which area to stay in. I had tried Kuta before and I found it to be no different from any small resort town…full of touristy shops and restaurants. The beach was pretty bad too.
The Sanur hotel I tried before was wonderful. However, the beach was not that impressive and it was far from everything else. In the end, we decided to split our trip between the Nusa Dua area and Seminyak.
Nusa Dua is supposed to provide a quiet, idyllic and relaxing place to enjoy the sun and sand. Most hotels here have their own beachfront so we should not need to go out much. The resorts are also built to be self-sustaining properties where guests can get different forms of entertainment all within the property.
The photo above caught my attention as I was browsing through Booking.com. I didn’t like the beaches that I have seen in my previous trips to Bali so I was hoping to have a better experience this time. We chose this hotel primarily for the beach and for the Balinese aesthetic.
The photo above shows the actual beachfront. I probably could have taken a better photo with a drone or a professional camera but it definitely does not look like the one in the advertisement. The sand wasn’t white at all but at least it was fairly fine and there was no debris lying around.
The water was clear but it didn’t look too inviting since there were boats docked nearby. It wasn’t a beautiful aquamarine hue either. It wasn’t dirty but for whatever reason it looked more the color of a lake. Needless to say, we spent a lot of time in the pool.
The pool here stayed a nice, comfortable temperature throughout the day. There was a lovely swim-up bar and some nice music.
Let’s talk about the room. We had one of the bungalows on the lower floors. All the accommodations here are grouped into bungalows with about four rooms each. Ours had beautiful canopied beds and a spacious bathroom with a tub. The air-conditioning worked well and I loved that they had a lot of English cable channels.
My favorite aspect of the property is the Balinese architecture. The entrance alone looks like the entrance to a beautiful Royal Palace. There is also a small but intricately designed Balinese temple inside the property. This was so much more beautiful than the temples that I often see on Instagram.
Apart from the underwhelming beach, I would also have to say that the food here is disappointing. The buffet breakfast has all the necessities (bacon, eggs, bread, pancakes etc.) but not enough local elements for my taste. Meanwhile, the Indonesian restaurant served the worst sop buntut (ox tail soup) that I have ever had.
The service here was great though, so I would have to mention that. I only wish that the Indonesian food that they served here was a little bit more authentic and top-notch.
My overall rating would have to be 3/5 stars.
Watch the video below to see my full review:
If you’re looking for great hotel deals for your trip, search here:
Booking.com