Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua

This review is of the Sofitel Nusa Dua but at times, I will be comparing it to the Westin Nusa Dua where we stayed last year. We had 1 child (age 6) and one infant (age 8mths) with us and went as a group with 2 other families.

1. Staff - Very professional and always polite. The staff (and that includes the house keeping / room service people on the call) was top notch - they went over and above the call of duty some times and recognized the urgency of requests when it came to our baby. Well trained and incredibly helpful.

2. The accommodation: We stayed in Section B - not much of a view but it was quiet and close to the breakfast area and pool area so that suited us fine. The rooms were clean and comfortable. Do note - the bathrooms dont have any locks on them so strict ground rules need to be established if you've got toddlers / young kids staying with you. For our baby, a cot and bottle steraliser were provided (though you need to request it in advance). Amenities were as expected. That said, one of our friends did face an issue with their room where they had ants creeping in from the balcony and infesting their clothes and bags - suppose this was an one off instance as other parties in our group had no complaints.

3. Restaurants: the food was really good - especially if you are non vegetarian. Like most hotels in Bali, being a vegetarian can leave you scrounging for options, however the beauty of staying at one of these hotels on the nusa dua beach strip is that you can venture out and eat at other restaurants in other hotels. PRO TIP: Become an Accor (or better yet, Accor+) member - you get a good amount of discounts on your F&B (and stay) that makes it all worth while. The food at the Italian restaurant was really good but we found ourselves frequenting the beach side bar attached to the hotel (but not part of the hotel) for some good food, music and sheesha. One thing the hotel could work on is its communication on events surrounding the food. We unfortunately missed the Indonesian bbq night at the restaurant which serves breakfast as no one notified us. The hotel's own beach restaurant is a 6/10 (though the burgers are fairly decent). Again, not a lot of options for vegetarians - certainly do not get the falafel - they were abysmal. If you do end up eating there in the evening and there happens to be a wedding going on (in the sofitel wedding area) - do be cautioned that any fireworks, beautiful as they are, will result in a LOT of smoke and debris falling on you and your food. That was NOT a fun experience for any diner. It would probably be better for the hotel, diners (and environment) to do away with the option of a fireworks display at the weddings. Breakfast - the buffet offers quite a lot of options and, if you factor in the Accor+ discounts, is a better option than ala carte. I would recommend it. As is the case with any hotel, breakfast time can get a bit chaotic so do go early and get yourself a table indoors (but close to the garden where you can see squirrels jumping around and, on occasion, being fed by a guest or two).

4. Hotel activities: Not too far from the hotel (walk left as you get on the beach) - past the club med - you arrive at a dead end where there are a few shops offering jet skiing and parasailing. Negotiate a good price and its a fun thing to do with kids. The hotel also offers quite a lot of activities - bikes for rent / archery / volleyball / beach front massages etc. The wives really enjoyed the beach front cabana massages the hotel has to offer - they even had some special discount deals such as Mommy & Kid massages which were a hit with our kiddos. The kids really enjoyed the kids area - but do book in advance if any of your kids want to get their hair braided. As is the case with the other hotels on the beach, ice cream spots are readily available (that said, my daughter said the ice cream at Westin was better and loved the fact that the westin offered sprinkles and other toppings with their soft serves which Sofitel did not - they just had ice cream bars and cups and no toppings). The pool bar was a fun and popular hang out whilst our kids played in the kiddy pool and pool slide (Ps: The Westin Pool slide is better, but the sofitel pool was better to entertain kids of various ages - everyone from 9mths to 6 years enjoyed the sofitel pool).

5. The Beach - this is where, in my opinion (and yes the hotel has no control over this matter), the experience dips in comparison to say, the Westin Bali Nusa Dua. The quality of the sand is grainy-er than further down (heading towards Westin) as is the water. Much of the shore line of the beach was marred by sea kelp so it was a little difficult to wade in the water. My suggestion would be to walk down to the beach in front of the Westin and have your kids make sand castles there. PS: the Sheesha is better (and the stall stays open longer) at the Westin.

6. Around the hotel: As mentioned, there are some stalls offering watersports activities and hair braiding. Do rent a bicycle and ride down to the Pura Nusa Dharma outlook. Its peaceful and at sunrise, you get an incredible view at the lookout point (you have to walk down a 20 meter stretch off the main path to get to it but trust me its worth the view). Do try out the restaurants on the strip towards the Pura Nusa Dharma - Restaurant Arawan was absolutely fantastic for Indonesian food (we have been there twice).

Bottom line - would we go back to Sofitel Nusa Dua as a family? Thats a definite yes. Pound for pound I think this was a better stay than the Westin (where we stayed the year before but skipped this time as they had renovation going on). There are a few points where the Westin has Sofitel beat - the quality of the beach, the kid pool slide, an Indian restaurant - which offered more veggie options) but generally speaking given the overall experience, I would rate the Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Beach resort a good 8/10 vs Westin's 7/10.

good service, clean room and yummy food

Absolutely beautiful Italian food, do yourself a favour and try Cucina at the Sofitel. Great menu, great ingredients, great staff (thanks Ayra) and extremely well executed food.