Seminyak, Bali
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| Our room at the hotel for three nights! |
Having stayed in locally run bungalows up until now, we wanted to treat ourselves to…dare I say it ‘a luxury resort’ in Seminyak. I’d heard this was the perfect place if you want to chill on the beach, go bar hopping and try out amazing restaurants. As our driver pulled up to our hotel, The Royal Beach Seminyak, it seemed so vast and westernised that it felt a bit like cheating, because really, when you go to a resort on a beach, you could be anywhere – only that it didn’t take long to get accustomed to the cushy living… Staff greeted us with flower garlands and cold lemongrass cocktails, what a welcome! We quickly booked an extra night here (during check-in) shortening our stay in Sideman where we were due a very basic stay.
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| Ku De Ta at sunset |
Seminyak is a melting pot for high-flying international minglers who come for a long weekend to soak up the sun and to be seen at places like Ku De Ta – a fancy pants beach bar where a cocktail is the price of one in Mayfair and there’s a lot of bling flying about. The backdrop is stunning and definitely one of the best spots to watch the sunset – we managed to nab a huge lounger and made sure to make our martinis last ‘we are only having ONE each’ were nick’s final wise words here.
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| The beach front |
We found that all along the beach front in Seminyak, the resorts act as destinations within themselves, where guests need not move a finger. People laze around all day there, either by the pool or on the beach, so it was funny to think that this is the extent of what so many visitors see when they come to Bali. Being only here for three days we were OK about not doing much either – our daily routine, like most of the guests, goes as follows: wake up early(…ish) for a huge breakfast followed by our main morning mission to claim the most sought after sun loungers, meaning we had to shamelessly race others for the popular pool and sea facing spots. Lunch, we would have on the loungers, then afternoon walks on the beach and later for dinner we checked out Jl. Laksmana. This street is jam packed with cafes, bars and restaurants – our favourites included, Chandi for great Indonesian food and right next to it, a popular Italian called Ultimo. I was dead set on not going to an Italian in Bali but Ultimo has the best vibe in the area and a gorgeous outdoor terrace. In any case, Seminyak is the one place on the island where you can indulge in all things plush and cosmopolitan, where bruschetta and fettucini are top notch.