Note: This is a continuation of our Bali trip. you can find the full trip itinerary here.
We stayed at the Le Grande Resort in Pecatu, Bali for two nights. My sister covered all the hotel guests for the stay at the resort; this hotel was recommended by her wedding planner. As usual, I checked the reviews on Trip Advisor and it was not too bad (3.5 stars). I'd actually never stayed in the Pecatu area before. We usually stay around Ubud, Nusa Dua, or Kuta. This area was a bit remote and still mostly undeveloped, although it was close to the Dreamland area.
The lobby area was actually very, very small. There was a seating area and several desks for check in. We were given keys to our room as well as a welcoming drink.
The hotel was quite large and was 4 stories tall, comprised of several building which were not clearly marked and there weren't maps around to help you find your rooms. There's only maps to show how to go to the common area (lobby, restaurant), but we couldn't find any directions/maps for the hotel rooms. To top it off, the hotel numbering system was very, very confusing.
The experience went downhill from there. Our room was on the 4th floor, and as soon as I opened the door, I could feel this strong, musty heat coming towards me. The AC was off! And it looked like it had been off for at least a couple days. It was the hottest hotel room ever. I understand the need of saving some power, but it's quite unacceptable to have a room that hot, knowing that we were checking in that day.
The room design was quite modern, but the signs of wear and tear were pretty obvious. The picture actually makes the room look about 10 times nicer than it actually was. :)
The bathroom opened up to the main bedroom area. Although it was nice that there were curtains since most Indonesians are quite modest and would not appreciate such an open-style bathroom.
The bathroom style was again, quite modern. But that's where the good part ends. The area around the bathtub had black mold all around it. They didn't provide any facial tissue (only toilet tissue). The toilet never flushed properly. The tissue paper always fell out from the hanger every time I used it.
The shampoo was placed in this refillable ceramic jar and smelled like mildew. The towels looked worn and were grey in color. Needless to say, I did not enjoy the bathroom at all.
There's a small seating area outside, which we didn't use much since it was overlooking the parking lot. :p
The suite was noticeably bigger than our room, and the furnishing was quite nice. There's even a kitchen area with plates, cups, and refrigerator.
Again, the picture does make this hotel look nicer than it actually was. :) Although I must say the suite wasn't as bad as our room.
I could also see a bit of the mold ring in the suite's bathroom, and I think my parents did confirm that they had another issue with the shower area.
The design of the hotel was actually nice. However, the execution and the maintenance was a failure. I don't think I've ever stayed at a hotel where I just kept adding to the list of the things that went wrong. I heard that the hotel changed ownership three times already, and it'd only been opened for a couple of years (I joked with Dan that it looked like it had been opened for 20 years and not just a couple of years). I would not recommend this hotel, especially if you're flying all the way to Bali. It's not in a good location, they have a lot of maintenance issue, and the bathroom needs a lot of work.
Since we got this hotel for "free", I guess I shouldn't complain too much. But for me, the hotel truly does make or break my vacation, and this hotel just didn't do it for me.
Next Post: Wedding in Bali
No comments:
Post a Comment