Bali and Berchtesgaden: W Retreat Bali Seminyak

Great review. This is exactly the kind of hotel I would want to avoid in Bali. It actually looks a lot like a hotel I stayed in some years ago in Gavi near Barcelona.

The W hotel chain truly beams "style over substance".

While I have not stayed at the St. Regis in Bali, we hung out on Geger beach right in front of the SR for a few days. Stunning beach.

You've never heard Bill Cosby's routine about getting chocolate cake for breakfast, have you.

Amazing place!

Is that natural light in the shower/tub area?

Ben- What happened to the condom in the minibar tray? Hmmm,...

@ Coalharbour -- Yep!

@ John -- Interestingly enough this is the first W I've stayed at that didn't have an intimacy kit.

Lucky you define exactly the way I feel about the W lots of style but at a price level where you should expect more substance especially in Asia and more so in Bali.
I am young and understand how attractive the concept is but yet I always feel like I am not getting what I paid for at hotels like the W (or other similar places).

"hey, hotels love to nickel and dime"

Almost as much as some of their customers...

Exactly how I felt about the W Bali. Beautiful property, but nothing Bali about the place.

But did you really expect Balinese hospitality? I mean, each to his own, but you stay in a Western chain, far removed from the reality of Balinese life, with Western amenities, Western minibar, Western breakfast ...

Respecfully Ben, if you want local, you have to learn to ignore the international chains. You won't get Pringles in the minibar at a local hotel, and no one will give a damn which credit cards you hold, but you will see more of the world.

Ben. The lack of intimacy kit makes sense. While Bali is an island predominantly Hindu in its religious orientation, it is still part of Indonesia, which is the largest Musllim country in the world. As such, laws and customs in Bali are reflective of this reality. Drug use and any form of pornography are serious crimes there...as are another handful of other issues that would not provoke similar criminal prosecution in the West.

But they sell condoms in Muslim countries, so not sure why a condom in a hotel aimed at Western tourists would have local old women clutching at their pearl necklaces...

I completely agree with Martyn above - there is absolutely nothing wrong with staying at the Western chain hotels in these places but to equate it (or to expect) an authentic "local" experience from these stays is, with all due respect, just fooling yourself IMO.

If you're still in Chile, I imagine you're seeing more chocolate cake (along with pies, cookies, and other U.S. dessert items) for breakfast. My experience there has always been that the breakfast spreads look like U.S. dessert carts. (Though like you say above, not necessarily a bad thing if you're looking to spoil yourself on vacation.)

I think many times "local flavor" is over rated. I don't mind a nice "local restaurant" or a show or a trip to see the local attractions but when it comes to hotels, I prefer a western style hotel with a/c, clean reliable showers and clean amenities. I disagree that Western style hotels cannot deliver some of the native experience via decor, food, staff, etc. You can always take a tour out of the resort and see the other part of life on the island.

That looks like quite the industrial can of bug spray.. were the bugs vicious?

I think W brand makes you feel you are always in Vegas. No matter where you are you have that sense that all is fake. If I am in Bali I want to feel I am in Bali. No W for me.

I liked the honeycomb delivering fresh honey

@ Martyn @ JettyBoy -- The way I look at it, there are some hotels that train their employees to provide genuine hospitality true to their culture, slightly modified to fit the hotel brand. What I love about Bali (and not just the hotels, but the people on the streets as well) is how friendly and sincere they are. I find that at the InterContinental that same level of genuine/sincere hospitality is apparent.

However, at the W I suspect they were trained to be more "cool," and I didn't quite see that as much.

So while I'm not saying the InterContinental is an "authentic" experience, I do believe you can get some/much of the service culture of a country in a western hotel.

I never saw a bug (cockroach) spray in a hotel. Why did they do this? Seems like they have some small problems. At tripadvisor you can find Reviews were guests had rats IN their room. What is your opinion about that?

@ you have been upgraded -- Can't say I noticed it or that the thought ever crossed my mind.

When we went to Bali, we split our stay between the St. Regis and the Amandari. The W looks nice, but I agree that thedecor is not at all Balinese. One can stay at a western hotel/resort and experience Bali, but it requires getting out of the hotel with a guide. The cost is minimal, so there is no reason not to do it.

And the roach Spray? Its a little bit unusual to let the guests spray their room.

I have to say, the hotel looks amazingly designed - but I think I agree with a lot of your readers with regard to staying at the international chain hotels in search of anything authentic at all. Of course, there are exceptions - but generally the chains are managed by foreigners, cater almost entirely to foreigners, and contribute very little to the local economy other than low wage jobs. There is, of course, a place for them and those contributions - but seeing photos of large swimming pools, huge buffets, and big screen televisions in a country where half of the population lives on less than $2 a day (according to the U.N.) seems as far from authentic as one could get.

Why are people talking about hospitality and not the fact that THERE'S A GODDAMN HONEYCOMB dripping honey into a stainless slide which delivers the honey into a serving dish??!?!

@Chris S.-Yes, I noticed that also. I wonder if they keep their own bees/hives?

@ jetaway No, they kill their bees with the bug spray (... or the guests kill the bees) 😉

Some things I agree with and some not so much. On my honeymoon last year we had planned to split our stay between the St. Regis and the W. Needless to say, the St. Regis was the most exquisite, elegant, personally inviting and impeccably kept resort/hotel I have EVER seen! As for the W, well, I can't say all the same. The property is stunning - don't get me wrong - but I think that's where the positives ended for me. The beach was sub-par, and the staff and overall attitude of the property went along perfectly with the W mentality. I think everyone there was just "too cool to be bothered" with anything. As a result, before I even got to a room I moved my stay to the Laguna. Certainly no St. Regis, but still one of my Bali highlights! Just goes to show - you can't ALWAYS trust the reviews 😉

"Daddy's great, givin' us chocolate cake!" - Bill Cosby

Um, looks nice, but I'll stay local, in Seminyak, thank you very much.

😉

@Lane - Hahah. "Does it have eggs? Does it have flour? Then it's breakfast! Just don't tell your mother."

I just came back from Bali, and spent 3 nights at "Le Meridien Jimbaran". There were only a few guests in the hotel, since it will not officially open until late January 2013.
I enjoyed my stay, the staff was helpful in organizing some day-trips.

Good SPG recognition: I was granted a Lagoon view room and SPG points.

The pool is really nice, and the room has a 'rain shower' and a separate bathtub.

The breakfast buffet is delicious but expensive (338000 rupiah, about USD35). I tried it once, then had breakfast at the nearby 'Grind & Grocer' at Jimbaran Corner mall.

Internet is free but Wifi is really slow, and I had almost no signal in the room. It was a bit better on the terrace.

@ R B -- Thanks for the report! Plan on checking this place out the next time I'm in Bali.

Just saying, hotel security in Indonesia is ridiculously tight - in the capital they check your glovebox, baggage, hood, center console and practically any place you can put a bomb in. They also have dogs at times.