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Bali is an island located in Indonesia. Indonesian people called it with Pulau Dewata, which means Island of The Gods. This name was given to the island because of its beauty.
Kuta in addition to being the Sunset Site Number One, with its daily spectacular sunsets, it is also the centre of night life activities in Southern Bali and a shopping mecca, with its lines of shops, boutiques, and galleries. Restaurants line up the streets as well as the famous Kuta Bali Beach, Hotels, ranging from a small, inexpensive homestay to a luxurious resort, will ready accomodate you.
The beach of Kuta is one of the first favorite beaches discovered by tourist. On the south, the beach is fenced by the airport’s runway, which gives you a breathtaking landing experience. The beach stretches as far north as the eyes can see. As short walk away north, waves will invite you to test your surfing
Kuta is very short drive away from the airport, and transportation is readily available to take you from and to Kuta to and from anywhere else in Bali.
Balikutabeach: Iil how many rooms do we have at the Alam Kul Kul?
Iil: We have 80 rooms with 7 categories. Children's rooms, Alam Room, Family Room, Quad Room. We have villas with 3 categories, Alam Villa, Java Villa and Bali Villa.
Balikutabeach: What is the approximate area of the hotel?
Iil: Its about 10,000sqm
Balikutabeach: What kind of restaurants do you have?
Iil: We have 2 restaurants. The first is Asian offering western specialties as well and other is Papa's Cafe.
Balikutabeach: What facilities do you have?
Iil: We have 2 swimming pools of different size. Then we have a Jamu health Spa, book shop, travel agent. We have renovated the hospitality lounge which was finished in the middle of December. It is like an exit lounge in the airport with AC. The reception is there, travel and then internet access, small bar, small karaoke corner and then also TV room providing a choice of soft drinks.
Balikutabeach: Do both swimming pools have a pool-bar?
Iil: Only 1 of them.
Balikutabeach: What are the opening hours?
Iil: It is open from 9am-7pm.
Balikutabeach: When a person walks into the Alam Kul Kul what design elements and style elements do you think they notice?
Iil: Actually this is a boutique concept, a combination of traditional Balinese style with the interior design. That is supplemented with the furniture.
Balikutabeach: What kind of customer are you designing this for?
Iil: Our market, some of them are couples and we have families as well. Our main market is from Australia and Japan.
Balikutabeach: Obviously the Spa is part of the hotel and its quite a small hotel. Do a lot of the guests come here and go to the Spa everyday?
Iil: Yes. Most of them are Japanese. Japanese love the Spa.
Balikutabeach: Just to make sure, the hotel is not just for people who want to use the Spa. You can stay in the hotel without using the Spa?
Iil: Yes its no problem.
Balikutabeach: Because when you have such a small hotel with a Spa like that some people might think that the hotel and Spa come together in some way.What about the decorations in the lobby. I see some Java style furniture and some Dutch furniture and some carved Balinese decorations.
Iil: That's right and you can see the antique furniture, like 'semi-finished' . We also have one small meeting room which is complete with traditional antiques, there is no carpet, we keep it natural. Very different from the other meeting rooms. The audience can feel the traditional atmosphere.
Balikutabeach: You said already that couples and families like the hotel. Would this Bali hotel be good for honeymoon couples?
Iil: We have 23 villas which are good for couples.
Balikutabeach: Do you think this hotel has a good location?
Iil: Yes we are in Kuta Beach so are surrounded by the shopping, shops, restaurants and bars. We are right on the beach.
Balikutabeach: From the airport about 20 minutes?
Iil: 15 minutes.
Balikutabeach: Papa's Cafe has a pretty good reputation too.
Iil: Yes they have a franchise in Perth as well called Lemon Cello. They make very good pizzas.
Balikutabeach: What extra selling points does this hotel have others in the same price range?
Iil: The quality of service and then the quality of product. The customer can have anything they want, when they want. That makes the difference. We have 150 staff for 80 rooms so one room gets almost 2 staff each.
Balikutabeach: Do you provide any 'in-house' entertainment?
Iil: Yes we have 2 Balinese performances a week. Once a week we do a 'management cocktail party' and we invite all the guests, free drinks and finger food. At the end of the event we give a lucky draw with vouchers for the restaurant, the Spa and one for Papas Cafe. The point is we want to get feedback form the guests. All the management will meet the guests to get feedback.
Balikutabeach: Is there anything else you want to tell me about the hotel?
Iil: We just won a gold award from a travel magazine in Australia as the most popular resort in SE Asia among their readers.
80 rooms with 7 categories. Children's rooms, Alam Room, Family Room, Quad Room. We have villa with 3 categories, Alam Villa, Java Villa and Bali Villa.
Restaurants and bars:
The Bunga Kelapa; Fine Indonesian Cuisine and Western Specialties
The Veranda; Sunset Cocktail Bar overlooking the famous Legian Beach
Kamboja Bar and Terrace; Lobby Bar and Entertainment
Papa's Cafe; Bali's only beachside Mediterranean Restaurant
Poolside Health Bar; Fresh Tropical Fruit and Light Snacks all day long
Hotel Services & Facilities:
Library with Internet Services, Gift Shop and Drugstore, Tour and Travel Office, Business Center with Internet, Postal Service, Money Changer, Duty Manager 24 hours, Multilingual Staff, Doctor on Call, Child Day Care Center, Baby Sitting, Two Swimming Pools, Jamu Traditional Spa.
Hotel Activities:
Surfing, Sailing, Diving, Golfing, Fishing, Whitewater Rafting, Hiking, Mounting Biking.
AlamClub
Opening hours : 09.00-23.00 hrs
Benefits;
. Private check in and check out
. Refreshing cool towel upon check in
. In-room registration or in the AlamClub
. Tropical fruit platter in the villa u11pon arrival
. Welcome flower in the villa upon arrival
. Up-graded room amenities from Jamu Traditional Spa
. Daily Newspaper
. Daily turndown service
. Choice of Continental breakfast at the AlamClub or Buffet breakfast at Bunga Kelapa Restaurant
. Daily Tea/Coffee/Soft Drinks and Cookies and Snacks during opening hours
. Complimentary Evening Cocktails with Beers/House Wine/Local Cocktails between 17.30-19.30 hrs
. Butler service on call from 07.00-24.00 hrs
. Free Internet facilities
. Free local telephone calls and fax
. Mini Library with International magazines
In the early days of Kuta tourism a few enterprising people set up warungs to serve the growing tourist market. Among the most successful were Made’s Warung (Jl. Pantai Kuta) and Poppies Restaurant (off of Poppies I), both still in business. Another long time favourite is TJ’s (Poppies I), owner Jean starting out with a vegetarian restaurant and moving to Mexican food in 1984.
Kuta is now the center of an extensive tourist-oriented urban area that merges into the neighboring towns. Legian, to the north, is the commercial hub of Kuta and the site of many restaurants and entertainment spots. Most of the area’s big beach-front hotels are in the southern section of Tuban.
Legian and Seminyak are northern extensions of Kuta along Jl. Legian and Jl. Seminyak. They are somewhat quieter suburbs with cottage-style accommodations, where many of the expat crowd live. Also to the north are Petitenget, Berawa, Canggu, and Seseh - new and quieter continuations of Kuta’s beach. They are easy to reach through Abian Timbul or Denpasar and Kerobokan. Several large hotels are located in this area: the Oberoi Bali, Hard Rock Hotel Bali, the Intan Bali Village, the Legian in Petitenget, the Dewata Beach and the Bali Sani Suites in Berawa. To the south, Kuta Beach extends beyond the airport into Jimbaran.
Kuta is just 2 miles from Ngurah Rai airport in Tuban, making it an ideal first night for many visitors. An airport taxi might cost around 25,000rp, dropping you in the Poppies Lane / Benesari area, with a choice of budget / mid-range accommodation.
After the 2002 Sari Club / Paddy’s Bar bombing, Kuta’s nightlife hit the skids. Seminyak seemed to be charging ahead with new bars opening, some of which were conspicuously open at the front, allowing easy escape should there be another bombing. Kuta’s location however meant that was due for a rebound, so with MBarGo, Hook, The Wave, the new Paddy’s, Sky Lounge and other venues, Kuta is a strong contender for nightlife action.
One of the fun ways to check out the neighborhoods in Bali, including Kuta is by using Wikimapia.org. This site allows you to zoom in and out and check out the area. You might spot a few places you’ve been before. Kuta may not look like the French Riviera, but real estate is worth top dollar. In fact most landowners in Kuta will not sell, realizing that times may change, but the location will always mean business. Some long term expats still live in the Tuban, Kuta, Legian area, feeling at home with neighborhood and comfortable living close to the friends they have developed over the years.
Kuta may not be paradise, but it is not the hell hole some travellers make it out to be.
Special thanks to Bali Hotels Bali Beach Hotel for their contribution to this article!
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