Courtyard Bali Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonedia

This is the only Marriott property in the entire Bali island. Unlike in the United States, the Courtyards in the Asia are more like a full service hotels, and shouldn’t be out of consideration when planning a holiday stay.

The hotel is located in the southern part of the island where quite a few of the resort like Luxury Collection Laguna, Westin, Conrad, Grand Hyatt, and St Regis are located to name just a few.

Whether you like the part of the island, is entirely dependent what you are looking for. It is perfect just for relaxing and going to the beach or pool. It is, however, 45 to 60 minute drive from the nightlife and shops of the Kuta and Seminyak area. There is a Bali Connection shopping complex nearby within walking distance. One can find there quite a few different restaurants and retail shops.

The hotel itself is about 30 minute cab ride from the airport. The going taxi rate is about 100000. The taxes outside of the terminal will probably ask triple the amount but negotiating for a while will bring the price down.

What went totally wrong with my stay was the arrival and check in experience. First of all the hotel has double security gates. Ok. That is fine. No problems with that. Most of the hotels do give a cursory look to make sure that you don’t have explosives in the car. You can also screen my bags. But, there is no really chance in hell that I would go through a pat down every time I am getting in/out of the hotel. When the “security” guard wanted to pat me down, I basically told him to get lost.

Here are some photos I took around the property.

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Went to the check in desk. Very eager associate was trying to check me in. Told her my name. She then greeted me as entirely different guest. Fine. Told her to double check the name and she came back with the correct one. Next she was confirming that I was staying using points. Wrong. I was not using points. I was at the paid rate. Using points there would make no sense at all considering the rate that the hotel is charging.

At this point everything had gone downhill. I requested to speak with manager on duty, and went to sit down in one of the sofas in the lobby. Fired up my laptop and started to search for other hotels for the night.

Couple of managers came shortly and fixed the situation. Was upgraded to one of the very few suites that the property had. Some time after getting settled down, I was brought a nice amenity as well.

Overall the hotel is quite nice. It is not a five star one and doesn’t even pretend to be one. The pool area is quite large and they have special area for children. The only problem is that there isn’t really a beach nearby. One needs to go to the Bali Connection or to other hotel in Nusa Dua to have a real beach access.

The suite that I was upgraded had a nice balcony with two sitting areas. The living room had a sofa and different table area. The minibar selection was rather basic but enough for a soda or a small snack. The prices were reasonable. Both the living room and the bedroom had a nice flat panel TV. Internet was good at most of the times but had some problems at others. This is very typical in Bali and not specific just for this hotel.

The breakfast in the morning was really nice. I was really surprised that they had a nice selection of cold cuts including smoked salmon. I placed an order for smoked salmon eggs benedict and it was nice. My tea was taken away when I was getting some more items. It was replenished very fast when I pointed this out.

The fitness center was quite modern. I was bit surprised that their brand new cardio equipment wasn’t equipped with the tv’s on the unit itself. Also there wasn’t much equipment beyond cardio. Did work for me well, however.

Wouldn’t mind returning to the hotel if I was in for a business in the immediate area. It would also be fine if you are planning to stay in Nusa Dua for couple of says before moving other part of the island. There is absolutely nothing Balinese in the nearby area, however.