Have you ever had a hotel stay that was so great it ruined all other hotels for you? That is probably the best way to sum up my experience at the Conrad Bali. I was on the fence about booking the Conrad after hearing some negative feedback about the resort. However from the minute we arrived until we left, it was nothing short of spectacular.
How I booked the Conrad Bali on points
I booked one Conrad Pool Suite using Barclay Arrival Miles and another standard room using Ultimate Rewards and Hilton Honors points. At the time of check-in, I was a Hilton HHonors Diamond member and my brother was a Gold.
Conrad Bali review
As soon as we arrived at the Conrad Suites entrance, the security guard jumped out of his seat to greet us and notify the bellman, who ran over, grabbed our luggage, and walked us to the club lounge. We sat for maybe two minutes before the agent returned with our card keys and notified us that the standard room had been upgraded to a Conrad Suite.
Unfortunately, they didn’t have any suites available near the Pool Suite, so would it be ok if the standard Conrad Suite was on the second floor? We were fine with that. Check-in was super fast. I got the impression they’d already assigned our rooms before we even arrived.
Conrad Bali Hilton Diamond and Gold elite benefits
Hilton Diamond and Gold members get generous benefits at the Conrad Bali. Those staying in the Conrad Suites section of the hotel receive even more perks. Here’s a look what you can expect at this resort as a Hilton Gold or Diamond member:
Hilton Diamond benefits at Conrad Bali
Hilton Diamond members receive lots of great benefits at the Conrad Bali. Here’s an overview:
- Breakfast from 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM
- Afternoon tea from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
- Evening cocktails from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
- Complimentary internet access in the suite
- Complimentary laundry & dry cleaning
- 15% off restaurant and bar accounts
- 15% off Business Centre services, including meeting room rental
- 25% off minimum 60-minute Jiwa Spa treatments (excluding Pool Massage, Little Souls, Family Spa package, and Salon service), 15% off all other treatments
- 50% off all Thalgo and Vitamin products at Jiwa Spa
Hilton Gold benefits at Conrad Bali
Hilton Gold elite members receive pretty much the same benefits as Diamond members. The only exception is the complimentary laundry service. Gold elites receive a 15% discount instead.
Conrad Bali Conrad Suites
The bellman walked us to the second-floor suite, where most of our bags were being dropped off since I was sharing that suite with my brother and sister. The suite was gorgeous, with over 1,100 sqft of space that included a dining area, living room, bedroom, and dressing area connecting to the bathroom.
Behind the dining table was the “bar” area. It consisted of cabinets filled with dishes, cups, utensils, and even a juicer. The two mini fridges contained snacks for purchase and free bottled water.
There was also a coffee maker on the counter, which we never used since we preferred to get coffee at the club lounge or RIN, where it was fresh.
The living room was furnished with two couches, an extra seat, and a TV mounted against the wall. There was also a balcony with a daybed opposite a table with seating for two.
A set of sliding doors separated the dining and living room. It was furnished with two queen beds rather than two twins, which is more typical of hotels outside of the US.
Another television was mounted on the wall opposite the beds. Underneath was a dresser, which offered lots of extra storage space.
Conrad Suite bathroom
The dressing room in between the bathroom and bedroom was very useful. The vanity is where my sister got ready in the morning while my brother was in the shower and I waited for both of them in the living room. The outlets located in the vanity dresser were very convenient for plugging in blowdryer or curling irons.
There were glass doors separating both the shower and toilet. In the main part of the bathroom was a tub with a TV across the wall. If you’re keeping count, that’s three tv’s in the entire suite.
The bathroom was well stocked with amenities – aside from lots of shampoo, soap, body wash, and lotion placed in the shower and by the tub, there was a drawer filled with essentials like toothbrushes, razors, and loofahs.
Overall, this was a very nice suite and a bargain at $325 per night, which was the paid rate while we stayed there.
Conrad Bali resort and the surrounding area.
The area surrounding the resort has frequently been described as run down, but I personally liked it better than the area where the other chain resorts were located. You can walk off the property, cross the narrow street, and buy essentials at convenience stores, food at the roadside stands, and trinkets at the craft stores lining the road.
The Conrad Bali resort itself is pretty self-contained but not enormous like I’d heard. The majority of shops, the spa, gym, and some restaurants are located on the rooftop levels.
I wandered through the entire resort and found it to be small and largely deserted outside of the main pool. Factor in the resort-within-a-resort feel of the Conrad Suites section and it felt even more like a boutique hotel.
Conrad Bali beach
Before my stay, I’d heard terrible things about the beach at Conrad Bali. Some of the photos I’d seen weren’t flattering either. However, I found it wasn’t bad at all. Yes, it’s an artificial beach and the sand is what you’ll find in a playground sandbox, but that doesn’t really matter.
Rent a cabana for the afternoon (a bargain at $15) and enjoy lounging around, with beautiful ocean views ahead of you.
Conrad Bali Suites guests get access to a fenced-off area of the beach, but it was too exposed and there were only two umbrellas, which may explain why I never saw anybody there.
Conrad Bali water activities
If you’re going to participate in water sports, I highly recommend you book them through the activities desk. The operators on the beach (one of whom looks exactly like Barack Obama – a fact he points out as part of his sales pitch) will charge you an arm and two legs.
I’m not exaggerating. The activities operators on the beach quoted me twice the price for jet ski rentals as the activities desk and would not budge on lowering it! Booking through the resort gives you the added advantage of charging it to the room and earning points.
That being said, the salespeople on the beach weren’t intrusive like I’d heard and always respectfully took no for an answer.
Conrad Bali laundry service
As a Hilton Diamond member, I was entitled to free laundry service, which I took advantage of twice. Both times, the laundry was turned around the same day (even when I’d missed the cut-off time) and came back nicely wrapped.
The Conrad Concierge app
Before checking into the Conrad Bali, I downloaded the Conrad Concierge mobile app. It ended up being incredibly useful for things like requesting extra towels or reporting minor maintenance problems.
The Conrad Concierge app came in handy once again when I needed help canceling some refundable airline tickets. Since the Garuda Indonesia phone number connected me to an Indonesian-speaking representative, I couldn’t do it myself. I made one request through the app and the Conrad Concierge team was on it.
After requesting a copy of the itinerary, Anna took care of the cancellation. She even obtained copies of our passports from the Conrad Suites front desk since they were required for the cancellation. This slightly stressful situation was made unbelievably easy by the concierge team.
Conrad Bali service
The highlight of our stay at the Conrad Bali was the service. From the Conrad Suites manager to the housekeeping staff, everyone was delightful. The staff at RIN restaurant were particularly attentive, remembering our names, breakfast orders, and what we liked to drink.
When I finished my French toast, the attendant asked if I wanted my iced coffee now—and it was only the second day! On our last day, they presented us with a large bowl of local fruits as a parting gift. It may have been because we were seemingly the only guests who tipped the staff, but either way, it was appreciated.
At one point, my parents ran into a club lounge staff member outside of RIN. He stopped to chat with them and then informed them, “If you’re looking for Ariana, she is at the club lounge getting you a new room key.”
When a wedding took place outside of my parents’ suite one night (something they had been made aware of the previous night), the Conrad Suites manager came by the next day and apologized for the noise.
Melissa at the front desk, went above and beyond. I emailed her about booking the Conrad Bali pool suite, but told her I was waiting to see how the volcano eruption would affect our travel plans.
She held the Pool Suite for me, without a credit card, for almost a week. I went to the front desk twice to thank her in person, but unfortunately never caught up with her.
Final thoughts
I can’t rave about the Conrad Bali enough. Everything from the beautiful suites to the amazing staff and food was outstanding. At the end of our trip, I asked everyone to rank their favorite destination. Bali (the Conrad resort in particular) was unanimously ranked first.
Stories from my trip to Asia
- Cathay Pacific business class lounge SFO
- Cathay Pacific business class SFO-HKG
- Cathay Pacific business class HKG-SIN
- Dragonair business class lounge Hong Kong Airport
- Grand Hyatt Singapore review
- Garuda Indonesia economy class Singapore to Bali
- Villa Bulung Daya in Antap, Bali review
- Conrad Bali Penthouse Suite review
- Conrad Bali club lounge, restaurants and Jiwa Spa review
- Cathay Pacific economy class Bali to Hong Kong
- Grand Hyatt Hong Kong review
- Cathay Pacific The Pier first class lounge at Hong Kong Airport
- Cathay Pacific first class Hong Kong to San Francisco
Do you think you being a diamond made any big difference? Normally people say there is not much in going from gold to diamond but in your case perhaps your diamond status was really appreciated for a change.
Definitely. The Conrad Bali is known for its treatment of Hilton elites – Gold and Diamond alike.
Many people complain about the Hilton Hhonors program, however, my experiences have been like yours was on this trip. I am only a gold member via the credit card, but have been upgraded more than 90% of the time, occasionally upgraded multiple levels. On our trip through Europe, we stayed in 10 different hotels, including the Park Hyatt Vendome, and our favorite was easily the Waldorf Astoria Trianon Palace at Versailles, the only Hilton we included. And on our recent trip through Greece, Egypt, Turkey, and Jordan, our favorite out of 8 hotels was the Hilton in Luxor, again by a wide margin, and again, our only Hilton on the trip. I have learned my lesson. Next year we are going to Hong Kong, China and Japan, and I am going to be including at least the Doubletree Beijing, Conrad Hong Kong, Conrad Tokyo, and Waldorf Astoria Shanghai in our plans!
I agree, Hilton gets a bad rep that is somewhat undeserved. It’s actually easier to earn a free night with Hilton than with Hyatt, they have more hotels worldwide, their elites report more consistent recognition, yet people like to rag on Hilton.
Did you do many activities outside of the resort vicinity? I have read mixed reviews about the location of the Conrad Bali and the ability to use it as a “home base” for a Bali trip. I am obviously interested in this property due to the ability to use points and also for the chance of an upgrade, but we are also interested in seeing all that Bali has to offer at the same time. Not sure about roads/congestion/travel times around the island etc, so any insight you can provide would be very helpful. Thank you!
We did our outside activities on our way back from Villa Bulung Daya (which was on the west coast of the island). I don’t see how making this resort a base would be a problem – you can hire a driver for the day to take you to Ubud or anyplace else you want. It’s about 20 minutes from Jimbaran, which is the other major resort area, so getting around isn’t an issue. I never witnessed any problems with traffic either – in fact, most of the traffic seemed to be centered around Jimbaran. I think this hotel would be a great choice. You may, however, want to book a few nights in Ubud if you want to explore that area more extensively without worrying about traveling a long distance.