I spent my 46th birthday pampered at the Ritz Carlton in Bali, here's the review

During my birthday vacation in Bali. the second stop was at The Ritz Carlton Nusa Dua, "a few" kilometers from the W Hotel Seminyak  where we spent the first part of the vacation, but as anyone who has never been to this island should know is that moving from A to B takes at the very least a long time, too long.

Small roads and traffic are the norm in Bali, and that is why it is so important to decide where to stay because otherwise you will spend hours and hours riding taxis or scooters if you are more adventurous.

Location

The Ritz Carlton is located in Nusa Dua, we are at in the southern part of the island. This is where the first resorts began to be built in the mid-1970s, and today it is the area where all the major 5-star resorts on the island are concentrated.

Unlike Kuta, Canggu and Seminyak, the hotels are huge, real castles isolated from everything and everyone. It is good to be prepared because if you decide to stay in this part of the island you will have to abandon the idea of going elsewhere. It is not a matter of cost (the bridge that connects Nusa Dua with the rest of the island is the only toll highway in all of Bali) but of time because to travel the 15 km to get to Seminyak will take a minimum of 60 minutes, go beyond that even 90. Getting to ubud minimum 2 hours.

The hotel is located at the southern end of the area, is one of the last resorts to open, and is about 15 min from the "civilized" area of Nusa Dua.

Reservation

Unlike the stay at the W, this time we paid for the stay. The hotel is not cheap, but compared to the St Regis, Marriott's other luxury sign the cost was 1/5, so the approximately €280 per night to sleep in one of Bali's most popular 5-star hotels was a wise choice. I also could have booked with points, but I didn't have enough.

Obviously being a Titanium Member I booked a basic room, which in this hotel is a Suite anyway, hoping for an upgrade. Unfortunately, at the Ritz, status-related benefits are limited and you can't even use SNAs to request guaranteed upgrades.

Check-in

As mentioned, we arrived from W Seminyak, I had asked the concierge at the Ritz to arrange transportation from one hotel to another, sure I could have easily taken a grab, but in the end for just under 10 euros difference I put the transportation on the room bill and accumulated a handful of extra bonvoy points.

Among the various proposals I obviously took the cheapest car. The driver handled the luggage and on board to greet us was fresh water and The Ritz cookies.

The trip took over 70 minutes amidst traffic and under planes landing at Depansar Airport.

Even from the street you can sense that we are in a completely different dimension from all the other hotels. The entrance is majestic, almost awe-inspiring.

The entrance is monumental, and the view of the sea and the resort 50m below leaves one speechless.

We sat on a couch in front of the terrace, which gives a view that is indescribable in words and that even photographs cannot tell. It's like having seen the grand canyon live, or on TV. It is not the same thing.

We are greeted with the unmistakable warmth that only Southeast Asia can convey, happy glances and true warmth not circumstantial warmth.

Fresh towel and glass of icetea. The attendant took care of the paperwork and explained some special features of the resort, handed me the letter with status benefits, and escorted us to our room.

The hotel's basic room is the Sawangan Junior Suite, a 99-square-meter room, we were promoted to The Ritz-Carlton Suite a 145sqm room, two levels above the one booked and which cost about 250€ more per day.

The Ritz Carlton Suite

To call it a room is reductive since it has a kitchenette with a table where 6 people can eat comfortably, a master bathroom and a service bathroom. A walk-in closet the size of a hotel room on the Nice promenade, a master bedroom with a bed of more than 3m, a living room with a 60″ TV screen, and a terrace that is more than habitable, in the sense that probably millions of people in the world live in less square footage than the terrace alone.

In the room as mentioned nothing is lacking, although the feeling is of being in the "old" certain it is a trademark of the Ritz to offer "set" luxury, which is why Marriott also has signs like the W that wink at those who want a fresher, more informal luxury.

Everything here exudes opulence, although I have to say the size forces ongoing maintenance that in some places hints that big is beautiful, but also difficult to maintain.

Our room was 5308. 5 indicates the building (there are 6 in total) 3 the floor (they are all 4-story buildings) and the last two digits are the room, each floor has 8 rooms.

Our room was the last one, the one closest possible to the sea. The special feature is that the rooms on the ground floor have a pool that runs throughout the building, while on the top floor of each building are some suites with private pools.

Our room could easily accommodate 6 to 8 people without major problems, and thanks to the double bathroom also handle all occupants.

Classic equipment for hotels of this caliber. Honorable mention for Illy coffee maker, dual-screen TV and stocked mini-bar.

If everything is big the bathroom is huge, in the center an immense double bathtub. Double sink, shower with wooden bench and due state-of-the-art Japanese tablets/bidets. Proximity sensor for lid and axle lifting, plus all the typical functions. A must-have that I also have at home.

My 46th birthday at the Ritz Carlton

This is not the first time I have spent my birthday in a hotel, sometimes I purposely did the double, leaving one hotel in the morning and spending the evening at a second facility to take two parties.

I must say that NO hotel has ever pampered me so much. I have no idea how much being Titanium Elite Marriott affected, I think very little, but I don't have the counter-evidence.

When we arrived at the room the morning before my birthday there was already a chocolate cake waiting for us.

On the morning of my birthday at breakfast, I was given a party in the breakfast room, complete with a candle, and Loyalty Manager who also brought me a gift.

Back in the room we found greeting cards, colorful balloons, writing on the walls, and a second birthday cake.

In the evening at dinner new parade of waiters with an inlaid fruit artwork, candle and song ordinance and second little gift.

The resort

This is a real resort. You come here to stay, not to sleep in and take a dip in the pool.

It's huge, but you can do without golf cars to get around, but since when you're on vacation you get lazy it's nice to just pick up the phone and say "you're picking me up I want to go to the spa, to the pool....

As mentioned, the lobby is at the top of the hill, but everything else (or almost everything else) is at sea level.

Stepping out of the panoramic elevator, you arrive in the lounge bar, and if you are left speechless above, here you leave a drooling wake from the beauty you pass through.

The driveway leading from the elevator to the lounge is spectacular, a landscaped garden, not a blade of grass out of place, and then the view. SPECTACULAR. Here is also the buggy terminus, and from here there is access to the spa and fitness area.

The SPA is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., the differences in the hours between this resort and the W are huge and in all respects.

In the middle of the rows of buildings is a perfect lawn, there are the private villas and finally the swimming pool. Definitely the most beautiful thing in the whole resort.

The last building, almost inside the sea is the chapel dedicated to weddings. It is not a church, but it is an environment where ceremonies are held in the different modes.

We stayed two nights and attended 2 weddings.

There is the chef's garden Where they make the guest believe that vegetables and other ingredients are grown for guests. I say make believe because it is far too small even for a family's breakfast, let alone for guests and the hotel's 4 restaurants.

The service

Fantastic peronal in all aspects. Always ready and smiling and so willing to help and make the stay memorable.

At 6 p.m. every day they light the brazier and guests can grill marshmellow on the fire and make their own ....

At the pool, they are ready to bring a drink, a towel, and the guys driving the shuttles are available to do goose laps to satisfy guests' laziness.

The SPA

Starting from the top as mentioned the first mandatory stop is at the spa. Tiny and with treatments that cost 5 times what you get outside the resort (but then you don't score points :-).

There is a free accessible area with sauna, steam bath, cold tub and whirlpool. As well as a small relaxation area.

Obviously separate males and females, which is my least favorite thing about these SPAs. Then there is a kind of "secret" pool called the Balinese Pool. Here access is free, but children are off limits.

Downstairs there is a second spa area, this pool, however, is chargeable. It has several locations and access is timed.

Below the SPA is then the gymnasium, open H24, and the Yoga room.

The Kids Club

The resort is absolutely designed for families.

In the sense that the kids club welcomes children of all ages and, if desired, there are babysitters to handle children under three. The facility is partially indoors (holy air conditioner) and divided into various rooms. The outdoor part has a swimming pool with slides and various types of games.

My daughter lived there for the two days of our stay, thanks to the many activities she was never bored.

The swimming pool

The heart of the resort is the double T-shaped pool. The "leg" is the part that is deeper and stretches toward the sea. The head, on the other hand, is the runs perpendicular to the beach and the sea and is shallower and overflowing.

Scenic with loungers and sunbeds around and lots of greenery, suitable for both those who want to relax and those who want to do lots of laps to keep fit. There are some loungers that "float" others that have their feet in the water and some loungers, of course in high season the war to grab the best spot must be tough, like on a day cruise in the Caribbean.

As mentioned then there are the other SPA pools.

The beach

The hotel is located on the beach in Nusa Dua, and here the tidal phenomenon is impressive-we are not in Mont Saint Michel in Normandy-but in the morning the sea is there, then at 2 p.m. it disappears, leaving seaweed and fish on the shoreline, and at 6 p.m. it is back to wet the shore.

However, it is not a swimming beach, which is possible at other resorts further north. The beach is private, as is the entire area and for the exclusive use of guests. There are sun beds, loungers, hammocks, and a beach volleyball court.

The craziest thing I have seen are tourists walking around on the backs of some camels, yes dromedaries imported from Australia that are used for excursions.

The chapel

Weddings are serious business and a major source of income for these facilities. From Australia to Europe so many couples fly here along with witnesses and guests to celebrate life's most important day.

The hotel has a chapel, a kind of greenhouse by the sea, and as mentioned we attended two different ceremonies in two days.

We also befriended a groom who upon seeing us with Elizabete in tow asked, "Do you have any advice?" and I with my trademark bluntness replied, "Don't do that, go to the airport and take the first plane."

Needless to say, he didn't listen to me and now he is screwed forever.

Food & Beverage

There are four restaurants and three bars and obviously having stayed only two nights we couldn't try everything, but let's just say we didn't spare ourselves.

The first visit was to the Lounge for The most classic of afternoon teas. We enjoyed it in the most scenic of places in this resort, namely the lounge bar.

Beautiful room that remains raised above the rest of the resort and gives a spatial view of the entire surrounding area.

Too bad only the haze (or maccaja as the Ligurians call it) that for the first time in months, to hear the staff tell it, enveloped the resort in a truly surreal atmosphere. Little bad because we all enjoyed our small plates and two glasses of Taittinger brut.

We had a couple of cocktails by the pool (good ones) and most importantly we treated ourselves, on the evening of my birthday, to dinner in the Indonesian restaurant at the resort called Bejana.

This is the only remaining public space at the top of the hill.

A dinner of local flavors, a 10-course menu that took us on a culinary journey of Balinese flavors.

Then there are two restaurants on the beach near the pools. One is a kind of becah club, which also serves food all day to those who stay at the pool. The second, on the other hand, is a Mediterranean restaurant that, on different evenings, holds themed dinners, some barbecue on the beach, and is open mainly for dinner.

Last but not least is breakfast, served at Sense located below the lounge bar.

Here I was a little bit disappointed. Huge and varied buffet, but below-average level of offerings. No a la carte dishes, although the offerings ranged from India to China, from continental to stronger flavors. The only thing "different" was the banquet dedicated to Balinese cuisine, for those looking for spicy already at breakfast.

In conclusion

The structure is recent, and if we think that there were also 3 years of pandemic should still be breaking in, but it doesn't. From the pool upstairs flooding our terrace, to the elevators going haywire and leaving you on the wrong floor or not starting at all.

Here and there one notices many maintenance problems from the walls to the flooring, only the garden is manicured. Then there is the feeling that the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.

For example, in the morning they put balloons in our room and when room service came by they threw them away. Or they put the cake but didn't leave us forks to eat it. Small flaws that lower the final grade, but which the fantastic service provided by the staff still made unforgettable.

• Bonvoy