Conrad Bali has undergone a sparkling facelift, and has relaunched as a beachside beauty worthy of a long, slow stay.
I have always loved Bali. There has been a unique synergy between Australians and Bali seemingly forever.
I went there for the first time aged 18 with my first love, and it was romantic, exciting and my happy place. I went every year after that for many years, flying in from Australia. But on a personal level, three years ago Bali was getting very busy and to be frank, too polluted for my liking.
But I’m happy to say those days are long gone. At least there is one post pandemic blessing – Bali is back to being unpolluted, clean and calm. And a stay at Conrad Bali in Nusa Dua last month reignited my passion for Bali and made me realise how much this tropical island paradise has to offer, from holistic wellness to inspiring food, warm, kind people and natural wonders.
Located on Bali, ‘the Island of Gods’, Conrad Bali has a vast seven hectare footprint, and is located on 350m of pure, blissful ocean front in Nusa Dua. This 18 year old beauty has undergone a complete overhaul in every sense, and is ready to take a Balinese stay, especially for families, to the next level.
From the moment guests arrive into the spectacular lobby with direct views onto the ocean and the elegantly manicured gardens, heart rates slow and life begins to take on an easier, calmer pace as everyone reaches for their phones to etch every inch of the extraordinary view and experience into their photo libraries and instagram accounts.
This is the perfect location for a family holiday with small children or teenagers, as everyone can have their space and their own fun. It is also ideal for weddings or conferences, as it is so spacious and away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of Bali. In Nusa Dua, traffic problems do not exist.
Conrad Bali offers the perfect place and space to focus within and engage with an innovative new program of immersive experiences the hotel has introduced, called Signature Sensory Odysseys, which include 5 holistic wellness experiences to connect and awaken the senses. There has never been a better time to connect within ourselves and this is an easy, elegant and fun way to do it.
Overall Rating 8.5/10
Sound healing has long been known as one of the best ways to calm the body and mind, using frequencies and vibrations to soothe. It began in Tibetan and Himalayan cultures, and was created by monks.
This unique spiritual ceremony is conducted at Conrad Bali in their stunning ocean facing on-site chapel, the infinity wedding venue a striking white structure which had me contemplating a big white wedding. It is heavenly and one of the most photogenic wedding chapels in Bali.
Local healers play and make sounds from a wide variety of instruments including sea shells, percussion instruments and drums. Each session is unique as the performers tune into the energy and aura of the people in the room at any given time.
There are five sensory experiences on offer including Purnama Celebration (a beachside full moon celebration) including several calming rituals before dinner, dinner on the sand, writing the things we would like to remove from our lives on paper, then sitting by the fire and burning these pipes of paper whilst saying a silent prayer. All under the watch of the beautiful full moon which itself marks a cleansing ritual, to invite a fresh new start according to Balinese culture. It was very moving.
Other Sensory Experiences on offer which can take any stay to another level include an Olfactory experience, creating your own fragrance according to your mood and personality, cooking classes (guests can even select the dish from the restaurant menu they want to make) and forest bathing and speakeasy foraging. Conrad Bali might be 18, but her zest for life and new, innovative experiences are taking the whole wellness experience up a lot of notches into the new world for their guests.
The Location 9/10
The perfectly manicured tropical grounds are a joy to relax in and an instagrammer’s dream. The biggest daily decision is whether to chill within the tropical gardens by the pool or whether to inhale fresh sea air and sit facing the endless blue ocean. What a choice.
Even at breakfast you can connect with nature, as the vast buffet can be eaten at leisure outside the breakfast room, at a table on the edge of a fish-filled waterway facing the vast swimming pools and the sparkling azure ocean in the distance.
Nusa Dua is about 20 minutes drive from Denpasar airport, and is on the southern side of Bali. There is not much around the hotel, but you go to Conrad Bali to stay there, that is the point. And whilst there, to indulge in everything on offer and on-site from this well established luxury hotel brand.
Service & Facilities 8.5/10
Pick your piece of Paradise at this expansive luxury, five star hotel.
This is a huge hotel with vast grounds and plenty of five star service and facilities. The award winning Jiwa spa has nine treatment rooms and offers a high standard of massage, facials and treatments. There are saunas and jacuzzis and there are two tennis courts on site.
My massage was next level. The kind where you lie down, and feel like you have woken up 5 minutes later to discover you have been pampered and soothed for over 90 minutes.
The gym is an architectural dream, as the equipment overlooks a tranquil, serene water feature, and continues and extends the calming, relaxed feel of the rest of the resort. There is excellent, modern equipment available to use including a stair master stair climber, guaranteed to tighten glutes.
Bikes at the front of the property facilitate a leisurely cycle to the nearby town, perfect for families, and other fitness offerings include regular yoga classes, watersports, volleyball and soccer.
There are 14 crowd pleasing beach bales where you can sit and spend day after day simply relaxing in tropical paradise beneath some shade on a comfy day bed, taking instagram photos as much as you wish.
There are two restaurants, Eight Degrees South and Suku all day dining restaurant, and a casual restaurant close to the beach near the pool which has a happy hour and quick, easy western and Asian meals.
The hotel offers a suite of new and well thought out sensory experiences as mentioned, including sound healing sessions, full moon ceremonies and dinners, forest bathing, fragrance creation and more. Any of these activities are a highlight of a stay. They push guests just a few steps out of their comfort zone, where they find absolute peace, serenity and kindness from the warm Indonesian Conrad Bali staff.
Recycling and sustainability are priorities on multiple levels at the hotel. Drinking water is available in recycled glass bottles, soap scraps from the rooms are re-purposed, and staff even have working bees to clean the nearby mangroves of rubbish.
The kids club Kura Kura caters for children 3-12 years of age, and has a plethora of daily activities to entertain and educate. Babysitters are also available onsite, and Indonesians have an infinity with children.
The style 8/10
The overall style and feel of the resort is relaxed refinement and is largely created by the manicured landscaping within the natural wonder of the tropical gardens which are lush, green, and bursting with flowers and framed by the blue of the water from the lagoon style pools and waterfalls as well as the ocean.
The interiors of the newly refurbished rooms is one of relaxed Bali beach luxe.The colour palette for the newly refurbished rooms is fresh, with white, grey and aqua blue the key colours, with Balinese style wooden finishings.
The feel is fresh and relaxing.
The Rooms 8/10
There are 386 generous rooms with King beds, and 298 were refurbished in 2019.
There are five Conrad Pool villas and 55 Conrad suites as well as basic guest rooms and deluxe rooms. The five pool villas are the most in-demand rooms as the swimming pool can be accessed privately directly from the balconies of these rooms, and the rooms sit directly over the pool, creating a floating sensation.
I can imagine young children would fall in love with this concept in an instant.
Minimalist luxe Stockholm based fragrance company Byredo shower products are a recent addition to Conrad Bali, and instantly elevate the in-room experience. The brand was inspired by the link between fragrance and memory, an ideal match for a Conrad Bali adventure. The Byredo products sit in generous recyclable bottles in the showers of every room and even the containers biodegrade within 2 years when empty.
There is a pillow menu, a room service menu, and exceptional bathroom lighting brilliant for applying makeup or even filming yourself doing so if that is part of your daily ritual.
Food & Drink 7/10
There are four different locations to dine, as well as in-room dining at Conrad Bali.
Swish Eight Degrees South sits about 100m away on the ocean front, and is as elegant as it is romantic. You can hear the ocean as you dine.
Tables are close enough that guests lean over for a chat during dinner, and staff are attentive. The menu focuses on local Balinese seafood with Asian and Western dishes on offer. There is an assortment of cocktails as well as wines from Indonesia as well as Australia, the US and Europe by the bottle available.
Suku is where breakfast is served and offers casual all day dining, and Azure Bar and Kiosk has fun snacks and drinks right by the pool to cater to all ages including a daily happy hour.
The East Lobby Lounge has iced coffee served in bottles, and snacks available all day.
Summary:
Who Should Stay Here: Anyone wanting a true wellness break in a luxurious tropical paradise. Excellent for families, and perfect for weddings and conferences.
Who Shouldn’t Stay Here: Anyone looking for loud partying, that is not at Conrad Bali (thank goodness).
Location: 20 minutes from Denpansar airport
Best Culinary Delight: The Arak flavoured gelato – fun.
The Highlight: The new and innovative sensory awakenings program, the sound healing in the Infinity wedding chapel is potentially life changing.
The Lowlight: No barista coffee onsite.
Click here for more on Conrad Bali.
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