We have a love/hate relationship with W Hotels. Being both luxury and lifestyle is a real challenge, a difficult balance to find and it happens that the balance leans too much on the lifestyle side, making a seductive concept a place for rednecks with a bling bling tendency, bordering on a permanent lack of taste.

So it was with great curiosity that I went to W Bali last December, wondering what I would run into.

Arrival at the hotel

I had asked the hotel to organize the transfer and the hotel car was waiting for me as planned at the airport exit.

The hotel is not so far from the airport but for who knows Bali that does not mean anything. We will spend a big hour in the traffic jams. Fortunately the driver’s playlist is pleasant, the car comfortable and I have something to read, drink and eat.

We arrive finally in Seminyak, the car leaves the agitated street to rush in a kind of vegetable tunnel. The change is radical and the arrival at the hotel frankly impressive.

The bellman takes care of my luggage, I enter the huge lobby and head to the reception.

The reception is located in a huge lobby where there is a bar and spaces to sit and pass the time.

The occupants of the villas have a separate check-in outside.

The welcome is warm but very professional. I am informed that my standard room has been upgraded to a “spectacular” room. No suite to my regret, I should have used a “Suite Night Award” to secure one. But it makes sense.

The hotel consists of a large main building in which we find, roughly, the standard rooms, the spectacular and only a few suites. Besides that there are about 90 villas that are not eligible for upgrade and are very popular with couples and honeymooners. So they don’t need to have a lot of suites and since it’s a popular destination for status guests, upgrades are rare.

In short, I don’t mind returning this summer to test one of the villas. I had the chance to visit one and it makes you want to try it. But traveling alone I preferred a nice sea view when I woke up than being alone in my villa with pool and view on nothing. Not all locations offer both the villa with pool and the view like Naka Island.

The formalities were done in no time because I had done my mobile checkin on the SPG application (uh… I have to say Marriott now but I can’t do it) so I went to my room.

The Spectacular Room at W Bali

As soon as you enter, you’ll find a very large open bathroom, as is increasingly the norm at W.

The shower area is very large.

The shower and bathtub are under a skylight with a blind that can be opened or closed electrically.

Then the room, spacious, with a beautiful desk area and a lounge area.

Then a large and pleasant balcony.

The view is superb.

To finish, the traditional visit in video.

And in 360° view.

The room.

And the bathroom.

Frankly it may not have been a suite but it was just like one. Spacious, airy, bright, with a great view. Since I had booked a standard room with a view on the garden I wasn’t going to complain!

I won’t mention once again the W bedding which always gives the impression of sleeping in a cloud.

The facilities of the W Bali

Of course the main attraction of W Bali is its pool. It is gigantic and I think the pictures speak for themselves.

I was lucky, there were “relatively few” customers. It was the week before the Christmas vacation rush when the hotel had a 100% occupancy rate for several weeks. By the way, W Bali has a very high occupancy rate so don’t expect nice discounts or huge upgrades.

But considering the size of the pool, I think that even when the hotel is full, the level of comfort is very acceptable. Just the opposite of the catastrophic Westin in Honolulu.

I will add to this an impeccable service. No need to wait or look for a waiter. At the slightest gesture, the staff arrives immediately and the drinks are brought with diligence. Fruit and ice cream are regularly offered as well.

In short, I felt so good by the pool that I didn’t even try the beach.

The W Bali is also equipped with a gym. Medium size, without more, it offers the advantage of being very bright.

It is well equipped but apart from the machines the space dedicated to free / floor exercises is very small.If only two people come and do their cross-fit session the others have to wait for their turn. Or if a rather bulky customer decides to occupy the space alone. One day I had to come back 3 times to find a place. Annoying. I will not keep a lasting memory of it.

Now the spa.

The Spa at W Bali has a specificity: it is open 24 hours a day, and the treatments as well. The reason? The tourist who arrives in Bali sometimes arrives at very late hours and after a very long journey and it is logical to offer him to be able to relax and get a massage as soon as he arrives at the hotel, even if it is in the middle of the night.

The place is very nicely designed.

The facilities are very classic but pleasant.

A hot bath and a room temperature bath.

Surprisingly, it is the bubbling bath (the small one at the bottom) that is “cold” and the other one that is hot.

And of course a sauna and a hammam.

The visit in video.

It goes without saying that the treatments are of high quality, the staff is friendly and competent and the treatment rooms are very pretty.

A very nice spa of very good quality even if it will not dethrone that of the Héliopic.

Let’s move on to the food and beverage offer.

The bars and restaurants at the W Bali

The hotel offers many bars and restaurants. As for the bar, I settled at the Wow Bar.

It offers a covered area and a huge poolside terrace.

At nightfall it is just superb.

In addition the DJ is really very good. I might as well tell you that I spent some excellent evenings there.

I am always careful in hotel bars and especially in resorts.

Pleasant surprise: the creations are nice and very well executed. An excellent point.

Some evenings the bartender will invent custom cocktails for you: give him your favorite alcohol and type of cocktail and he will do the rest.

Let’s move on to the restaurants.

The Fire is a meat restaurant. It has a room and a terrace.

Who says meat says choice of the appropriate knife.

The service is fast, the meat cooked to perfection and the menu is quite nice.

Without being especially creative it is solid.

For creativity we will go to Starfish Bloo.

Here we are in a large room totally open to the outside.

Here we are more on an Asian/fusion type of cuisine. The interest is that the dishes are served in small portions so you can treat yourself to 4 or 5 dishes or, ideally, share when there are several of you. A real delight for the eyes and the palate.

Frankly I am a fan and I miss it already.

I will add to all this the multiple activities organized by the hotel every day (and evening…).

Did I say “liftestyle”? The promise is kept.

Check-out

Very easy. I did my checkout on the mobile app without having to go through the front desk again, the hotel car was waiting for me and 30 minutes later I was at the airport.

Bottom line

This is the first time I’ve seen a W deliver on the brand promise and find that perfect balance between luxury and lifestyle. What’s more, in a resort where I usually expect to find a degraded service. There are even children in this W even though it is not really the desired clientele but they are well behaved and activities are planned for them.

So everything was perfect, from the hotel itself to the various services, including very professional staff, whereas in this part of Asia I am often used to finding people who are certainly extremely courteous but also show a total lack of judgment and autonomy.

So of course the W Bali is expensive. Very expensive. And since it is sold out most of the time, don’t expect any special offer. In high season don’t be surprised if you see rates starting at 300/500 euros for a standard room. I won’t even mention the villas… And that is why we do not tolerate any flaw in Ws in general and a fortiori in this one. But when the promise is kept, and it was, the experience for money is remarkable. Come on, I’m still going to be picky and ask for a bigger gym!

Next time I might try the villa (paying with my points of course).