The Ritz-Carlton, Bali

We have now stayed at The Ritz-Carlton, Bali two years in a row with our two young children (aged 6 and 2), and each visit has been truly special. Last year, we stayed in the Sky Villa, where our butler, Pande, took wonderful care of us. He would come to greet us at breakfast, check on our plans for the day, and offer his assistance whenever we needed it. One thing that particularly touched us was how he arranged a departure room before our late-night flight home — such a thoughtful gesture when travelling with young children. He also prepared a gift for our children, which they still treasure to this day. This year, we stayed in the Ritz-Carlton Suite and loved having a proper dining table, which made in-room dining especially comfortable for our family. As dining at restaurants can sometimes be a challenge with little ones, we made great use of the in-room dining service. Marriott Bonvoy members can place requests and order in-room dining directly through the app, which made everything very convenient. Delivery can sometimes take a little longer at a resort of this size, but the app provides an estimated delivery time, so we found it helpful to order a little earlier when dining with young children. The complimentary kids’ menu for children aged two and under was also a lovely touch, as were the bathroom amenities. I particularly fell in love with the Diptyque Fig fragrance, which added a little moment of luxury to each day. The Ritz Kids team remembered our children as soon as they arrived, and they immediately felt at home. Even the buggy rides around the resort became a highlight for them, and every member of staff we encountered greeted us with a warm smile. The complimentary activities were another wonderful aspect of our stay. We joined the morning yoga session and several Balinese cultural experiences. Making Canang Sari offerings and weaving palm leaves into little hats with the children were moments we will not forget. We were also very impressed by the reservations team and concierge, who were attentive throughout the planning of our stay and responded to every email with care and detail. One of the loveliest surprises of this visit was seeing Pande again. We were so happy to have the chance to see him again this year, and it made our stay even more special. It truly felt like returning to a place where we are known and welcomed. What makes The Ritz-Carlton, Bali so special to us is the rare combination of a polished, sophisticated resort and genuinely warm, personal service. We are already looking forward to returning. Thank you to Pande, the Ritz Kids team, and everyone at the resort for making our family feel so at home, year after year.

We had a wonderful stay at The Ritz-Carlton Bali. The service was excellent throughout our visit, and the grounds and beach were absolutely beautiful. A special mention goes to Chiki, who provided phenomenal service in the bar and lounge. She was attentive, warm, and made our experience feel very personalized. Her service was definitely one of the highlights of our stay. The only thing is because it is extremely large, and busy it can at times feel loud. It has more of a big-resort, almost all-inclusive feel, which I think would be particularly well suited to families or guests who enjoy having everything within one large property. That said, it is a very impressive resort with beautiful grounds, a gorgeous beach, and genuinely excellent service. Overall, we really enjoyed our stay.

How best to describe my experience? Well, despite getting a late checkout (I have Plat elite Bonvoy status), despite being in a lagoon suite, and despite paying 4 figures USD nightly... I set an alarm early my last day to get up early to escape to my hotel in Ubud. Not the experience you want at a Ritz Carlton. First the good: The two stars are for: the Spa which was truly an amazingly luxurious experience complete with plunge pools etc. and I had it to myself when I was there. The room which had a lagoon which was really cool and the hotel itself is beautiful architecturally. Also the food (especially the exquisite brunch) was awesome as were the cocktails! The bad: After a week spent waking up before dawn to go scuba and on other adventures on Flores I was so looking forward to a super relaxing few days in Bali. This hotel was advertised as family friendly, which I assumed meant there would be families there also enjoying the pool and the kids club. What it apparently meant was "Disneyland on winter break with kids so hyped up you would swear Santa was handing out PS5s". NOW OF COURSE kids and families with kids deserve vacations and to be kids and scream and have fun and splash in the pool. I can't and won't fault the Ritz or the families for that. What I can fault them for is having no adult-only areas or times (not even the Missoni day club). At one point I looked at the pool and of the 40 groups/people in the pool there only 2 that were not kids or families. The average age of the pool had to be close to 10. Also the service. A bit ironic since Josh Hutchinson (sp?) ads play on a loop advertising their above-and-beyond service. I checked in and was told to sit and was going to get a welcome drink. After 15 minutes I went and asked someone what was going on and they assured me it would only be a few minutes. Well, I was eager to get onto the relaxation portion of my vacay and kinda didn't believe them. So I left my stuff with a new friend sitting nearby and found the bar (which was down the cliff so not close), looked at the menu, ordered a truly wonderful Negroni and brought it back up to the lobby... where I preceded to wait for another 10 minutes (my friend informed me no one had come). All this to be told the room wasnt ready yet. Other fun service points, were me not allowed to sit at a certain table that was on the edge of the room at brunch because it might be full so I was directed next to a family with 2 kids... while a couple walked in and sat at the table 2 minutes later(and no it was not reserved). Other minor things like having to flag someone down whenever I wanted a drink at the beach, waiting literally 45 minutes between ordering and getting anything (it can't be that hard to pour a glass of white wine... I do it weekly). Also why are you charging me for a mimosa when I am paying that much for brunch??? Anyway, not the service I would expect from a brand that is supposedly synonymous with it. All to say: if you have a family with young kids and don't mind waiting; if you are going to Bali not to hear the gentle waves of the ocean but a cacophony of screaming; if you think a day at a luxury brand day-club without dodging beach balls is boring. Then this is the place. All others look away.

This hotel absolutely impressed me and went beyond my expectations. In each venue, the teams were making me feel comfortable and were extremely attentive, smiling and very dedicated to their tasks. The rooms were very spacious and beautifully maintained (somewhat hard with the high level of humidity). The Food in all of the restaurants was just fabulous. I had a Suite then a smaller room as I needed to extend my stay for a few more hours. The Breakfast was very generous and displayed a large selection of different items (maybe the Juices station could be improved with Freshly pressed juices instead of boxed ones), but the highlight of my stay was definitely my belated birthday celebration - the reason of my visit to this hotel. The team went above and beyond the entire evening and the foods was nothing shorter than excellent. I would like to give a very special thank you to VELIA who was absolutely fabulous, went above and beyond for any of my concerns and most importantly surprised me with a beautiful Bouquet of Flowers for my birthday and made sure my evening would be unforgettable. Mission accomplished. I'm already planning my next visit to your premises (I come to Bali every year but normally stay in Ubud) - but from now on, I'm convinced that a detour by The Ritz Carlton before to return home is mandatory. Kuddos to your exceptional teams in all the departments but especially for all of your Chefs because the food in all the venues is absolutely DIVINE! Thank you very much again for my wonderful stay in your premises and see you very soon.

Overall, we enjoyed our family stay at The Ritz-Carlton, Bali, and everything was good apart from the air conditioning. It took two days to fix the problem, which affected our comfort and enjoyment of the stay. For a hotel of this standard, we would have expected a much quicker resolution. Once it was fixed, we enjoyed the rest of our visit, but the delay let down an otherwise lovely experience.