Bali

We booked a round trip ticket earlier in the week on Air Asia from SIN to DPS.  I do not recall the exact price but it was under $200 per ticket, but would have been much, much cheaper had we booked in advance.  Since we ultimately were not sure we were actually going to take the trip, we weren't able to do so.  We got to the airport in plenty of time, boarded pretty quickly and had a very nice flight experience, except for one other family on the plane.  A British family let their kids run all around the flight for most of the two hours and left it up to their nanny to try to reign them in.  As our luck would have it, they were also on our return flight, where the rambunxious boy barfed all over the aisle. 

We landed at the airport and were met by a nice lady from the hotel who walked us through the immigration process and took care of everything.  When booking the hotel, Joe had not really given much thought to the round trip hotel transfer that was included, but it ended up being a life saver.  While it would have been fine if it was just the two of us, the additional help was greatly appreciated because Annie and Lizzy were not in the best of moods.

The woman asked for our passports so she could go ahead and pre-clear customs.  Joe handed them to her, but immediately regretted it once Mary pointed out we were not even certain she was actually from the hotel.  She returned after a few tense minutes and said that we were all set and could pass through a different area when clearing customs.  This was really a life saver because we avoided a pretty long customs line and it would have taken us a while to figure out protocol if we had had to do it ourselves. She walked us through a couple hundred meter path to the car, and we asked if there was time to grab the girls (and ourselves) something from Burger King.  Luckily there was and it was amazing.

The hotel had a minivan waiting with pre-installed car seats, which was nice since it was a bit chaotic and installing two car seats was the last thing Joe wanted to do right then.  We had about an hour ride to the hotel through some really interesting scenery.  Bali is a bustling city with many crazy motorcycle drivers and lots of things Annie had never seen before.  

We were so glad we had help with the transportation to the the hotel.  In addition to getting to speed through customs, the cab area looked a bit shady and I think it would have made for a very stress filled transfer.  If new to an area and traveling with jet-lagged little ones, it might be a good idea to consider pre-arranged hotel transfers.

The St. Regis Bali is in a resort area with a number of other hotels, including a Hyatt and Westin where we considered staying as well.  It has a gorgeous entry way and a beautiful open air lobby.  We were greeted by a number of hotel employees who took all the luggage and helped with the girls. The girls were close to melting down at this point, and  I stayed with them in the lobby area while Joe was at the front desk checking in.

We made it.  Check in to the front and ocean behind us

Lobby background music

Lots of time spent looking at the lobby fish and trying to get in

We booked the entry level rate through the American Express Fine Hotels & Resort program.  It was the same rate as at the St. Regis website but it included a couples massage as well.  We received a small upgrade to a better room, but we were really hoping to have something with better access to a pool for the girls, so we asked what options there were for cash upgrades.  For $150/night extra, they could move us to a bigger room with better pool options.  While certainly more than we wanted to spend, we decided to splurge.  I think we are glad that we did because the room was spectacular.

We moved to a Garden Pool Villa that was like a little one-bedroom house with a backyard with a nice sized pool for the girls.  It had a small courtyard out in front of the door and a doorbell that the girls tried to ring every time we passed it.  Best part was it was close to the hotel pool and the beach area.

Walk way to the room, which is to the left

Living and dining area, with pool out the back doors

Bedroom

Patio off the bedroom

Amazing bathroom with a perfect tub for the girls

Welcome snack and Happy Birthday flowers, Joe is so thoughtful

One of a few fairly reasonably price room service meals

It was the nicest room we have ever stayed at and helped to make our stay amazing.  While everything felt very well done with the room, the girls only cared about the pool.  And since they could always see it through the windows, there were a handful of melt downs on the rare occasions where we weren't actually in the pool.

Lizzy ready to head out and get in the pool

Many hours spent in the backyard pool on this part of the trip

Having the pool right off the back of the room was amazing.  Even though the hotel a giant salt water lagoon pool that was the best pool I have ever seen at a resort, it was so nice to have this small one right there for us to use whenever we felt like taking a quick swim.  They also enjoyed the other aspects of the backyard as well.

A nice Korean lady who thought the girls were cute bought them candy

Treats in the backyard meditation structure

The room was amazing but there were many other parts of the hotel we enjoyed just as much.