Breakfast in Bali

Breakfast is included with all rooms at the St. Regis Bali, and it did not disappoint.  While maybe not quite as amazing as the W in Singapore, in addition to the buffet, it also had an extensive menu from which you could order.  I think Joe had the steak and eggs every morning.  They also had really good smoothies in many different flavors.

Fresh squeezed orange juice and a Virgin Mary, a hotel specialty.

Kid approved!

We typically loaded up during breakfast, then had lunch and dinner either from room service or a casual cafe at the resort.

We had a few communication issues with the staff who spoke English but were sometimes hard to understand. Two of the funnier ones had to do with ordering room service. When we checked in the staff informed us that a special "family treat" was included in our stay. Both Joe and I thought they said it would be a free "hot meal" and cookies for the girls. OK! They said to just call and let them know when we would like it.  When I called to order it a few days later, the man over the phone asked me if I would like hot meal or cold meal. I asked what was in the meals, and he said, "Just meal." I was so confused. When cookies and milk were delivered to the room a few minutes later we finally realized that they had been saying "HOT MILK" the entire time.

Another night when placing a dinner order over the phone I asked if the kitchen could prepare a bowl of plain peas for the girls to eat, since their vegetable intake on the trip was less than stellar. The man taking my order asked me a few funny questions about how I would the peas, and we finally agreed (I thought) that I just wanted some plain, steamed peas. When the order arrived the server proudly pulled the cover off a dish contained a plain piece of steamed fish. We went back and forth for a bit with me saying "Peas??" and him nodding and smiling saying "Yes, peas!" Well, turns out Indonesians say the word "fish" exactly like "peas." We finally sorted it out when I found a piece of paper and wrote out the word "peas." He was unnecessarily apologetic, we had a good laugh and he took back the fish and brought some peas.

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.

Jet Lag (and The Longest I've Slept In Years)

We checked out of the St. Regis and moved less than a mile north east to the Grand Hyatt Singapore on Scotts Road.  It was in a very similar area but just a bit more centrally located near Orchard Road.  Back in the spring, we had originally booked three nights here on a cash rate and applied one of our Diamond Suite upgrade certificates (four are given each year to Hyatt Diamond members) to the reservation.  Since Joe likes to change his mind, we decided to only stay here for two nights and instead use the 2 free nights at any Hyatt worldwide that you receive for getting approved for the Chase Hyatt credit card.  These are the same free nights that Katie and Steve used for their honeymoon at the Park Hyatt Maldives. We got a much lower value out of them than Keve did, but they were going to expire in February and we worried that we would not be able to "maximize" their value by then, so just decided to use them.

We were met at the taxi by a nice woman from reception who took us into the hotel, bypassed the registration desk, and took us straight up to our room where we conducted check in.  The standard suite booked for Diamond members is their one-bedroom duplex suite.  While this sounded really cool when we booked it, when we stepped into the room, we almost immediately realized this room was going to cause some problems.  Both girls immediately ran for the stairs and when we finally made it up there, the bedroom was open to the first floor area.  After discussing for 10 or 15 minutes, we called down to the front desk and asked if there was any way we could switch to a room that would give us a better chance of avoiding a trip to the hospital.

First floor of suite

Master bedroom on second floor

Looking down into the dining room from 2nd floor master

They said they had another room on the 15th floor but it would not be ready for an hour or two, so we ate some of the chocolates, fruit, and water they provided as the Diamond food and beverage amenity.

The new suite was perfect and, functionally, probably the best room we had on our trip.  It had a bedroom with a walk in closet, where Lizzy slept, a big bathroom, a living area, a 6 person dining room table, a small kitchen area and a half bath.  Despite the fact that we had plenty of room, we managed to cover it with our stuff within the first hour.  The girls had a great time making a fort with the drapes, a common activity during the trip.

Dining/living area of our new suite, with no stairs

Kitchenette

Bedroom

Bathroom

Enjoying some dinner in the room. There was a pasta place down the street that was great for the girls

The Hyatt had a great lounge, called The Grand Club. It included a daily continental breakfast, which was a big understatement. There was a huge selection of hot and cold buffet items, breads and pastries, fruits, cereals etc. and you could order eggs anyway you would like them from your table. In addition to all the food there was also just about any type of drink you could want. On our first visit to the Club the server offered the girls Yakuit, which turned out to be a Japanese probiotic drink, and they loved it! Annie continually asked for more 'Kuit for the rest of the trip. A little digestive aid never hurt anyone, I suppose :).

Besides breakfast, the Club was open throughout the day with drinks and snacks and offered "light hor d'oeuvres" in the evening, which again turned out to be really a full meal. Salads, appetizers, hot entrees, fruit and vegetable platters... both nights after the girls went down for the night (very early) I would go up by myself and enjoy a leisurely and filling meal.

Perhaps the most convenient part of the Grand Club (besides the unlimited Yakuit and milk for the girls) was the Family Room which was separate from the main dining room of the club. They had a TV playing cartoons and a section with some children's toys. It was just nice to be a little separated from everyone else since Elizabeth isn't exactly the most polite or quiet baby in these types of situations.  It was obviously more fun for the girls to be able to run around a bit and play instead of being locked into high chairs with us shushing them the entire time. I wish more hotel clubs and lounges had family friendly areas like this! It really made a HUGE difference in our experience.

Family Room at the Grand Club