ARRIVAL & FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
Our arrival at Lloyds Inn was a little underwhelming to say the least – we had just traveled from Uluwatu through to Seminyak and although we had spent time in Seminyak before and were well equipped for it’s buzz, our last villa was close to the craziness, but not quite as IN IT as Lloyds. We literally found ourselves turning down a main market road and into a back alley towards what was said to be our accomodation. For the first time in our Bali trip Justin looked homesick, just like he normally gets when he is feeling anxious and uncertain of a place or situation.
Thankfully this feeling did not last long as we turned the corner of the little back road and saw the chic entrance to Lloyd’s Inn.
The staff were welcoming, friendly and we were welcomed with fruit juice in cute little bath tubs. The front desk staff were also very accomodating in keeping our luggage prior to our check in time so we could head out for some lunch.
ROOMS:
The rooms were super well designed for the size of them; ie; they were very small. Basically what you would expect of a dorm room, in fact my dorm room in Sweden was much bigger than this 🙂 HOWEVER, due to the clever design it really doesn’t feel as small as it is. There is a lovely bath outside – although that isn’t the best idea because without aircon it is just way too hot to bath outside.
The bedroom is fully airconditioned and the bed very comfortable with good quality linen and comfortable bedding. There is not much cupboard space for clothing so we kept our clothing in our bags. There are drawers and shelves though so that is helpful for storage of new items bought on shopping sprees 😉
The shower is right on top of the toilet #compact, but there are two basins and a nice well-lit mirror inside the aircon area for ease of getting ready without sweating so that is great (the toilet, shower and bath are all in the outdoor courtyard area – so no aircon there. The water pressure was not great and so I opted to find a place in Seminyak to have a blow wave.
Lovely large sliding glass doors open onto the courtyard and a swinging chair outside is the perfect spot for a morning cuppa and book reading before the day begins.
Daily service keeps the room beatifully clean and they do offer room service.
The biggest issue with the rooms for me was the noise factor. It was incredibly loud and I really struggled to sleep. It is an issue in the resort as they have earplugs at reception. Our room was right next to the main eating area, which wasn’t really the issue because a large, mostly sound-proof door seperates the food hall from the rooms, but the bigger issue was the rolling of bags and slamming of said door as guests arrived at all hours of the night. The floors are all concrete and with only a thin wall between rooms and passage it is as though people are inside your bedroom at 2am. I really struggled with this and had my worst sleep of my trip in this resort. I even took a sleeping pill two of the nights to help me through the night.
DINING:
The resort offers complimentary breakfast with your stay, but I got a sense from the day we arrived that I wouldn’t be making use of it. Not that it looked terrible or anything like that, it just looked bang-average, and knowing that Seminyak is the haven for all things delicious, there is just no time to waste a meal on average food! (yes I am a foodie!)
I did order a double shot cappaccino on two of the three mornings, the first morning it was divine but the second it was not enjoyable.
There is an incredible coffee shop just a 2min walk down the road though that we only found on the day we were leaving, sadly, but I would have got from there daily if I had known it was there! It is pretty hidden, but it is called Revolver – Sacred Ground.
SPA FACILITIES:
The Spa was beautiful and our treatments were at sunset and so the beautiful orange glow filling the Sky Spa made it all the more wonderful. The ladies started with washing our feet and then a full body massage which left us very relaxed and ready for bed – although we were heading out for dinner so I had to wake myself up with a dip in the pool!
POOL:
The pool area was lovely and a perfect place to cool down after a long day shopping the streets of Seminyak. We didn’t have enough down time to enjoy it, sadly. You are also able to order pool side meals and drinks.
PRICING:
We found the best price at the time booking through Agoda, and we paid ZAR7400 for 4 nights.
VERDICT:
If I am honest we would be hesitant to stay at Lloyds Inn Bali again.
The pros were: was value for money as far as Seminyak accomodation goes and it is very central and super easy to find a cab and get anywhere, being right on a central road, but the cons were a few too many for me:
The rooms were very loud and I struggled to sleep
The rooms were quite small with no space to unpack
The food and coffee was not great at all
