Review: Alila Manggis (Seaside Suite)

What to expect when you stay at Alila Manggis as a World of Hyatt Globalist member?

Alila Manggis opened in 1994 and was last renovated in 2018. It has a total of 55 rooms across 4 buildings and 2 floors.

It is a Category 2 World of Hyatt property requiring 8,000 points (worth S$160) per night.

This is also a pet-friendly hotel.

Here are some photos posted on our Instagram page:

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Location

This hotel is located in Manggis, Karangasem. It is the only chain hotel in Bali that is not in the usual touristy areas like Kuta, Seminyak, Ubud and Nusa Dua.

There were no shops within walking distance from the hotel.

There were also no nearby restaurants where I could order food from, using the GoFood mobile app. The nearest one was about 9km away.

• 15 mins drive to Padangbai port (for boats to Gili / Lombok)
• 1 hr 25 mins drive to Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS)
• 1 hr 10 mins drive to Ubud Town

Arrival

Upon arrival, we had our body temperatures taken and were assisted with our luggages before being directed to the reception.

I had booked the base King room and was upgraded to the Deluxe room as a Globalist member.

I received a further upgrade to the Seaside Suite, upon request. It was very nice of the hotel to have offered this upgrade as I was told that there are only 2 of these suites!

Seaside Suite

Room 225 is 113sqm / 1,220sqft in size.

As mentioned above, there are only 2 of this suite and this is the highest room category in this hotel. Both Seaside Suites are located in the building closest to the beach.

Furnishing in the room is very old. However, it was great to see universal power ports all around.

There was a partial view of the sea from the huge balcony.

Wifi was horrible. I was getting speeds of around 1.7 to 2.5 Mbps all day.

I was also very disappointed that there weren’t any Alila Living bath products by Sensatia Botanicals in the bathroom. Soaps and lotions were unbranded, similar to what was offered at the grossly overpriced Alila SCBD Jakarta.

In the evening, I received a call that I am entitled to 2 evening cocktails in the room. It wasn’t clear if it was a Globalist member benefit.

Here’s a video tour posted on our Instagram page:

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Afternoon snacks

It is always a nice gesture when a hotel offers something extra to staying guests.

Afternoon tea is complimentary for all guests and can be enjoyed from 3 to 5pm daily at Ocean Bar. This is similar to what was offered at Alila Ubud, but it is a little more basic over here.

Breakfast

Breakfast was served at Seasalt restaurant from 7 to 11am and is complimentary for Globalist members.

There were limited choices in the breakfast menu but food quality was great! I’ve always prefer a good quality à la carte menu over a massive buffet with average food quality.

Like in other Alila hotels, items in the lunch and dinner menus are overpriced.

Here’s the food and beverage menu of Seasalt restaurant:

Other facilities

Alila hotels seem to have beautiful swimming pools and this property is no exception.

I was disappointed to be told that this property does not have a gym. Together with Andaz Bali, that’s 2 World of Hyatt properties in Bali without an on-site gym.

Although there is a beach directly connected to the property, it is a very small one.

My ratings

Bottom line

Although this small property has very dated room furnishing and weak bathroom amenities, it is the only international chain hotel in a non-touristy area of Bali.

Great service, elite member recognition and breakfast made me enjoy my stay. However, unless if you want to disconnect from the internet world, bring along a data sim card as the wifi was almost unusable here, even with low occupancy.

I have now stayed in and reviewed all World of Hyatt properties in Bali that was in my shortlist! Can’t wait for the newish Studios at Alila Seminyak to reopen in 2022. It would be an epic award redemption with only 3,500 points (worth $70) on off-peak nights!