UPDATE 4 DEC 2022: A Suitesmile reader shared a workaround to still get those 5k award rates on most nights at HGI Bali (thanks senorsvin).
For stays up till 31 Mar 2023, you need to book a minimum of 4 nights.
For stays from 1 Apr 2023, you need to book a minimum of 7 nights.
Hilton Garden Inn Bali Ngurah Rai Airport has been removing Standard Rooms from its award inventory from this month onwards.
Up to 33k points during holiday season
There are very little dates with Standard room availability from now till March 2023 and zero availability from April 2023.
What’s the difference between a “Standard room” and a “Premium room”?
Standard rooms face the swimming pool, while Premium rooms face the car park. Floor areas are exactly the same.
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What’s great about HGI Bali?
Fantastic award rate
I’ve called Hilton Garden Inn Bali Ngurah Rai Airport my home whenever I travelled in Bali in the past 3 years and have stayed about 300 nights in total.
This is because, the hotel is a fantastic use of Hilton points, at just 5,000 points per night. That’s 3,000 points per night with Hilton’s 5th Night Free benefit and milestones.
Related: Head-to-head: The best Hotel Loyalty Programs in 2022
With some Hilton offers, I could even bring the cost down to just 750 points per night. By purchasing Hilton points, it would cost me just US$3.75 per night. Ridiculous!
Great Elite member recognition
Diamond members are usually upgraded to a pool view room (sometimes even to a Suite).
At its price point, the hotel also has a good breakfast buffet with cook-to-order eggs.
I’ve also never had any issues with early check-ins and late check-outs.
What are the best hotels in Bali?
The good news? There are other high-value properties in the island. I spent 10 months hotel-hopping in Bali during the pandemic and have the following properties to recommend:
Outstanding value
I have mentioned many times in this blog that the award rates for Grand Hyatt Bali and Hyatt Regency Bali are wayyyyy underpriced (award-wise).
By purchasing Hyatt points during one of the good sales, you can stay in either property from just US$58 per night.
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Good value
Bottom line
So, what now?
HGI Bali was a fantastic hotel when it costed just 5k points per night. However, with the new rates, it is just another poor value property, like other Hilton hotels in Indonesia.
The best case scenario is that the hotel is renovating all rooms on the outer parts of the building but I’m guessing that is just wishful thinking.
I don’t know about you, but I am running out of reasons to love Hilton Honors.
HGI Bali has degraded quite a bit recently. I just came back from a stay last week and was told that the new T&C does not include upgrade to suite as a Diamond member. Not sure if this is a HGI Bali thing or just some Hilton bulls*T