The luxurious "The Laguna, A Luxury Collection Resort & Spa" is located in Nusa Dua in the south of Bali. The 5-star hotel promises a relaxing holiday in lush gardens and white beaches.
Nusa Dua is an artificial paradise. The holiday area was built in the 1970s to 1980s as a project by the Indonesian government in cooperation with the World Bank. The well-guarded luxury oasis with more than 20 resorts spreads over 350 hectares and offers everything the pampered tourist needs. Wide avenues open up the place. The green areas are immaculately maintained. There is a shopping center and even a museum. The white beaches are partly artificially built up and at low tide the pools of the luxury hotels are perfect for swimming. If you're looking for the "real" Bali, you shouldn't spend your entire vacation in Nusa Dua.
"The Laguna" belongs to the Marriott hotel group. It is a spacious complex with 287 rooms and suites of different categories. The sandy beach can be reached through the tropical gardens with 7 huge lagoon pools. Three restaurants and several bars ensure your physical well-being.
We sleep in a double room with a garden view. The room is spacious and has a small balcony. The furnishings are traditional with echoes of Balinese culture.
The food in the restaurants is delicious. We enjoyed the sumptuous breakfast buffet in the Banyubiru restaurant. The Arwana grill and seafood restaurant was also good. And Laguna Ice Cream has good, if expensive, ice cream.
The large lagoon pools are certainly the highlight of the hotel. But this is also necessary because swimming in the sea is not possible at low tide.
Near the hotel there is the Bali Collection shopping center. It mainly offers souvenirs, handicrafts and restaurants. But our personal highlight is the small temple of the shopping center. We've always wondered what actually happens to all the offerings - we can watch it here!
We take another walk on the beach. It's low tide right now. We soon reach a small rocky cliff with the Hindu temple Pura Nusa Dharma Nusa Dua. From the cliff you have a beautiful view of Nusa Dua beach. After the next section of beach we come to the Peninsula. The “Garden of Hope” was created here. A memorial stone commemorates the countries that took part in planting trees during the WTO meeting in October 1993. In the middle of the park are two monumental statues of Krishna and Arjuna. And hidden beneath the cliffs is a picturesque bay with a temple. We watch the waves play in the evening light and then go back to our hotel.
We liked this:
- The very rich and varied breakfast buffet
- The great pool area
We didn't like this much:
- You have to pay extra for the Balinese beds at the hotel pools
- The artificial holiday world of Nusa Dua seems a bit sterile
Our conclusion:
A beautiful hotel with a fantastic pool area in an artificial oasis. The real Bali is elsewhere.
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Visit in August 2023
Chapter
00:00 Intro
00:55 Arrival through Nusa Dua
01:30 Foyer and reception
02:44 Garden and bar
04:14 Our room
09:46 Lagoon pool area
15:35 Dinner
16:28 Breakfast buffet
23:01 Hotel beach
23:52 Nusa Dua and Bali Collection
24:45 The squirrel and the offerings
26:08 Beach walk
27:06 Nusa Dharma Island
28:56 Peninsula
30:06 Pura Bias Tugel with an idyllic beach
31:33 Outro