Klapa Resort — Hotel in Kuta Selatan

I don't normally write reviews anymore, whether it was a good, or a bad experience, but I feel inclined to do so about my stay at Klapa. Let me start by saying that the staff is their only redeeming quality. I am not sure how this resort, if you can even call it that, is rated 5 star. There is no chance on earth that place is 5 star, which is why I am writing this review. If it were 3 stars, I can see that, and no review would be necessary.

First of all, it looks like a war torn zone when you drive in. It is so incredibly run down. The security station is dilapidated, the grounds are overgrown, no flowers/landscaping, the road is ridiculously wide, and cracked. There are packs of loud, barking dogs roaming around everywhere, and bark all day into the evening.

Then you get to the lobby. No attendant to greet you, and to offer to help with your things. The building is in desperate need of a paint job, and is incredibly dated. The lobby is a boring, dimly lit space. When I arrived at 4pm, my room was not ready for check in. The wifi was not working, thankfully after about an hour, it seemed to be working again. They were kind to offer to give me a tablet to use as a hot spot while they were trying to fix the issue.

The "garden view" King Deluxe room had an awful view of the driveway. The furniture on the balcony was old, and chipping, the paint on the building was chipped, and run down, as well. The room was nothing more than a room. Minimal television channels. There were no bathrobes; nor slippers. The bathtub, and shower were fine , except the water was lukewarm, at best. No bath mat, or floor towel; no washcloth; nor hand towel. The towels were thin, old bath towels.

The restaurant does have a fantastic view of the Indian Ocean. It also has a view of the Beach Club, pyramid that, as well is in desperate need of a paint job; it looks terrible. The breakfast was nice, but nothing to write home about. They did have a nice selection of juices, and pastries. The hot food stations were okay, but again, nothing out of the ordinary. Random salad items that had flies all around, (some burning candles would have helped) ; small charcuterie. I hate to say that there was some mold on the cheese, and no, it was not blue, it was white cheddar. They had an egg station, and were making crèpes another morning. I have a dietary restriction, and they were nice enough to make nasi goreng for me. There is no bar, per se, there is a bar where drinks are made, but no stools at the bar. There is a seating area which was nice enough. I feel like they were really trying in the restaurant. As I said, their staff is their redeeming quality.

The two rooftop pools look old, and need to be painted, or something. There was no toilet paper in the bathroom, and had an odd smell. It didn't look like there were towels available for the pool, maybe there were, and I just did not see them.

It rained the entire time I was there, I did not walk out to the beach, and have nothing to say about that. I did. however, walk over to the Beach Club. It was nice enough, I guess. Speaking of which, I contacted them via telephone, and email inquiring what, "Beach Lounge access", was, as that was included in my room reservation. No one who answered the call could tell me. I emailed them twice before making the reservation, and never received a response from anyone. Upon arriving I was told that all it is is free entrance to the Beach Club.

I know I am pointing out lots of little things, but all of these, 'little things', are why there is no chance in he** this place is at a 5 star level. No chance. It is a very boring, dated place, with not much energy. I contemplated leaving within a few hours of arriving. Would not stay there again. I did go visit a friend who was staying at a hotel next to the Kuta Golf Club, where I was originally going to stay, and would definitely stay there. it was a toss up for me between those two, and I made the mistake of choosing Klapa, only because it was on the beach....

Untouched Gem!

At first we were hesitant, but we will definitely miss this place!

For a budget-conscious luxury, this place was perfection. For any fellow Canadians or Americans, this hotel is better than a Motel 8 at a significantly better price. You are literally steps from one of the most gorgeous beaches in Bali. 5 mins down a stairway and you are at Dreamland Beach. For a price range of 70 to 100 CAD per night, this was the ultimate accommodation. There were certain details that just made our stay that much more enjoyable.

The areas that this hotel excelled at were the following:

Service - 10/10 - The staff greeted us with a smile and with superb warmth from the moment we arrived at the lobby. Each interaction with the staff was very pleasant.

Room Size, Amenities and Facilities - 10/10 - Our room and washroom was bigger than our former suite at the Marina Bay Sands. The rainfall shower had an elevated platform to allow the water to drain easily. If you are travelling with a partner, one of you can shower while the other enjoys the bathtub! The water pressure was strong and there definitely was hot water. So unless the prior commentator, does not know how to use a modern water faucet, there was more than sufficient hot water and water pressure to bathe in. Also, yes there are plenty of canine friends around the facilities, but they never barked nor made excessive noise. The gym equipment was well maintained and they even had a TRX!

Cleanliness and Technology - The doorbell, DND button and the icon to mark your request to clean your room were definitely a plus. With a simple switch, you can return post-beach to a pristine room. Our rooms were serviced every day and was always equipped with mineral water bottles!

Beach Club - 9/10 - A lot of us can relate to the disdain and resentment when an establishment has WAY too many tourists! So if you want to relax by a gorgeous beach club, with an amazing infinity pool and avoid pesky tourists then you will enjoy the tranquility and views offered by the Klapa! The Crispy Fried Duck with 3 Sambal is a must try for 150K IDR or 13 CAD. The second floor was a tad eerie as it was definitely empty.

Food - 10/10 - The food was definitely more expensive than a Warung but it never costed us more than 40 CAD for 2! That included a full meal, 2 drinks and a coffee!

Distance - During our 4 night stay, we were all within 20 to 30 mins of a Grab from most of our planned destinations:

25 mins - Uluwatu Temple & Kecek Dance 20 mins - Sundays Beach Club 20 mins - Jala @ Four Seasons Jimbaran

Finally, as all the hotels in Uluwatu were affected, there are definitely exterior areas of the hotel that could use some work, but you are not sleeping outside. So even after 2 years of pandemic struggles, this hotel leaned on the frivolous and excelled on...

Ok so I don't want to rate it so low but this is not a 5 star place. 5 stars is about details and the feeling of being somewhere luxurious. That requires great amenities and very attentive staff. This place was nice and affordable for a few nights - and we didn't have ignored requests or broken stuff like some reviews - but it doesn't have amazing amenities nor especially helpful staff. Too many things prevent it feeling like a 5star resort. I've been to plenty of 3star places, this feels closer to that.

It's very isolated, so not much you can do without a 150,000 rup taxi and a decent drive anywhere, but there isn't much to do here besides golf and go to the beach. For the latter, prepare to walk a lot of stairs, which may not be viable for you. Also good luck finding it because there's no signage, or booklets, or anything, and staff vaguely point you at things but never provide explicit help unless you really ask for something specific. When we asked about it, they pointed us out the front door so we walked to the pyramid thing, and it was closed (no signage), so we walked around confused. We came back and they said that was the beach club. I asked about the beach, they pointed me to the stairs out the other side of the building... We didn't bother with the stairs because we were tired.

The rooftop has an amazing view, but the food was really average. I won't bore you with details but the meat was odd and all my food was cool, like only the chicken was hot and it was served with some cold sides. Hardly 5 star resort vibes.

Everything is big and spacious but not much fills it, there is a pool table and a tiny gym on ground floor, and a cafe that never looked open. The couches in the lobby were a bit stained.

Like others, our room smelled very humid which I kind of expect in this weather, but it was strong. The worst of all, the balcony is not segregated entirely and the walls/glass doors aren't that soundproof, so sound really travels. This is a big problem when 2 rude people move in next to you and chat loudly from 11pm until 3am. I asked reception to resolve it but they only called the people's room a couple times on my two requests as those guests would not stop being loud. They didn't do any other checks or ever visit their room to ensure quiet was respected. I drifted in and out sleep all night, which is awful on a short holiday. Bad design means the staff become responsible for quiet, and sadly it was not delivered. My roommate who also struggled with the noise was then woken up at dawn by people playing golf...

Needless to say we moved to a much nicer, quieter place in Seminyak for the same price and we have our own pool and better food nearby at walking distance....