Six Senses Uluwatu, Bali — Hotel in Kuta Selatan

Summary:

While Six Senses Uluvatu boasts undeniable potential and moments of sheer brilliance, it currently doesn't fully justify its five-star rating and premium pricing.

I urge the management to address these concerns mentioned proactively and to ensure transparency with guests, especially concerning renovations and potential service hiccups.

Every guest deserves the stellar experience they envision when choosing such an esteemed brand. Future patrons should be well-informed, ensuring their expectations align with the reality on offer.

As an IHG Gold member I approached my stay at Six Senses Uluvatu with much anticipation. However, what unfolded was a tapestry of highs and lows, prompting me to pen down this detailed review.

Accolades:

Guest Management Innovations: The Six Senses App stands as a beacon of modern-day convenience. Its user-friendly interface and promise of streamlining guest requests represent the evolution of hospitality in the digital age.

A Visual Feast: Few sights are as soul-stirring as the panoramic ocean views at Six Senses. The resort's unique positioning allows guests to witness both the ethereal beauty of dawn and the fiery drama of dusk - a true spectacle of nature's grandeur.

A Sanctuary of Solitude: The private pools, with their infinity-edge design, create an illusion of blending seamlessly into the ocean. This tranquil space provided moments of serenity, feeling as though one is on the edge of the world.

Spacious Grandeur: The villas encapsulate luxury. Expansively laid out with a judicious mix of contemporary comforts and elegant aesthetics, they offer a sanctuary for relaxation.

Evening Elegance: Each evening, the meticulous turn-down service transformed our space, infusing a sense of warmth and anticipation for a restful night.

Cordiality Personified: The staff's consistent grace, politeness, and genuine desire to assist deserve a special mention.

Concerns:

Maintenance Concerns: The vast landscape, though undeniably majestic, bore signs of neglect. Patches of drying vegetation and visible repair works sporadically scattered across the resort detracted from the otherwise pristine ambiance.

Service Inconsistencies: It's bewildering that a resort, with occupancy hovering between 30-50%, struggled with timely service. Such delays, especially in a luxury setting, are unexpected and dampen the overall experience.

Unannounced Renovations: The persistent noise from the restaurant renovations was a significant disruption. The lack of prior communication about such major works felt inconsiderate and detracted from the peaceful ambiance one seeks in a resort of this caliber.

Breakfast Blues: The breakfast spread, while adequate, lacked the diversity and gourmet touch one anticipates at a luxury resort. This was perhaps exacerbated by the need to relocate due to the ongoing renovations.

Digital Shortcomings: The Six Senses App, despite its potential, exhibited lapses. Requests made were often met with delays, suggesting a lack of active monitoring on the backend.

Buggy Bottlenecks: Given the sprawling nature of the resort, the reliance on buggies for transportation is understandable. However, prolonged wait times for buggies often led to unnecessary delays and inconvenience.

Lacking Personal Touch: Continually having to state our room number, even in a sparsely occupied resort, felt impersonal and suggested a lack of attention to detail.

Spa Experience: While the spa promised rejuvenation, the treatments felt routine and lacked the passion and expertise one expects from a premium resort.

Housekeeping Oversights: Minor yet noticeable oversights, such as dust on fixtures and broken decor items, hinted at lapses in the otherwise rigorous housekeeping process.

Communication Challenges: Engaging with some staff members proved challenging due to their limited command over...

Utterly awful experience. Ruined our holiday. Please avoid if you do not wish to go through the same disaster we did.

We initially booked for 4 nights at the resort. On the first day of our stay, Bali experienced a power outage that affected most parts of the island. We immediately turned up to the hotel concierge to ask for the latest information but nothing was communicated to us whatsoever at that point. There was no host WhatsApp to begin with where we could communicate with them electronically either. We understood that the power disruption in itself was not their fault and perhaps they needed time to formulate a contingency plan. Most other places were able to operate as usual though, as Bali is frequently affected by unstable power supplies so most places are equipped with their own back up generators. At that point we decided to relax and dined outside as planned before checking back with them.

Returned to this Six Senses resort a few hours later, still in complete blackout, only a few staff lighting up some candles in the lobby. Again no one made any attempt to communicate with us what was going on. We pestered them and finally we were told by one staff that their back up electricity was also down, yet this had not been communicated to us for the whole afternoon and evening. It became clear at that point that it was impossible to spend the night at the resort (do remember that their fresh water is also cut off due to the power loss), many other hotel guests had gathered around the lobby by this time and everyone was obviously infuriated. The most appalling part however was that none of the hotel staff offered any kind of assistance, other than asking if we wanted a club car to take us back to our villa, where there was no power, fresh water (including toilet flush!), anything whatsoever - but complete darkness! During this process the hotel did not try and offer any contingency plans that may allow their guests to seek alternative accommodation either, or at least temporary solutions to get us through the blackout such as a different place to get a clean shower in view of the situation.

We then decided to rebook another accommodation of our own accord, which proved extremely difficult as well with the wifi down and very limited reception at the resort. There was only one secluded spot in the lobby where I could get enough reception to make phone calls to other hotels and asked if they could have us for the night. Scrambling for accommodation we eventually found this one other amazing place that made special arrangements for us so we could move over. Then we asked to meet the Six Senses resort's manager and proceed to check out and refunds. We spoke to three different staffs of different seniorities, finally their General Manager appeared, whom we spoke to in great lengths. While there was obviously no immediate fix to the terrible solution, he repeatedly promised to get in touch the next day, as he was aware that we could only find accommodation for the said night and we still needed a place to stay for the rest of our trip in Bali. To quote their General Manager, "we would do everything we can to ensure you have a smooth stay for the rest of your trip and I will be in touch tomorrow". Catastrophically it has been FIVE full days since the event, we have completed our holiday and returned to our home country, and we have not heard a single word from them. Not from the hotel concierge regarding refunds for the nights we had not used, nothing from the General Manager either. Sent an email directly to the General Manager to chase them down but they are completely ignoring us.

We are still in shock that this is the kind of hospitality experience you get from a supposedly five star hotel. Much disgrace to the name of the brand and for what we have paid. At this point we are utterly disappointed and furious but would consider ourselves lucky if we could at least just get back the refunds and deposits that we are fully...

This place is a dump. Have never hated a stay more. Not a 5 star resort. Maybe 3 stars. Overpriced, extremely run down and very poor operations. Over six nights we didn’t get a single peaceful night because of the way this place is run.

Even if you have Do Not Disturb on they’ll disturb you. Our first night we had someone enter our villa at 8.30pm for what we believe may have been turn down service. We then received a call 30 minutes later asking if we wanted turn down service. Another night we were called because they wanted to offer amenities at 8.30pm. The Do Not Disturb button means nothing here. During our 6 night stay they called/came into our villa on 5 nights for random reasons whilst Do Not Disturb was on, even though they knew we had a baby Rather than have everything addressed during housekeeping, tasks are split into parts, so people are entering your villa throughout the day (no privacy at all) Very uncomfortable beds. I’ve never complained about a bed before Villas are in a very poor state. The doors have gaps and poor sealing so we can hear everything outside. People are constantly entering nearby villas so whilst the view is pretty, it is a very low budget experience. Throughout the night you can hear the buggies and staff on walkie talkies. All. Night. Long. Sleep is difficult here! Every night we had different neighbours who liked to party - this place is for partying not relaxing The room is very dusty and we had to clean it up ourselves a bit (gross!). Room never sufficiently cleaned but my makeup and cosmetics always moved around which is creepy The hotel app to order room service is constantly failing (and only way to view the menu) There were leftovers in the fridge from the previous guests when we arrived (given the minibar is never restocked this is no surprise) During our stay the resort was undergoing a number of renovations. It’s ridiculous to charge full price for guests when there is constant drilling, digging and welding going on at various places throughout the resort. On weeknights the works continue past 8.30pm. There was a wedding with welding happening right above the ceremony. Management told staff to work quietly during the breakfast service but that leaves them to drill and weld when you’re trying to relax by the pool The resort is low on napkins. Both in the restaurant and with room service they were rare (it was not half full with guests too) The main restaurant isn’t air conditioned and has no fans. Even in winter at 8am it is still and hot (over 22 degrees). It is unpleasant eating there yet it’s the only place for breakfast Fireworks right above resorts for weddings is a thing here. On two seperate nights our baby was rudely woken up to fireworks Smoking is acceptable by the pool here. That was a shock as we aren’t comfortable relaxing in second hand smoke, especially with children and babies, yet some smokers don’t care at all even if you request respectful distancing Chasing down a high chair always seems difficult our baby normally sleeps through the night and is well travelled. Here we were woken up every 2-3 hours by outside noises (staff or neighbours)

We’ve stayed in 3 other 5 star resorts in Bali previously which were impressive and faultless, so we had high expectations, however this stay was a disappointment. If you’re wanting a relaxing holiday there are many other beautiful places in Bali to choose from.

All staff are incredibly friendly and pleasant, so it is painful to write this review, however management really need to review the operations here. It’s disappointing that anyone in the management team thinks this is acceptable. Management has dropped the ball here. I’d never stay in a Six Senses resort again after our...