Bali Hotels FAQ's

Unless otherwise stated, all rates are quoted on a per room basis with two persons occupying the room. That said, single occupancy rates will not allow you to change the occupancy to more than one person. 
 

Hotels in Indonesia are rated along guidelines established by the Government. By and large there are 3 categories: Star, Melati and Losmen. Within each of these categories there are various levels. The Star Category has levels 1-5 with 5 being best. Melati Category has 3 levels 1-3 with 3 being best. Losmen are not rated.

Briefly:
Star rated hotels are fairly easy to distinguish between - the more stars the more services and facilities you can expect. A one star hotel will not have international direct dial telephones in the room or 24 hour room service - a 5 star hotel will.

Melati hotels are more difficult to define. Some Melati hotels especially the level 3 (many now being marketed as boutique hotels) can sometimes be 'nicer' than a 3 star hotel. Some owners of  melati rated hotels prefer not be star rated for personal reasons. Other melati hotels just don't have the facilities to be rated in the star category. Therefore the old saying "you get what you pay for" really applies here. 

However to give an idea in general, Melati l hotels often do not have air-conditioned bedrooms and no hotel facilities to speak of. Melati 2 may or may not have air conditioned rooms and may have a few facilities such as a restaurant but lack services such as room service - direct dial telephones and so on, and Melati 3, usually have air-conditioned rooms, restaurant and sometimes room service but may or not have a swimming pool or internet access. Again it depends on the room rate. paradise-bali.com has simplified the ratings and only uses star ratings. 
 

We do our best to reply to all legitimate e-mail inquiries within a few hours. However, if you have not received a reply it is more than likely due to one of the following causes : 

- Incorrect email address: More often than not, the email address that was provided to us was not correct. Please check that your email address is correct and resend.
 
- Incorrect date: We sort email by date and if the date on your email server or computer is wrong we may not be aware that you have sent us an e-mail.
 
- No name: We do not answer anonymous email (inquiries wherein the sender does not identify themselves by name).
 
- Spam filters: Some email servers / systems i.e. AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo have filters to protect users from receiving unsolicited email. Please make sure that you set your filter to allow you to receive email from '[email protected]'. In the meantime please check your spam mailbox. 
 

Due to numerous requests, we are now in the progress of upgrading our system to display the rate in multiple currencies. Still, in the meantime many Bali hotels, for any number of reasons, quote their room rates in US Dollars. 

Nonetheless the hotel will, by law, settle your bill in Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) at the prevailing exchange rate on the day of check-out. Most hotel's use an internal exchange rate (which may include commissions or service fees and thus differ from the 'market' exchange rate posted by Bank Indonesia or a nearby money changer). Whilst usually the exchange rate is fair sometimes it is out of date, especially in smaller hotels. If you believe the hotel's exchange rate is too unfavourable, one option is to go to the nearest ATM machine and withdraw funds using the bank's ATM foreign exchange rate.

As well be advised that many hotels (especially smaller properties) in Bali add a surcharge of 3-5% if you pay with a credit card. Better to ask the hotel in advance if any surcharge will be added. If so, again, one option is go to the nearest ATM machine and withdraw funds using the bank's ATM foreign exchange rate and pay cash.
 

Since starting paradise-bali.com in 1997, we have made countless site inspections at hotels all throughout Bali and have received a fair amount feedback from our customers. That any combined with customer reviews from Booking.com we do not list hotels we ourselves would not stay at or received a substantially poor rating from a multitude of recent guests. We feel confident in pointing out which hotels provide the most value for money in any given price range. 

We, like you, work hard for our money and will not recommend a hotel that has demonstrated an effort to offer superior value for money in terms of facilities, customer service, friendliness and cleanliness. 
 

We value your privacy as much as we treasure ours. The information requested of you to process a booking is only that information which the hotel would normally obtain during check-in or registration. We, paradise-bali.com, do not use any of information you have given us for any other purposes nor do we sell, rent or give your information to any 3rd parties - we never have and we have no plans to do so.
For more information please click here.
 

Effective 01 February 2004 there are 3/three different types of visas available. 

Free Visa Upon Arrival (Free VOA). Citizens from the following countries (primarily ASEAN) will retain the Free Visa Upon Arrival status - Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Philippines, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, Morocco, Chile and Peru. The permitted length of stay is 30 (thirty) days.

Paid Visa Upon Arrival (Paid VOA). Citizens of the following 63 countries will be able to apply and pay for a visa upon arrival to Indonesia - Aljazair, Argentine, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazilia, Bulgary, Cambodia, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greek, Hungary, India, Iran, Ireland, Islandia, Italy, Japan, Lao PDR, Latvia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Nederland, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Panama, People's Republic of China, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Quwait, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Suriname, Swedia, Switzerland, Taiwan, The Netherlands, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States of America.

Other Paid Visa. Citizens of all other countries will be required to obtain a visa prior to their entering Indonesia. You will need to contact the nearest Indonesian Embassy for details, cost and an application. 

For more complete and up to date information it is best to visit or call the Indonesian Embassy nearest you.

Cost. Effective 26 January 2010 a thirty (30) day stay visa costs US$25.00 per person (adult and or child). This visa can be extended for another 30 days at the immigration office. Please note that the seven (7) day stay visa has been discontinued as of 26 January 2010. 

Entry & Departure must be through one of the following airports:

AIRPORTS: Polonia (Medan) - Hang Nadim (Batam) - Simpang Tiga (Pekan Baru) - Tabing (Padang) - Sukarno-Hatta (Jakarta) - Husein Sastranegara (Bandung) - Juanda (Surabaya) - Sepinggan (Balikpapan) - Supadio (Pontianak) - Ngurah Rai (Bali) - Selaparang (Mataram) - Sam Ratulangi (Manado) - Pattimura (Ambon) - Frans Kasiepo (Biak).

SEAPORTS: Belawan (Medan) - Batu Ampar (Batam) - Tanjung Pinang (Riau) - Tanjung Priok (Jakarta) - Tanjung Mas (Semarang) - Tanjung Perak (Surabaya) - Benoa and Padangbai (Bali) - Ambon (Maluku) and Bitung (Manado). 

BORDER POINT OF ENTRY : Entikong (West Kalimantan)

REQUIREMENTS for Visa Upon Arrival:
A passport valid for at least 6 (six) months beyond the intend length of stay. A return ticket, or outgoing flight ticket. Completed immigration card (supplied by air carrier) International Certificate of Yellow Fever Vaccination is required for those coming from / stopping over in an infected area must be presented at the Port of Entry.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS - to apply for a visa in your home country:
A passport valid for 6 (six) months beyond their intended length of stay. A return ticket, or outgoing flight ticket. 2 passport size photographs and proof of sufficient funds to support yourself while in Indonesia.

Be advised that visa requirements may change without notice and that paradise-bali.com makes no representation as to the accuracy of the above information. To get the most complete and up to date  information please visit the Indonesian Embassy nearest you. 
 

No, as long as you abide by the hotel's cancellation policy. Fyi, be advised that each hotel's policy is different and the hotel's policy will be written on the hotel's reservation page. That said, from time to time hotels will offer a very special rate conditional on immediate payment being charged to your credit card and that payment being non-refundable. Again refer to, and understand, the hotel's cancellation / refund policy on the reservation page prior to finalising your booking.  
 

Sorry, no. Inasmuch as we can not verify the authenticity of the requesting party we can not take responsibility to forward any commercial communications whatsoever. You will need to contact the travel agent, hotel or reservation service that made the reservation in the first instance.
 

There are a few newer hotels on Bali that promote themselves as villas to distinguish the type of accommodation they offer. Generally the room is in a bungalow building with a private pool, entrance and, sometimes, a kitchenette. The defining difference for paradise-bali.com is whether or not the property has a public restaurant. If the establishment's restaurant is open to the public then we consider the establishment a hotel and include it on paradise-bali.com. If, on the other hand, there is no restaurant or the restaurant is available only to registered guests, we consider the establishment a villa and do not list it on paradise-bali.com 
 

Herein is a random sampling of prices for common items in restaurants and hotels in the specified area. Nasi Goreng is fried rice, a common Indonesian dish served everywhere. Prices may vary and are not representative of any particular establishment. Last updated February 2010.