Hotel Review: Renaissance Bali Uluwatu Resort & Spa

As a Titanium Elite member with Marriott Bonvoy, I have had my fair share of exceptional service, but the Renaissance Uluwatu is absolutely out of this world. I stayed at the hotel for 4 nights and I can hardly point out a singular fault that put a frown on my face.

As we got out of our airport transfer, we were immediately assisted by the bellboy who assisted us with our baggage. However did not follow us to the front desk to ensure we were attended to. We approached the reception and waited in line. There was no one at the Elite reception which was unusual. To my surprise, a trainee noticed us and we were shortly offered a scented cold towel together with a refreshing welcome drink.

We requested for the trainee to have someone check us in and a receptionist shortly came after but did not apologize for the wait.

We provided our passport and the booking was quickly retrieved. The stay date was verified along with the room type. The employee thanked me for being an elite member and promptly pulled out my reservation informing me that the hotel was expecting my arrival which made me feel appreciated. I also appreciated the fact that the receptionist made an attempt to connect with me by referring to me by name. The inclusions in the room rate were explained. The registration form was given and I was asked to confirm my address, email address and contact number before signing the document. The receptionist enquired on my departure timing and informed me that I was entitled to a late check out until 16h00 on the day of departure as part of my benefits. The receptionist also offered the programs “R Activities” that were available at the hotel for guests to take part in ranging from Yoga to Bingo (where I won a 30mins body scrub) as well as a VIP card to the beach club (I heard that only elite members get this which is a nice touch, since the beach club is part of the hotel and elite members had discounts at dining outlets). We were then escorted by the bellboy to our rooms as he explained the facilities along the way.

Although the check-in was not all that stellar, the rest of the stay completely made up for it.

For our stay, we stayed at the amazing 2 Story Loft and Jacuzzi Suite.

We were greeted with an amazing box of brownies, welcome drinks as well as some chocolate truffles set beside some ornaments. The room was also prepared with the exact amenities I requested for, a set of HDMI cables as well as the bath amenities set aside. This made me feel acknowledged and delighted that the requests were fulfilled as promised. The Jacuzzi was also constantly kept at a warm temperature. The aircon in the room switches on/off automatically depending on whether the doors to the Jacuzzi were opened.

Overall, the rooms were extremely spacious with 2 sets of shower rooms (one downstairs and one upstairs), a living, a bedroom and a walk in closet.

Room service at the Renaissance is also indubitably top notch. The maximum waiting time as we were always advised were 45minutes, however both times we ordered, the food came under 30 minutes and was absolutely scrumptious. I would highly recommend the Nasi Goreng from the menu. However, when we requested for a bucket of ice, a scoop did not come with the bucket and neither were any glasses or cups. This reflected some inconsistency in the service. Nonetheless, the food was always laid out in an appetizing and organized manner and the server, polite.

During breakfast, we approached the buffet area in the morning and were escorted to our seat by the pool. We were offered hot beverages however, chair assistance was not provided. The Marriott Bonvoy Elite menu was also not offered automatically neither was the reserved seating area (although I would assume it was because the restaurant was not full that we had to use reserve seating anyway). The buffet was well laid out over a few dedicated counters and it was attractively displayed. Unidentifiable food and beverage items were clearly labeled and the labels were clean and consistent in appearance. The item you have to try from the Elite menu is the Banana pancakes, which were cooked to perfection.

What I appreciated was the fact that the hostess recognized us on the second day and escorted us to our table without us presenting our room number (Although this was not consistently done across our stay depending on the staff). The food menu also differs daily, offering a wide range of food. Something I always appreciate especially during a longer stay period. Although our needs were not always anticipated, the warmth of the staff made up for it.

Special touches (This is what really impressed me)

We were contacted by Sintya and was told that she took charge of being our Navigator as we had required assistance earlier in the day. Sintya was extremely helpful and even took the initiative to drop us a text to apologize on her day off when she heard from a colleague that we were inconvenienced due to the lack of towels at the beach club. This made me feel extremely recognized and respected to have a dedicated navigator who takes responsibility with our reservation. The personal touch Sintya made in order to make up for the some of the inconveniences we experienced throughout our stay was out of her way and extremely commendable.

In addition, I was also extremely impressed by the service rendered by Fedi with regard to our breakfast box request. We had requested for a breakfast box the night before as we had a tour starting at 4am. Fedi at the front desk immediately assisted to coordinate with the various departments and eventually fulfilled our request of 2 fruit bowls with our favorite fruits delivered to us right before we boarded the tour bus.

Furthermore, the devil is in the detail and the renaissance ensured that we were well taken care of. As we had went to the beach and got our clothes wet, we were hanging them by the chair in the balcony. However, we came back the next day to see a clothing rack placed neatly by the side together with the clothes hung to dry.

I was also impressed by the fact that the gym was 24 hours and had a personal trainer stationed at the gym from around 6am to 8pm in the evenings. The gym was furnished with clean equipment, a refrigerator for cold towels and refreshments as well as water bottles beside each individual treadmill. The renaissance is out to take care of every aspect of the stay.

Overall, the stay was extremely pleasant, being the first renaissance that I have ever stepped foot in. Despite its slightly private location meaning that it will take you awhile to get to the city, I am extremely happy with the stay and will not hesitate to come back here again. This will definitely not be the last and is exactly the standard of what a property under the Marriott Hotel group should encompass.