Budget hotel Budhi Beach Inn, Kuta Bali
Budhi beach inn, when I tried on booking.com appeared like a great place to stay and super cheap as well. (About 663000 IDR for 4 nights- approx. INR 3500 or about Rs 850 per night). It was at Kuta, which seemed closer to airport and centrally located. It had free cancellation also, so I booked without any hesitation.
When I arrived at about 8.30 PM, I was shown to my room, which was in ground floor and for a moment I was disappointed. Ceilings had their paint falling off, bathroom badly needed some refurbishment. I was little disappointed by was too late in the night to argue about it- I preferred to sleep off.
The AC was old but worked (was releasing cool air). Wasn't responding to any temperature control attempts. Room was very spacious.
Day 01, as I walked out, the campus looked nice with trees, pool and a jackfruit tree with live fruits. As I walked towards Scoopy, I met Vladimir, the pet dog of Budhi Beach in. He was a friendly dog and I had good time cuddling him.
Once back later in the night, I contemplated if I need to make an issue out of bad room and ask for a change, but then, since I was paying a lower amount and would be using the room only to sleep at night, I decided that trying to have a conversation with the in charge is not worth it. I had already spread my stuff around the room and moving elsewhere would take more time n effort. Adjacent rooms in ground floor had similar issue with ceiling flakes coming off etc. Only first floor rooms had better interiors. I spent very little time in the campus- most of the days I would leave as early as 6 AM on my scooter, drive to far away destinations, return to hotel only late in the evening. Though bathroom was not well equipped it had minimum critical items and 24x7 instant hot water was very useful. (in some budget hotels hot water is supplied only during limited time or on demand)
Good things about Bodhi Beach Inn
My recommendation: If the owners of the property can renovate the rooms a bit then they will be able to command a more premium charge. Right now, I would recommend this hotel only if you are extremely budget sensitive, else try other hotels in the area. Budhi beach inn is not the cheapest hotel in town- I have seen some displays offering rooms for IDR 100000 per night (about Rs 600)- but may be those rooms will be smaller or may have other problems/hidden charges. Also from what I experienced, it will be more convenient if one splits their Bali stay into 2 parts- spend half the time in Ubud, explore all attractions in Northern Bali and spend rest of your time down south, either in Nusa Dua/Uluwatunu area to explore the beaches and temples in Southern part.
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Below: Jack-fruit trees in the campus and right- a poorly maintained bathroom
When I arrived at about 8.30 PM, I was shown to my room, which was in ground floor and for a moment I was disappointed. Ceilings had their paint falling off, bathroom badly needed some refurbishment. I was little disappointed by was too late in the night to argue about it- I preferred to sleep off.
Once back later in the night, I contemplated if I need to make an issue out of bad room and ask for a change, but then, since I was paying a lower amount and would be using the room only to sleep at night, I decided that trying to have a conversation with the in charge is not worth it. I had already spread my stuff around the room and moving elsewhere would take more time n effort. Adjacent rooms in ground floor had similar issue with ceiling flakes coming off etc. Only first floor rooms had better interiors. I spent very little time in the campus- most of the days I would leave as early as 6 AM on my scooter, drive to far away destinations, return to hotel only late in the evening. Though bathroom was not well equipped it had minimum critical items and 24x7 instant hot water was very useful. (in some budget hotels hot water is supplied only during limited time or on demand)
Good things about Bodhi Beach Inn
- 24x7 hot water
- Very spacious rooms
- Nice campus with pets, pool, jack-fruit trees etc
- Free n safe parking
- Didn’t ask for any upfront payment upon arrival- check in process was smooth.
- Centrally located- closer to airport n beach
- Many Indian restaurants within 1-1.5 km radius
- No WiFi in hotel (which is usually standard in most hotels)- this was clearly mentioned, so no complaints as such- just FYI
- No Fan, an old AC which works but can’t be controlled.
- No drinking water or toilet items in rooms
- Late check out denied: As a booking.com genius customer, I am supposed to get 2 hours extra time for checkout. But the confirmation mail didn’t say check out: 2 PM, it said Check out: 12 Noon and below in small letters it was written “Priority late checkout for genius”. But the staff in charge couldn’t understand this and insisted that I check out at 12 Noon as per the confirmation printout or pay extra.
My recommendation: If the owners of the property can renovate the rooms a bit then they will be able to command a more premium charge. Right now, I would recommend this hotel only if you are extremely budget sensitive, else try other hotels in the area. Budhi beach inn is not the cheapest hotel in town- I have seen some displays offering rooms for IDR 100000 per night (about Rs 600)- but may be those rooms will be smaller or may have other problems/hidden charges. Also from what I experienced, it will be more convenient if one splits their Bali stay into 2 parts- spend half the time in Ubud, explore all attractions in Northern Bali and spend rest of your time down south, either in Nusa Dua/Uluwatunu area to explore the beaches and temples in Southern part.
Above: A speaking bird- Java Hill Mynah.. Says Good morning!
Below: Vladimir, the pet dog
Looks like a decent place but needs some maintenance work!
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