Hotel Alila Seminyak - review

First Impression - The arrival and the 1st Hello:

No Concierge on arrival at mid-day. No one to help with unloading of luggage. No one to say hello or make you feel welcome on the property.

Rating 0/10

The Check-in - setting the experience:

Reception staff not welcoming and not creating a welcoming feeling. Immediately called Duty Manager to put right the experience.

Rating 0/10

The Room, Bathroom & Amenities:

Suite overlooking the beach very nice, but the beach is dark sand and it is a public beach so really it has no privacy and overpriced. There are better options cheaper and more expensive than this in Bali.

Other standard rooms you need to walk to the back of the hotel a long walk and in a different building. Creates a feeling of your not paying enough to be in the main building. Rooms are small overlooking a small second pool. Easy to hear all conversations from the pool.

Rating 5/10

Service Standards:

Most staff are local or from Indonesia and have no passion or interest in giving a 5 star service because they don't really know what this level is as they don't have training or this is the first 5 star they worked in. They give the service they feel you should have by your clothes or look you have or by the tip you give. Some foreign staff who have the service level from there country. So basically there is no standard level of service from all staff.

Staff are friendly but not genuine. It's just a process for them and you know they have no real interest as its just a job and a salary.

Rating 5/10

Dining & Food:

Local beer bucket offer - beers not served at a cold temperature even if you are first to order at lunch time. That means staff don't care about restocking fridges to provide a high level of service.

Food doesn't come hot or correct dishes arrive. No cutlery for children. Basically it's just a kitchen serving food and the staff bringing it to a table. No style for service level.

Staff don't have the understanding or training to provide a 5 star level at the pool.

Rating 5/10

Hotel Decor & Design:

Design of hotel very open and clean. Hotel corridors open and cool. Parts of hotel starting to look tired after zero covid renovation. Wooden floors around the pool need to be replaced.

Rating 5/10

Location, Beach, City Centre:

For the busy sunset beach of Bali it's perfect. It's in the middle of Seminyak.

Rating 10/10

Hotel Atmosphere:

Atmosphere is fresh and it's a modern hotel for young successful people who like to spend money on staying in a nice hotel in the middle of Seminyak. A great location for weddings. The beach location is nice but it's not a quiet hotel.

Rating 8/10

Hotel Service Correction Style:

Duty Manager doesn't come immediately - they try to wait until you disappear or just forget. You will wait unto 30 to 45 minutes before someone comes and even then you have to chase. They are not proactive in using the issue as an opportunity to Wow the guest.

It's possible to get a refund or they will cancel the bill, but you have to let them know that you stay many nights in hotels and you really understand what service is and what they should be doing to get 5 stars.

Rating 5/10

General Manager & Duty Manager Style:

Not available either to meet or phone or in anyway to make contact with you. GM not in resort excuse. You will only get the Duty Manager or Operations Director who isn't really interested to know that what you say is true about the staff service level.

Rating 0/10

Total Rating 43/100 - 3 Star Hotel

This is no way a 5 star hotel when you take everything into account. It's a Hyatt franchise property and 5 star prices. It gets traffic because of the advertising power of Hyatt so therefore the prices are inflated as people follow the brand like IHG and Accor.

In my opinion if they invested in training all staff to 5 star service levels which they don't and the GM was more proactive in being in public areas and there was a lot more proactive habit setting by the management it could be worth the money.

But it's very unlikely this will happen as a hotel culture once established is very difficult to change almost impossible. If you only stay one night you will like it. If you stay for a few days you will see what the reality is like.

5 Star Hotel: 80 to 100

4 Star Hotel: 60 to 80

3 Star Hotel: 40 to 60

A 5 star hotel is open 365 days a year and open 24 hours a day. There is no time when it is not a 5 star. So the expectation is anytime its 5 star time