The Great Bali Escape: Masa Inn, Kuta

I planned for our Bali trip a week before departure. That’s how the best decisions are made 😉

After scouring the Internet for hotel recommendations, I finally settled on Masa Inn. The reviews were mostly positive and rates seemed reasonable.

Due to room non-availability, we got a twin room (Rp300K, approx RM103) for the first 2 nights, and a triple room (Rp330K, approx RM113) for the next 2 nights. Note that these are reasonable prices (to me) in the year 2009.

Twin room and triple room at the Masa Inn

Entrance to the hotel and the reception area seemed shady. Doesn’t give much hope to what the rest of the place looks like, especially when you just passed by La Walon with their nice-looking exterior. Looks, as they say, can be deceiving. After going through the reception area and you’d be WTF-ed (in a pleasant way).

There are two courtyards, each with their own pool. For the first 2 nights, we stayed at the inner courtyard facing a bigger swimming pool located in the middle ground. A bit like chalets facing the pool. I didn’t take photos of this, go look up photos on Trip Advisor if you want. I woke up the second morning, took a peek out the window and saw this half-naked dude sitting at the pool deck chair reading a book and looking every bit like a Greek Adonis. Didn’t take photos but FA can vouch for it. What a great way to start my day, heh.

Well-maintained garden leading to the second courtyard

For the last 2 nights, we switched to the triple room located at the first courtyard, quite near to the reception area. I really recommend that you spend the extra Rp30,000 because the additional space is worth it. It’s also cheaper if you opt for rooms on the 2nd or 3rd floors, but I’m glad we weren’t given those, don’t think we could have tahan-ed.

The showers work though the taps are a bit worn, the bathroom floor is a tad slippery, no problems with the toilet flush. Water tastes salty for some reasons (e.g. Kuta being next to the sea 😛 ). The hotel provides towels but not shampoo, soap etc.

Staff was friendly, courteous, helpful and nice. My only complain was that it could get a tad noisy because everything is made of wood. So if you are a light sleeper and your neighbour opens his door, be prepared to wake up with a slight jolt. Or if some guests gather at the balcony and chit-chat. Shouldn’t be much of a problem though; hopefully you’d be too tired to give a damn when you return to your room.

Left: 1st pool facing garden; Right: 1st pool facing wall next to reception

Exit Masa Inn, turn left, walk a bit and you’ll reach Jalan Pantai Kuta which is next to the beach, where you’ll find Hard Rock Hotel + Cafe, Mercure Hotel and McDonalds. Also touters of all kinds. Exit Masa Inn, turn left, walk a bit more and you’ll reach Legian Street — turn left and you’ll be heading off to the pubs and clubs. There are a few nice restaurants and pubs along Poppies Lane 1, not far from the hotel. Also very nearby: 24-hour convenience shops, Internet cafes, massage places, stalls selling clothes and souvenirs etc. You could choose not to leave Poppies Lane 1 if you wished to, heh.

By the way you wouldn’t hear any of this commotion on the streets if your room’s located in the second courtyard. First courtyard, maybe a little but not enough to bitch about.

Ohai REAL bacon, om nom nom nom nom

The hotel rates include breakfast, available from 8 till 11 a.m. It’s a small menu with 5 options. Of course I took the bacon ones. Oh by the way they sell a big bottle of Bintang for Rp18,000 (RM6.20). Cheapest price in Kuta (that I saw anyway).

I’d definitely stay at the Masa Inn again. Nice, beautiful, unexpected, warm feel about it, good price, lovely to return to after a long and exhausting day exploring Bali. Walk-in prices are the same as their Internet rates. I felt very good about it after our tour guide told me later that it was a cheap price, and he only saw the first courtyard. I’d recommend that you secure your booking early (at least a week or two, more if during peak season) if you want to stay there. We saw lots of people walking in trying to get rooms only to be disappointed.

Darn it, now I REALLY feel like going back 🙁

*Complete Flickr set of Bali, May 2009 here, including photos not published on blog.