A Comprehensive Review Of The Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay

TLDR: The Four Seasons Resort in Bali at Jimbaran Bay is a breath-taking resort overlooking the ocean. PROS: Meticulously maintained resort, exceptional staff and accommodations, recently renovated. CONS: Expensive, Jimbaran Bay has a trash problem, some may find that the restaurant options along the beach next to the resort are less than appealing and that the beach itself is not exclusive.

Having just completed a recent month-long trip to Southeast Asia, the Four Seasons Resort in Bali was our last stop. The booking was made using Amex Platinum’s Fine Hotels and Resorts Collection, available to Platinum and Centurion Card Holders, which included the following benefits: Breakfast for 2, early check in (if available) late check out (4PM), a room upgrade and a property amenity worth $100USD or greater (in this case it was 2- 60 minute massages.

Hotel Overview:

The all-villa resort is laid out right along Jimbaran Bay with many of the villas featuring beautiful ocean views. All of the villas feature some type of private pool with the size and view depending on the category of villa you book. We booked a garden villa for 4 nights, with the 4th night being complimentary as promotion being offered through American Express. Our luck with upgrading came through, where we received not 1, not 2, but a 4 category upgrade, being given an ocean front villa.

The Villa:

We happily accepted our quadruple upgrade and quickly settled into Villa 106, which had recently been renovated. Located in the first row of Villas, this Villa had a premium view of all of Jimbaran Bay. Directly beside our villa were steps down to the ocean, a beachfront restaurant at the hotel, Sundara, as well as the pool-side bar and cafe. The Villa had 3 rooms, the entrance which was a bedroom with a sitting area, the expansive bathroom which had a very large soaking tub, 2 vanities, and walk in shower, as well as a walk in closet area with luggage storage. The Villa also featured a private outdoor shower space, 2 sun-loungers next to the plunge pool, and a covered gazebo area with 2 more loungers.

Amenities: 24 hour room service, complimentary daily water, ILLY Espresso Bar, ETRO Milano Shampoo, Body Wash, Conditioner, Bar Soap, Buggy Service, In Villa Host. The Hotel also has each day filled with opportunities to take part in cooking classes, yoga on the beach, in-villa massage or yoga, cocktail classes, surfing, paddle-boarding and more, many of which were complimentary. 

Food and Beverage: We enjoyed on several occasions In Villa Dining as you simply could not beat the view and eating in the covered gazebo. Pricing was between $20-30 USD for most entrees and food arrived on time, hot, and was delicious. The Four Seasons has an app you can use for anything you would need during your stay and this is how we ordered all of our room service.

For dinner, we ate at Taman Wantilan - the FS Buffet which featured a variety of asian inspired dishes from fresh seafood, noodle bowls to Indian Cuisine, with many dishes being prepared upon ordering such as steak skewers, fresh seafood, and the noodle soup. The Restaurant overlooked Jimbaran Bay and was priced at roughly $58USD after tax and service charge. 

We also enjoyed evening cocktails at the Pool-Side Bar where happy hour was BOGO on all cocktails during 5-7PM. Live music was also played each night while we were staying here. The offerings of the pool-side bar were extensive with a wide variety of drinks to choose from.

Jimbaran Bay Beach: While the hotel and its grounds are strictly reserved for guests, the beach is not. Many locals and visitors staying at neighboring properties or even those enjoying lunch or dinner on the beach at the local restaurants that are beachfront have full access to the beach, including the space right in front of the resort. This leads to a somewhat crowded space. Moreover, Jimbaran Bay does have a trash problem and we saw everything from shoes and shirts to plastic bottles and combs that washed up along the shore. We asked the staff about the shore and the response was “we really can’t control what washes up on shore”.

During our particular stay, given the upgrade we received, we simply enjoyed the ocean and view from our villa and private plunge pool and were not bothered by the beach problem. However, if you book a category room that has no view or are given no upgrade upon checkin AND wish to sit on the loungers provided at the beach, you may find the trash to be a problem.

Overall Impressions: Easily one of the nicest hotels we have been to and the service provided made it that much better. There are many five star hotels in the world and plenty to choose from even in Bali, however, the service simply could not have been better. Everything was done spot on and every request we had was met with a smile, even when we asked to make changes such as changing one of the benefits from the Amex Fine hotels and resorts (the massage) to a different treatment. Booking through AMX FHR and receiving 1 night complimentary certainly made the stay MUCH more appealing.