Taken from: http://daytripswashbuckler.wordpress.com/2012/08/12/aston-kuta-hotel-and-residence/

Awkwardly designed, half-hearted service, and left isolated. Those were perhaps my impressions from Aston Kuta. If it wasn’t because that I had to choose the place, then I’d be happy to pick somewhere better.

As a part of my trip, I had been designated to stay at this particular Aston that’s located way far in the southern part of Kuta. Though it boasts its proximity with airport but somehow what I had originally wanted would be a place nearby public attractions or restaurants. Besides, Bali’s traffic nowadays has grown infamously jammed so wherever I stay then I would automatically allocate a safe margin of time just to reach the airport or just simply booked a convenient time. A close proximity would be a small bonus in Bali.

We arrived after a ‘long’ trip that cost us around IDR 60,000 – IDR 70,000 taxi fare from Seminyak. The hotel’s facade was indeed awkward as the lobby appeared sideways because perhaps they didn’t manage to acquire the whole land in front of the establishment as some buildings still exist there and hinder the true view of the hotel from the street. Only if they properly secured the land then most definitely, Aston Kuta would look better.

The lobby was very open and windy owing to the awkward nature of the design. We did a direct check-in since the tour organizer was careless enough not to book online first so we had to chip in first before getting ourselves a fat reimbursements. Before heading here, I had noticed that the rate for a Superior room was around IDR 700,000 through the internet but since I did a direct check-in (considering the administration break for the tour organizer) the price for the room skyrocketed to around IDR 1,400,000!

Knowing that it’ll be reimbursed then we had no objection and head straight to the room immediately. It was a long walk through the business center first on the 3rd floor of the hotel just to get ourselves to the room corridor. All we found there was a dark alley and another long walk to our room. A door was installed to separate the rooms with outside corridor and barricaded by a magnetic card lock, but that time it appeared that it was no longer used. Therefore, the room corridor was exposed to public.

Our room was neat and clean but tastelessly designed. Apart from too many cabinets, too many empty spaces, and no carpets nor wooden flooring to make it feel warmer, the room doesn’t have any complimentary internet access (unlike Aston Braga, Bandung) and proper hot water. We later complained about this but all they can say was, ‘Give it a try for awhile and the water will be hot soon’. Hell no, it didn’t get any farther than that after an hour. After all the fatigue, we were forced to take a shower with lukewarm water and what a waste of a good bath tub!

Next morning when we thought that they have finally figured it out, the water was still not getting any hotter. It’s just a waste of breath to complain again as they can actually honestly told us last night that they’re having difficulty to solve that matter so soon. On other occasion, we also requested a proper laundry bag and instead they sent a shopping bag, saying that if we don’t intend to launder here then they cannot give us a laundry bag. What an insult to us as the patrons who notably want to receive good service after the hefty price that we had paid!

Later that night, we also went out to seek good attractions outside and realized that the hotel’s a bit far from the entertainment constellation. So renting a car or motorcycle is a must unless you have a guide to help you travel. Otherwise you’ll have to use taxi and doing it every time may prove costly and unnecessary. The nearest attraction would be the Discovery Mall and would require quite a walk just to get you there. Bicycles are for rent there but who would do that late at night?

So, why not just dine at the hotel? I was a bit skeptical with the dishes especially during our breakfast. After all the price we paid, we could have better options for our breakfast but instead for the cheese platters only, they only served cheddar cheese and a limited choice of cold cuts. That’s an easy benchmarking right?

While the hotel seemed quite famous with Japanese travelers, but it’s definitely my last visit there. Not only that the service was shabby, but overall the hotel was a total boredom for me. I’d be sure to recommend somewhere else more exciting, affordable, and honest.

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ASTON KUTA HOTEL & RESIDENCE

Jl. Wana Segara no. 2-5, Kuta – Bali, Indonesia

+62.361.758.699

http://www.aston-international.com/ourhotels_overview.php?id=MTU=
http://www.astonbalihotels.com/