Finding a Good Place
Other travelers are the best sources of information. The same person who tells you that a hotel, cottage, or home-stay in this book no longer exists will also be able to tell you where another good one is.

The local policies set the price of accommodations and are also charged with collecting the tax. With the intensity of competition, particularly among the budget class of accommodations, prices are very reasonable. But no matter what class place you’re staying in, bargain. Tell the manager or front desk clerk that the hotel is out of your budget (”Taripnya terlalu mahal untuk saya.”).

The manager might be amenable to giving you a discount “if you promise not to tell the other guests.”

If you intend to be in a particular area for awhile, the best is to just grab any halfway decent place for the night and spend an hour or so the next morning hunting for accommodations which better fit your tastes and budget. There’s a tremendous range in the quality and price of the rooms, in the variety of the services, furnishings, and amenities offered, and in locations. It’s incredible how different in atmosphere two hotels in the same price range can be, even hotels very close to each other like the Nelayan Village and Puri Buitan in Balina.

For a complete night’s sleep, don’t choose hotels near schools, bars, discos, or main streets. Also don’t stay in hotels where prostitutes or Indonesians stay. Ask what you’re going to get for breakfast; sometimes the breakfasts included in the price are really skimpy. It’s also important to determine if you’re going to be charged service and government tax, which can be as high as 21%! Make sure the place is clean, as your room may be frequented by other guests like cockroaches and rats.

The police are more likely to help you if you stay in a registered home-stay, hotel, or ‘losmen’. They have a reputation to protect. All ‘melati’ and ‘bintang’ class hotels are registered, but with unregistered hotels, sometimes your name and passport number will not be recorded. In the cheaper home-stays, always keep your valuables with the proprietor for safekeeping.

You can often tell the nationalities that frequent an accommodation by checking out its library to see what languages the books and magazines are written in. If you search around and find a hotel that suits you, take the room immediately, pay a day in advance, and get the key.

Seasons and Bookings
The low season is Jan.-June, when even Bali’s expensive hotels will give as much as 50% off. But during the high season (July, August, and December), accommodations are booked solid in all the main tourist areas and you’ll have to head for the hills to find a night’s lodging. During this time, hoteliers don’t need your business to survive, are not inclined to bargain, and charge 10-15% more. Lovina’s accommodations, for example, all increase by Rp 5000-10,000 during this time.

Make reservations ahead of time during such national religious holidays as ‘Lebaran’, the high tourist season and during Christmas and New Years. There’s a “shoulder season” (16 Sept.-9 Oct. and 16 Jan.-31 Jan.) when reservations are not as necessary but wise.

Don’t neglect to take full advantage of fax. Most moderately priced-and-up accommodations now have fax machines. It’s an easy matter to fax ahead and make all your bookings; you also eliminate any travel agent fees. If you’re in Java, Kuala Lumpur, Australia, or the U.S.A. you customarily receive a speedy reply from Bali within 48 hours.

Accommodations at Tourist Sites
Most travelers do not look upon actual tourist destinations as viable places to stay, but they can be. At night, after all the tourists have gone home, the tourist site is turned back over to the Balinese and it becomes a unique place to stay-a small, self-contained scene where you can really get to know the locals who run the shops and ‘warung’. Examples of these out-of-the-way sites which have accommodations are: Yeh Pulu, Tirtagangga, Pemuteran, the Amed area, Medewi, and to some extent Tanah Lot.

Don’t be afraid to follow a sign and venture down narrow back roads in search of places to stay. At the north end of Candidasa is a very elegant and comfortable hotel called Puri Bagus. It’s located at the end of a nondescript road that feels like it leads to nowhere. In Toyabungkah on the shores of Lake Batur you’ll find accommodations as low as Rp5000 s-some of the best deals on Bali-with breakfast, mountain view, and fewer hassles than tourist-trap Penelokan above the lake.

Hotels in Ubud, Denpasar, Bangli, and Klungkung are situated in the palaces (puri) of Brahmin families, with individual bale converted to Western tastes with full bathrooms, Western toilets, and front verandas. Charging between US$35 and US$60, these traditional-style hotels have great personality and charm. A tip: Don’t wait until too late in the day to arrive at popular places like Ahmed, Tulamben, and Padangbai as most of the best accommodations-no matter what the class-fill up by noontime. Get there as early as you can.

Also, don’t settle for low standards in high-priced accommodations. For example, the Bali Intan of Kuta is expensive, and everything’s got a surcharge-use of the telephones, room service, and taxes on drinks and meals. House movies never come on when they say they’re going to come on.

The rate of US$120 per night is simply not worth it. You would never pay this for a hotel back at home-for just a plain room, nothing special. Much better values are the so-called “Beach Inns,” “Home-stays,” “Cottages,” and “Bungalows” that are everywhere and five to 10 times cheaper.