Bali to welcome visitors for festive season

Bali to welcome visitors for festive season

By I Wayan Juniarta

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): December is a month of celebration and
Bali will likely become the most popular holiday destination for
domestic as well as foreign visitors.

To anticipate the tourist boom, Bali's tourism industry is
currently making final preparations.

Director of Communications for Sheraton properties Lisa Halim
explained that traditionally, the last two weeks of December are
the peak season for Bali's tourism industry because of the
arrival of the Christmas and New Year holidays.

"This year, it will be busier than usual because the Idul
Fitri Muslim holidays also fall in December," added Lisa.

The three-star Legian, for instance, has been very serious in
preparing for its year-end holiday packages. As many as 20 out of
its 70 rooms are being renovated and expected to be completed by
the middle of December.

"The renovation project is part of our preparations to ensure
that our guests will have the best facilities during year-end
holidays," The Legian's sales executive Ratna Amatsarie said.

To celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve, The Legian has
prepared a number of attractive programs.

For only US$100, guests can experience a memorable classical
Christmas eve celebration with sumptuous meals. To create a
Christmas atmosphere, Untal-untal Orphanage choir will entertain
guests with a number of classical repertoire.

"The guests can also enjoy a wide selection of high-quality
cigars, including Havana's, at our lobby lounge, or sip our newly
launched The Legian sparkling wine," Amatsarie said.

Furthermore, for the New Year's Eve celebration, The Legian
will present a musical performance. One of Bali's most talented
guitarists Belawan is slated to perform during the event. Some
500 meters of fabric will wrap everything to mark the special
occasion.

The five-star diamond Imperial Bali has arranged a unique
Christmas party. The hotel plans to present a number of
traditional Balinese dances to entertain its guests during the
Christmas celebration.

"We want to introduce our guests to the Balinese-style
Christmas celebration, with the famous Ramayana ballet and other
dances," The Imperial's Public Relations Manager Sukma Awantari
said.

To celebrate New Years's Eve, the Imperial will hold the
Gebyar Party in its Puri Tanjung Sari Ballroom. The performance
also includes live music, dances, an Indonesian traditional
costumes parade, and Balinese traditional music ensemble. Guests
will only have to pay $150 to attend the party, including welcome
drink and buffet dinner.

"About 100 out of the 125 available seats have already been
booked," Awantari said.

The Hard Rock Beach Hotel (HRBC) will have a special
Christmas celebration by hosting a charity event for 64 children
from the Bala Keselamatan (Salvation Army) orphanage. The
children will be invited to join the Christmas party on Dec. 23,
where Santa Claus will present Christmas gifts to each kid.

The Christmas carols sung by the in-house Hard Rock Choir will
surely make the celebration an unforgettable event for those
unfortunate children.

"I hope it will be a nice touch for them, and also for us to
be able to take time to express kindness in real action," HRBC
Marketing Communications Mercya Evers noted.

The next day, there will be plenty of delicious food, like
roast turkey, beef Wellington, not forgetting the Christmas
pudding, for the guests who join the HRBC Christmas Eve
celebration.

Almost every hotel in Bali will provide their guests with
their best food and beverages in the coming festivities.

"For Christmas celebrations we have prepared various dining
experiences to cater to our guests' variety tastes and
inclinations, from a five-course menu, or buffet dinner, to an
intimate candle-lit dinner," Lisa Halim said.

At the Sheraton Nusa Indah, Christmas celebrations will be
centered at the Bistro restaurant and Capsicum cafe with packages
ranging between $30 and $40 per person.

While at the Sheraton Lagoon the celebration will be held at
Cafe Lagoon, Mayangsari restaurant, and Queen's bar with prices
ranging between $45 to $60 per person.

To celebrate the New Year's Eve the Sheraton Nusa Indah has
prepared a special party, which is expected to attract some 1,000
guests. The party will be held at the biggest convention hall in
Bali -- the Nusa Indah Hall with the special theme "The Space
Odyssey".

"We will redecorate and refurbish the hall into some kind of
space ship with surrounding planets and galaxies. Guests are
expected to wear something futuristic," Lisa Halim told.

The Sheratons will also mark the end of the year by launching
a rupiah package for domestic guests. For only Rp 825,000 guests
can stay in a deluxe garden-view room, or he or she can bring the
whole family and pay just Rp 1,888,000 for a two-room (five beds)
family suite. This offer is valid from Dec. 23 through to Dec.
28.

"We are fully-booked from Dec. 28 until the first week of
January 2000," Lisa Halim said. All hotels in Bali may be full.
Therefore, if you want to spend the end of the year 2000 in Bali,
it would be better to book the flights and hotels now otherwise
you may miss all the unforgettable glittery celebrations.