Conrad resort optimistic on prospects for the future
Conrad resort optimistic on prospects for the future
Jim Read, Contributor, Jakarta
How often do you have to remember to take your shades with you to breakfast?
At Conrad Bali Resort and Spa, opened in early March, sunglasses are de rigueur -- but not for looking cool. The dining room at Suku restaurant, where breakfast is served, has folding doors along one entire side that offer truly stunning, panoramic views of the Indian Ocean at Tanjung Benoa, near Nusa Dua.
The entire E-shaped complex is oriented due east (with the prongs of the "E" facing that direction) to ensure that every bedroom has an ocean view. This also means that fabulous views of the sunrise are just there for the asking.
Even daytime views, particularly from the third-floor, cathedral-like lobby lounge are spectacular, with a palm tree- fringed swimming pool in the foreground, the shimmering ocean in the middle distance and the dark, brooding presence of Nusa Penida island in the background all providing irresistible allure.
Although the lobby is vast, it does not feature the elaboration normally associated with a grand ecclesiastical edifice -- quite the opposite in fact, as the lobby and open area immediately beyond typify the pervasive, ethnic-minimalist design theme of the hotel.
Acres of cream-colored surfaces, dark wooden doors and window frames, and gray stone floors embellished with black marble are the essential features -- all sleek and streamlined, with a minimum of ornamentation.
Even the names of the resort's outlets reflect the simplicity implicit in the design approach. Suku (tribe) is paradoxically subtitled "primitive modern" but the epithet works. The open air, beachside restaurant, eight degrees south, offers "latitude with attitude", as the resort says, its name describing precisely its position south of the equator.
Breakfast in Suku is either a la carte or buffet, the latter attractively presented and well laid out, so that guests do not feel they have to elbow one another aside when serving themselves.
Over the recent Easter holiday weekend the resort was fully booked, yet the staff in Suku took busy breakfasts in their stride, as though they had been working together as a team for much longer than the mere three weeks since opening.
At lunch, award-winning outlet chef Walim (previously at The Park Lane, Jakarta) offers antipasti and seafood salads that provide both Mediterranean and Thai nuances, while panfried scallops with saffron julienne root vegetables are smooth and creamy, an ideal foil to the salads. (Appetizers and salads are about Rp 75,000, main courses Rp 150,000.)
Executive chef Gary Rosen's specialty is twice-cooked beef short ribs, the meat simmered for hours until the bone slips out, dipped quickly into hot oil, then served with a crumb topping, roasted garlic mashed potato and dijon horseradish sour cream.
This was not for the calorie-conscious but worth trying nonetheless, the richness and piquancy combining on the palate in much the same way as they do in well-prepared sushi with fiery wasabi.
A trio of creme brulees arrived engagingly as three tiny portions, so that even the most self-disciplined diner would not feel an ounce of guilt in partaking of dessert. The coffee, vanilla and pandan flavors worked well together, while providing a color combination complementary to the earth tones of the little pots in which they were served.
At present, 150 bedrooms are available at the resort, with the total expanding to 313 plus 20 villas by year-end. Room decor is very restful, the light blue-green of the walls echoing the ocean beyond and complemented by beige-colored wooden furniture. Two welcome features are in-room plunger coffee-making facilities and -- luxury of luxuries -- a menu that offers a choice of eight pillow types, from very firm to soft, to allow even the most exacting guest to slumber like a baby.
The resort aims to attract business guests, too, as well- equipped conference rooms are in preparation, the entire complex is enabled for broadband wireless Internet reception and every bedroom has dedicated data terminals for laptop computers. A local area network allows guests to connect their laptop directly to the business center, where they can print documents or send/receive faxes.
Eight degrees south provides an al fresco ambience complete with alang-alang bale (Balinese-style, thatched-roof gazebos). It is the ideal venue for romantic evening dining, as the waves of the adjacent ocean can clearly be heard in the background and cooling breezes waft in from the sea.
The mainstays here are pizzas, pasta, grills, seafood and Asian specialties, the rectangular pizzas cooked to perfection in a wood-fired oven and sold by the meter or fraction thereof.
Conrad is doing its bit to assist in the post-bomb recovery of Bali. The resort is the largest five-star hotel investment on the island since Ritz Carlton in 1996. A sobering indication of Bali's current unemployment problem was evident when, without any formal advertising whatsoever, 17,500 people applied to work at the resort. Of those, 1,500 were interviewed and 360 ultimately appointed.
A strong will to succeed is clearly discernible among the staff, and a can-do attitude runs through the entire establishment, from genial general manager Michael Burchett (who also opened Four Seasons Resort, Jimbaran, and The Regent, Jakarta) and his senior management team, right down to the most junior employee.
Staff are empowered to work on their own initiative and take decisions, while almost all internal, paper-based staff communications have been eliminated: The staff must use a dedicated, in-house cyber cafe to receive internal communications by e-mail, thereby improving their computer and Internet-user skills at the same time.
As the luxury arm of the Hilton family the Conrad brand is new to Indonesia. The resort is certainly doing its best to encourage all comers to try it out via a very attractive soft opening offer of US$78++ per night (room only), valid until the end of June.
It is very much the "new kid on the block" in Bali, but early indications are that the Conrad is destined ultimately to become an integral part of the established tourist infrastructure.
In keeping with Burchett's inwardly calm and assured but outwardly self-effacing style, he summed up current progress at the resort as, "we're not doing too badly so far!"
Conrad Bali Resort and Spa
Jl. Pratama 168
Tanjung Benoa
Bali 80363
Tel. (0361) 778788, fax. (0361) 773888
e-mail: info@ConradBali.com
website: www.ConradHotels.com