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