I have tried to email the Ananta directly to the address on their website but keep getting a ‘mail undeliverable’ message, so I will put my review here.
For the past few years I have travelled to Bali twice a year, and I have stayed at the Ananta at least five times. I have also recommended the Ananta to many of my friends who have travelled to Bali. I have just returned to Australia after a six night stay, and I am writing to express my disappointment with my stay this time.
On check in, we were told to keep our room key away from our phones and any other credit cards, as putting them near these things could cause the room key to stop working. I have never encountered this as a problem at any other hotel and, despite following these instructions, my room key stopped working three times throughout my stay.
The lift on my side of the hotel was not working when I checked in, and it was out of order for the duration of my stay. This was extremely inconvenient. I understand that things do need maintenance, but I felt it should have been resolved, and it was not.
When we checked in we were told that the pool area and the fish pond were undergoing maintenance, we had not been informed of this at the time of booking or at all in advance of our stay. We did not find out until we had checked in. These works proved to be extremely disruptive and impacted significantly on the quality of our stay. Half of the area around the pool was closed off, which meant there was a shortage of lounge chairs. The noise from the work was constant, with hammering and banging going on all day every day of our stay. This made it unpleasant to sit around the pool, and we were not even able to rest and relax in our rooms during the day, as the sound resonated through the entire hotel. The fish pond was drained, which led to an unpleasant smell in the restaurant area.
I understand that maintenance has to be performed, but we paid significantly more for this stay than we have in the past ($120 a night, compared with previous stays, which have cost us between $70 and $80/night), and felt that the pool was almost unusable.
I noticed that the quality of the rooms was significantly lower than in previous stays; more than once I was provided with a bath mat with brown stains on it; the towels were threadbare and there was mould in the shower. The grout in the tiles in the bathroom area was also dirty and mouldy. I have attached photos for your information. Additionally, twice during my stay, the hot water was not working in my room and I was forced to have a cold shower. The air-conditioning in my room also stopped working and had to be repaired at one point during my stay. This is certainly not what I expect of a four star hotel.
One morning I noticed a room service tray left at the end of the corridor; there was a significant amount of food left on the tray. This tray sat in the corridor for more than 24 hours; eventually I told the concierge about this and it was removed, however, again, this is not what I expect of a four star hotel.
Overall I was extremely disappointed with my recent stay and feel that I can no longer recommend the Ananta as a great place to stay to my friends. As much as I have loved this hotel in the past, I now feel that I was significantly overcharged for my recent stay, given all of the above, and I could have enjoyed a more pleasant stay elsewhere for less.
Having said that the staff were, as always, welcoming and accommodating, and this complaint in no way reflects on the staff.
