My partner and I stayed at the Grand Hyatt in May '07. We found the hotel very quiet at this time (probably only 50% full), we therefore had the beach and pool virtually all to ourselves.

Nightlife in the hotel was also very quiet (a little bit too quiet really), one night we went to the Salsa Bar for a few drinks before our evening meal and we were the only people there! Lovely for romance, but a little lacking in atmosphere. Over the road however is the Bali Collection (numerous bars, restaurants and shops) so we found ourselves there most evenings. Prices are extremely reasonable, a three course meal for two with drinks averaged around £15. Prices are also very similar in the hotel restaurants.

The beach is not one of the best beaches we've been to but it was still nice. Somedays the sea would be extremely calm and shallow (you could walk out around half a mile and the water would only be round the top of your thighs), other days it could be quite rough and choppy. When the tide goes out it does leave alot of seaweed (I've attached a photograph). Don't let this put you off though, as you can just sit around the pool during this time.

If you're planning a Grand Club Room, check that the rennovations are complete, as they weren't in May. Instead of the Grand Club exclusivities we were expecting, we were given a room in the West Village (opposite end to usual Grand Club area), use of the Fitness Pool instead of the Grand Club Pool and use of the Watercourt Restaurant instead of the Grand Club Lounge.

The pools and grounds are stunning. There's a large free-form swimming pool, a river pool which inter-weaves throughout the garden, which also has a 50m waterslide, a fitness pool and a Balinese feature pool (this was extremely quiet), my partner and I were the only ones who seemed to use this and always had it all to ourselves. There's also numerous jacuzzi's and cold plunge pools.

Spa treatments are beautiful and well worth the price. You are taken into your own private spa villa and truly pampered.

Staff and locals are all extremely friendly and will go out of their way to help you.

We did also have a look around the Sheraton Laguna Beach Resort nearby and even though we liked the Grand Hyatt, would probably recommend and stay at the Sheraton if we had our chance again. It just seemed to have the edge on the Hyatt. Either hotel however would be a fantastic choice for your stay in Nusa Dua.

After arriving late from Singapore, we were driven to our hotel (took about 40 mins.). Beware of the scam whereby you arrive all hot and tired and just want to get out of there, when you're approached by what look like airport workers. They work in pairs, and claim that they are there to assist you with your baggage. They tried to charge me IRP 50,000 for our suitcases all of the 100 metres to the taxi stand outside the terminal. In all guide books it states that IRP 5000 is more than adequate. I'm by no means stingy, but it was the principle of the matter.

Arriving at Grand Hyatt in the dark was a little confusing. The hotel grounds are huge, and for the first time visitor can be extremely confusing, especially the lack of signposting from the main area of the hotel to the Club area. We were efficiently shown to the Club concierge area where we were checked in at a leisurely pace, seated in their restaurant/bar area. Cold refreshing towels and a welcome drink were a nice touch.

Staff was courteous and helpful - their knowledge of english was limited but a warm smile and greeting were never far away. They were genuinely concerned that we enjoyed our stay to the fullest. The Club Concierge was open walled, right next to two large pools filled with carp. Great spread and good choice of food and drink, both for breakfast and cocktails. Complimentary snacks, soft drinks all day, as well as free cocktails every evening from 5-7 pm were all part of the Club package.

Rooms were spacious and well appointed, with balcony and well laid out bathroom. Bathroom had of course bath and shower, with separate toilet and even a walk in wardrobe! Huge chaise longue/daybed in room was a bonus. Views from our room were stunning. Although the hotel grounds were more like a miniature village, everything was fairly compact and a 5-minute walk away.

Good amenities, laundry service was very efficient, offering 10% discount to Gold Passport membership. The spa was touted heavily in the general reception area, never used its facilities, as I thought USD 75 per person for a massage was rather steep. We found a nearby hotel offering considerably cheaper alternatives - the Benoa Ramada, a 10-15 min. taxi ride away. We were treated to an hours massage there, with a body scrub and relaxing bath afterwards and all for USD 50 for two persons! Pool was amazing - spread out across the entire resort, with at least three different kinds of pool, suiting all tastes. The pool bar and restaurant was of a consistently high standard, but with prices well above the Bali average, what you would expect from a hotel of this calibre.

My only gripes were that internet access was not included in the room rate - when paying that much extra for a Club room, this should be offered free of charge. There appeared to be quite a bit of renovation work going on at the time of our stay, so the Club Concierge with pool was closed and relocated. Fortunately the work wasn't so disturbing to the hotel surroundings.
On our last day by the pool however, it looked as if the resort managment had let in a local school to enjoy the pool facilities, with loads of kids and their minders thronging around the pool. I've nothing against children, but I don't think it was appropriate that full paying guests should feel that they were unable to use the pool and its facilities.

Staying at an american hotel made me a little nervous, especially after the earlier bomb blasts on the island. However entering and leaving Nusa Dua involved thorough security checks. The security guard with his scanner at the hotel lobby entrance was completely unneccessary as he seldom made people walk through the scanning gate with their bags and the like.

Finally, two tips. Five minutes walk from the hotel, there's a walled compound called Bali Collection, containing loads of shops, with famous names (Sogo, Ralph Lauren, Versace etc.)There are also numerous restaurants, among stothers the Coco Bistro. Charming, extremely friendly staff treated us like royalty every time we ate there and the food and drink were excellent and relatively cheap.

Just opposite the complex, we booked a taxi driver for the day. He took us all around the southern part of Bali, to Ubud, Denpasar, Seminyak, Kuta, Jimbaran for USD 60/GBP 30. We were out driving with him for the best part of seven hours, and he would wait for us for an hour or so when we went to see certain attractions. Money well spent.

A most relaxing stay and I will definitely stay here again. We've always had Phuket, Thailand as our favourite destination, but it looks as if Phuket now has some serious competition!

my husband and i stayed with out seven year old and one year old at this hotel for eight nights.we loved our fabulous ,modern room with its huge bathroom which had ample space to store all our luggage and our huge pram without making the bathroom look untidy.our kids loved the slide at the pool and this kept them entertained for the day.the breakfast was of a high standard wih a great variety even for fussy little ones.the only problem for us was that food at the hotel was very expensive and the restuarants which was close by were also very expensive.this hotel is a taxi ride to just about everywhere so depending on the type of person you are you might enjoy the remoteness or become bored. having been to phuket and a few of the malaysian islands i found bali expensive but would recommend this hotel for tranquility, beauty ,design and high standard of cleanliness

We spent 3 nights at Grand Hyatt in Nusa Dua and we loved it!
The room is clean, nice and absolute great vacation place even with the kids.
Breakfast (included) is excelent! many choices. Great service!
The swimming pools lay out are very nice, I think it is 7 pools and all connected. Private beach and great place to relax, very quite!I
Great lobby and atmosphere. everything is excelent here.
Highly recomended.