Here is the 2nd part of our recent family holiday to Bali. Our first 3 nights were at the Holiday Inn Baruna and then we transferred to the Courtyard Bali Seminyak. I had been fortunate to win our 3 night stay at the Courtyard Marriott Seminyak through the Honeycombers Bali 12 days of Christmas competition. This included a deluxe pool view room, daily breakfast and two 1 hour massages at the spa. Prior to arriving in Bali I had inquired about upgrading to a 1 bedroom pool access suite. I wasn’t very keen on having the 4 of us sleep in one room, Mason is not the best sleeper so not the best option! This was available so decided to book this room instead. We had a good stay at the Courtyard Marriott Bali Seminyak, it was quite a busy hotel which I’m not always so keen on but the location was great with easy access to shops and the beach. You can find the details of the rest of our trips at Holiday Inn Baruna here, Mara River Safari Lodge here and Villa Kawan Sanur here. You can find me on Facebook and on Instagram.
Happy Reading 🙂

Saturday 3rd September

Our transfer from the Holiday Inn Baruna in Tuban took about 40 minutes, traffic is so bad in Seminyak! Check in was going smoothly until I thought I had lost my iPhone. I had already lost one on our first family Bali trip so I knew Jed wouldn’t be impressed if it happened again!! So after frantically calling the Holiday Inn driver who explained it wasn’t in the car I found it in the side pocket of my backpack!! Ahh the joys of travelling with kids and having a million and one things to think about 😉 We were shown to our 1 bedroom pool access suite and immediately my heart sank. The room was beautiful and in a great spot right next to the pool but Mason was able to escape with no problems at all!! The lock on the pool side door was just a turn knob with no high security chain and the main door to the corridor had a security latch but it was just above the door handle so he could easily reach it without a problem! I knew that the room was not going to provide a restful 3 nights so while the kids had a swim with Kadek I went back to reception to enquire about other options.

Pool view from 1 bedroom suite

Looking from lounge room to bedroom in 1 bedroom suite

Wardrobe in 1 bedroom suite

Bathroom in 1 bedroom suite, shower only no bath

They had a 2 bedroom suite available on the 5th floor that was available at an extra cost. They showed me the suite and it was perfect for our needs. Same door issues but the balcony had an extra high rail and was very secure if Mason happened to get out to it by himself. We worked out with the main door that we could secure it from the inside with a pair of metal ice tongs provided so the move was set! The 2 bedroom suite was huge with 2 full sized bedrooms both with an ensuite each including bath, shower, toilet and basins. There was also a large lounge room with dining table and fridge. Even though it took longer to get to being on the 5th floor right at the end, it was lovely and quiet with beautiful views from the windows.

Master bedroom 2 bedroom suite

Bath in master ensuite

Twin bedroom 2 bedroom suite

Twin room ensuite

Separate bath in twin room ensuite, not the easiest to get kids in and out of!!

2 bedroom suite lounge room

Dining area 2 bedroom suite

View from our room down to the kids pool

Overlooking the resort

Once we settled in Charlotte headed straight to the kids club for dinner and movie night. They finished up at 8pm and one of the lovely staff offered to walk Charlotte back up to our room as Kadek stayed in the room, gave Mason dinner and put him to bed. We had organised with friends to meet up at Saigon Street for a cocktail and then onto La Finca for dinner as I had won a 500,000rp voucher through a GU Guide Instagram competition. From the Marriott the best way to get to Jl Petitenget is to go the shortcut through Jl Sari Dewi. We had a great taxi driver who knew the way and we were there in 10 minutes! Great to have an adult night out and the cocktails at Saigon St were yum!! Taxi to La Finca but traffic along Batu Belig was awful as there was so much construction going on!! Anyway arrived at La Finca and enjoyed sangria, great food and of course churros at the end!

Cocktail at Saigon St

La Finca

Sangria

Jed’s burger

Pork Belly

My pork ribs

Churros with chocolate sauce

La Finca gardens

Jed and I enjoying a night out!

Sunday 4th September

Today was Father’s day for Jed but unfortunately he wasn’t feeling that great and spent most of the day in bed. He had been struggling for a few days with a cough, high temps and being very tired so he wasn’t up for much. I went with the kids to breakfast and left him to sleep it off. Breakfast at the Courtyard Seminyak is good except it gets really really busy. The first morning it was a bit hard dealing with both the kids by myself but they offered to make you a coffee as soon as you are seated! My favourite part was the smoked salmon bagels, yummo!!

Latte for breakfast

Egg station

Smoked salmon bagels

Breakfast

Straight to the kids club for a play and when Kadek arrived I left her with the kids while I went back for a nap. The 5am starts were starting to catch up with me!!

Ball fun at the kids club

Kids club movie area

Kids club

Kids club

View from kids club to pool

Kids toilet area

Kitchen area kids club

Change table and cots for the little ones

Charlotte having fun practising yoga at the kids club

Mason and Charlotte enjoying the kids club

Then it was time for my morning walk and explore of the local area. I found a laundry behind the Courtyard on Jl Drupadi called Warung Laundry 2. Great value with 2 big bags full costing $18aud and they had same day service with delivery back to our hotel room! I continued walking along Jl Drupadi and came across Wild 1 Deli so I stopped in for a berry smoothie. Really yummy and AC inside was great. I kept walking and found Kreol Kitchen so decided on a latte and corn fritters. They were very busy and the explained that there would be a wait with the fritters delicious when they arrived. Latte wasn’t the best, not sure if it was because they were short staffed? Turned right at La Sal and found a cute little place called The Cabin. Still in search of a great coffee they well and truly delivered! Strong just as I like it and only $3aud. Down the gang to Jl Dhyana Pura and back to the Courtyard.

Laundry prices

Warung Laundry 2

Jl Drupadi

Jl Drupadi looking up to Harris Resort

Wild 1 Deli

Delicious berry smoothie

Wild Menu

Jl Drupadi

Kreol Kitchen

Kreol Kitchen

Kreol Kitchen menu

Kreol Kitchen corn fritters

The Cabin

Great coffee at The Cabin

Inside at The Cabin

Gang joining up to Jl Dhyana Pura

Back to the hotel in time to go for our couples massage at the hotel spa. Nicely decorated spot and both of our massages were good. The only problem was the noise from the pool. Our appointment was at 1pm and the noise coming from the pool bar area was quite loud! definitely needed noise cancelling headphones or something as the background music did nothing to block it out at all!

View from spa reception

Hotel spa

Beautiful spa room, pool bar the other side of those windows!

Back to the room for Jed to rest and Charlotte and I went for a walk to Spa Bali on Jl Drupadi to get her hair braided. The staff were lovely and the poor lady braiding her hair was 37 weeks pregnant but did it with a smile on her face the whole way!! It took nearly 1.5hrs to do so I had a foot massage while I waited. Braiding was excellent value for $23aud and Charlotte was very happy but glad it was done! We walked back around to Wild 1 Deli for juices and I tried the eggs benedict with them making Charlotte a avocado sandwich. So yum, highly recommend this place and Charlotte loved the colouring books 🙂

Pre braiding and Charlotte’s favourite spot at the hotel 😉

Spa Bali Drupadi

Having fun!

Starting to get a bit sick of sitting down!!

And done!!!

Rocking the new braids in her Melatiku kaftan

Watermelon juice and colouring time at Wild 1 deli

Love spending time with this gorgeous girl 🙂

Eggs benedict

Back to the hotel and decided to head down to the beach for sunset. Buggy was waiting at the hotel reception and what a fun ride down! Love Seminyak beach at sunset and especially on a Sunday evening as there are so many locals enjoying it too 🙂 Bintang for $2aud and the kids had fun splashing around in the water. Mason loves to swim at the beach so it’s always a bit hard to keep him out!! Kadek did a fantastic job keeping up with him. Back to the hotel for room service and an early night.

Walking to reception with Kadek

Mason loved the buggy ride!

It was busy!!

Seminyak beach

Gorgeous sunset

Bintang selfie time 😉

Love my family 🙂

Soccer fun!

Our little Bali lover 🙂

Kadek and Mason having fun in the water

Selfie time with this cute little monkey 🙂

So much fun running around!!

Mason back to the water again! Such a water baby 🙂

Room service nasi goreng

Monday 5th September

So a 4am wake up from Mason was not that great!! Oh where oh where was a coffee when I needed one! Jed was feeling a bit better so joined us at breakfast where Charlotte discovered that they had ice cream for breakfast, only on holidays!! Kadek arrived at 9am to help out with Mason as Charlotte and I had a girls day out planned. Jed was happy to relax and rest at the hotel.

Sunrise from the toilet!!

Mason ready for the pool at 6am!!

Ice cream at breakfast!! Charlotte was very happy, only on holidays 😉

Our driver Made couldn’t make it to drive us around for the day but Rore did a great job! First stop was Pison Coffee, my favourite cafe in Jl Petitenget. Next up Coco and Ginger where Charlotte chose a playsuit and dress. Love their range, so beautifully and ethically made. Popped in to Triette shop and purchased a little purse, bracelet and a Melatiku kaftan. Quick stop at Watercress as it’s another favourite of mine and had the muesli, yummy! Next was the 40 minute drive to Canggu. We were headed to Maria Curau for a manicure/pedicure that I had won through GU Guide instagram competition. It was located off Jl Pantai Pererenan and even with taking the shortcut the traffic was crazy! We had a very relaxing hour having our nails done and loved that the salon was non-toxic and used organic, vegan friendly nail polishes.

Charlotte and I at Pison

Milkshake for Charlotte

Coffee for me!!

Coco and Ginger

Coco and Ginger

Charlotte happy with her buys!!

Triette

Fun fun shopping!!

Purchases from Triette

Delicious muesli at Watercress cafe

Taking the shortcut!

Maria Curau

The Ibu-Ibu project exhibited at Maria Curau. These gorgeous dolls are hand made by the mothers of the Bali Life Street kid centre. The project helps mums seeking refuge from begging on the streets by providing training and employment. At the same time their kids receive schooling and safety from the streets.

Chill out time

Choosing her nail colours

Loved it!

Gorgeous flowers

Lovely way to spend time together

Maria Curau

We were getting very hungry so back in the car to Old Man’s for lunch. First time we have made it here and the food was yummy and cheap as well!! A pad thai and nasi goreng cost $13aud and they were big servings. I was shocked by how much construction is going on in Canggu, I have a feeling that in a couple of years it’s going to have a completely different feel 🙁 Next to have a look at Umalas Retreat, villas in Umalas run by an Australian lady. They were a bit tricky to find and if you are after a villa in Umalas they looked lovely. Traffic back to hotel was horrendous taking us 40 minutes!

Old Man’s

Old Man’s

Nasi goreng and bintang time!

View to the beach

Umalas retreat IV

Umalas retreat IV bedroom

All shopped up!

Time for a family swim in the pool and send Kadek home. Met some lovely people at the kids pool but gosh it’s hard to get a sun lounger! I think the hotel has too many rooms for the amount of space around the pool so if you are after a relaxing time by the pool it’s not really the best option. Decided on sunset at Capil beach bar and caught the buggy again. Pretty much a massive fail as the kids wouldn’t really eat their food we ordered and Mason was cracking it as we wouldn’t let him on the sand as we knew he would be straight in the water! Managed a bintang while the sun set then walked back to the hotel to order the kids room service, ahh the joys of travelling with young kids!!

Ready for a swim!

Fun in the kids pool

Sunset from Capil beach bar

Sunset fun!

Charlotte with Balinese dancers at the hotel

Jed was happy to stay with the kids while I ventured out for a walk to have dinner. Was keen on Fat Gajah as I’d heard great things and wasn’t disappointed! The food and cocktail were so good, was such a shame Jed couldn’t join me! I chose the Meat and Poultry Fat Chef select which consisted of Pork Belly tempura, crispy precious duck, steamed fragrant leg of lamb dumplings and beef curried noodles. So good especially the noodles and finished up with the creme brulee!! Including a Pimmns gingerine it all came to $40aud, such a great meal and service, I was so full!!

Pimms Gingerine

Pork belly tempura and crispy precious duck

Beef curried noodles

Lamb dumpling

Creme brulee

Fat Gajah Menu

Tuesday 6th September

Today I managed to escape for an early morning coffee walk. My favourite time of day and I headed straight to the beach and walked towards Legian. Stopped in to check out the upstairs room at Hitana restaurant at the Niksoma. It can hold up to 60 people and has a great view over the beach. Next up past The Padma and along Jl Padma Utara, so quiet early in the morning! Had been told Mugshots did a great coffee and they were right! Back to the hotel for our last breakfast, swim and to pack our bags for our transfer to the Safari Park. I also had a chance to check out Breezes Resort across the road from the Courtyard. It looked fantastic and plenty of activities for the kids. Definitely an option for another trip.

Morning walks

Nearly at the beach

Legian beach

Path in front of Niksoma

Upstairs room at Hitana

View from Hitana

Jl Padma Utara

Mugshots

The Courtyard Marriott beach club close to La Plancha

Gorgeous colours

Ready for breakfast

Breezes resort

Pool at Breezes

Pool with sand area at Breezes

Kids club at Breezes

We had a great stay at the Courtyard Seminyak and I really enjoyed exploring the local area. Loved our 2 bedroom suite with all the room we had and was especially nice for Jed to have the space while he wasn’t feeling well. The kids club was great and the kids had fun splashing in the pool. Trying to get a sun lounge was an issue as it was very busy around the pool. I’m not sure if we would stay again as overall it felt too big for us, we prefer less people, larger garden areas and more space around the pool.
Feel free to email me if you have any questions at [email protected]

If you would like to book a stay at Courtyard Bali Seminyak check out prices here. This, as well as some other links, are affilliate links for you to find the best prices and if you use this link we will receive a small commission. The prices are still the same but will help us to keep providing lots of Bali information and tips.

Kate xx

Previous: Bali 2016 Holiday Inn Baruna

Next: Bali 2016 Mara River Safari Lodge