Seminyak is where Bali meets the Western world. You will find gorgeous hotels, cool little boutiques, and eclectic roof-top bars with some of the best sunset views in all of Bali!
Where we stayed
We began our stay in Seminyak at none other than the Seminyak Beach Resort & Spa. It was a perfect upgrade from our most recent stay in the Villa in Jimbaran. (See the previous post to read about how that went). But as I mentioned before, Seminyak caters to Westerners and the first thing I noticed was pricing on just about everything was catered to us as well. From boutique pricing, spa services, food and accommodations, all the pricing in Seminyak was much higher than the other parts of Bali we had visited.
Seminyak Beach Resort and Spa
This is a beautiful beach front resort with every detail thought through. We had a beach front room where you could hear the sound of waves meeting the beach, we could walk out straight onto the grounds and enjoy a quiet cabana in the garden area with ocean views or go a few step further and grab a pool side lounge chair to enjoy the ocean breeze. Our stay included breakfast which had just about anything your heart desired from what seemed like a never ending buffet as well as made to order options direct from the kitchen. From the moment you arrive you the Seminyak Beach Resort earns every bit of their 5 stars.
The takeaways or advice we could give is that you should book this room using a local VPN. We initially booked using our IP address in the US and once we arrived we looked at local pricing and the price was more than 30% cheaper from some websites. That was a little disappointing but we still felt the stay was well worth the price.
The other small piece of advice is that if you staying for an extended stay to look for other options for laundry outside of any luxury hotel you may be staying at. We have been in Bali going on six weeks and had laundry done several places and most laundry services charge by weight and the most we had paid was around 200.000 IDR (equivalent to about $15 USD). When we arrived at the hotel we gave them two bags of laundry and didn’t ask about pricing thinking it would be more that the local services but was totally blindsided when we received the clothes back with over $100 charge for the laundry service!
Aloft Hotel Seminyak
We moved to the Aloft Hotel for our last 6 nights in Seminyak. This is a Marriott hotel and was 1/3 the price of Seminyak Beach Resort. While it wasn’t beachfront it did have amazing ocean views from the top floor where we enjoyed breakfast each morning and lounging by the pool. This hotel is has a very eclectic modern vibe and was perfect for our last week in Bali! Located on the northern end of Seminyak it was a bit further to get to the heart of Seminyak by foot but this didn’t hinder us from getting around.
Service at the Aloft was as great as any 5 star hotel. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would recommend !
Shopping in Seminyak
Here is where you will find all the designer shops and luxury boutiques, but with that you will also find designer shop pricing. So if shopping is your thing then Seminyak is your place. You will find local jewelry shops such as John Hardy Fine Jewelry, Aanoukis Swimwear, Lio Collection for home decor, and beautiful dress shops such as Erika Peña. .
Outside of luxury boutiques you will also find Seminyak Village and Square with what seems like blocks and blocks of sprawling streets to explore. I can tell you that every time I walked or rode down the same street I was able to find things I didn’t see before.
How to get around
We finally decided to jump on the scooter bandwagon. After weeks of using private drivers and using Grab for local car pickups (Grab is similar to Uber or Lyft in the US). We got brave enough to use Grab services for motor scooter pickups. A scooter ride can get you to your location in 5 minutes whereas the car pickup may take you 15 minutes. Both are super inexpensive but the scooter rides were just $1 USD in most cases.
SPA Services in Seminyak
The longer we are in Bali the more we have enjoyed the spa services offered. We have tried everything from street side spas, hotel spas, to luxury spa boutiques and they all have one thing in common. They are all FABULOUS! Now the only caveat is that some are more expensive than others but most all are relative to how luxurious the spa and services offered are. Our spa experiences ranged from $15 USD to at most $60 USD each. Below are some of our favorites!
Spring Spa – Our first visit to Spring Spa was in their newest location in Uluwatu (you can read about that in the previous post). So we had really high expectations for Spring Spa in Seminyak. While the service was great, the ambiance wasn’t as nice their newer location. There was a little more noise at this location so a little distracting at times but again, the services were top notch so no complaints there. The location may have something to do with it as it is located on the first floor of the Seminyak Village Mall. Still one of our favorite spas to recommend, especially when you are comparing services and cost. Pricing would be mid range when comparing to other services we tried.
Bodywork’s Spa is beautiful spa and was probably the most memorable spa experience we had while in Bali. For only about $140 USD we received 3 hours of pampering. We had couples massages, then body scrubs, then a yogurt and flower bath, one hour facials and ended with relaxing tea service.
Ayur Spa is located in the back of a nice resort down the streeet from where we were staying. The grounds were beautiful and the spa room was very relaxing. They also offer a room to shower and enjoy a relaxing tea service after your massage.
Cozy was another notable spa that we visited more than once and is a great mid-range spa in the area!
Where we ate
Your food options in Seminyak are vast and you can find pretty much any type of food you have a craving for. We found a few spots that reminded us of home as well as some notable places that gave us a taste of cuisines from around the globe. Some of the highlights of notable places we tried are below:
NOAA Social Dining is located in the heart of Seminyak and as soon as you walk in you can feel the contemporary vibe with the floor to ceiling windows. The menu has plenty of options but the highlight for us was the Asian and European cuisine offered. Great spot to stop by for just a cocktail and appetizers but if you are hungry we would recommend the Butter Chicken!
Los Jefes tequila bar and kitchen. You can take the girl out of Texas but can’t take the Texas out of the girl! Perfect place to get my tequila and taco fix! And even better, with every margarita purchased you get a free taco. I am not going to say how many margaritas we had but I will say we tried four of their amazing tacos. And if you like spicy margaritas then look no further than Los Jefes!
La Baracca was a restaurant that we visited when we were in the Jimbaran area and we didn’t try their pizza the first time around and we were looking forward to trying it at their other location in Seminyak. Well, we got the chance to try it and it was honestly one of the best pizza’s we have had in a long time! Perfect crust and the flavors were mouth watering!
Biku is a very eclectic Indonesian restaurant, tea lounge, home-wares and book store. It is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner but the three times we visited was not for any of those, each time we stopped by we enjoyed one of their deserts! We loved this spot as it has a coffee shop kind of feel and if you are lucky enough you can catch some live music as well. We recommend making reservations to ensure you have a table when you arrive.
Bambu is a perfect choice if you are looking for a fine dining in Seminyak! They specialize in traditional Indonesian cuisine but with a French twist. As you leave the busy bustling streets of Seminyak you cross over into an oasis where covered outdoor seating is surrounding by beautiful ponds. The architecture is highlighted by beautiful lighting and is absolutely stunning. Open only for dinner you want to make reservations.
The Forge is a Gastropub in Seminyak. We were first introduced to the Forge when we met friends one early Monday morning to watch the Super Bowl. And yes, this gastropub is open 24 hours a day and has a TV viewable from any seat in the house! We sat on the rooftop dining area and had a great time! my only complaint was that while we did get live stream footage of the Super Bowl, the US Super Bowl commercials did not stream in Indonesia. So I had to rely on social media and you tube to watch the highly anticipated commercials after the fact.
Bangkok Kitchen was a great surprise as we almost missed it. There is a sign for it near Seminyak Village but the restaurant itself is hidden down a short walkway off the main road. We were glad we took the time to search for it because it was outstanding! We picked a few different things off the menu to share which was perfect for a late lunch. We would definitely recommend!
Temu Coffee is a coffee house we ran across while we had lunch at Bangkok Kitchen earlier during our stay. We made a point to stop back by and I was so glad we did! Located just off Seminyak Square this is a great spot to grab breakfast or even just an afternoon pick me up!
Livingston serves breakfast all day, among other things, but we would have to agree that they their croissants are the best in Bali!
Sa Mesa is a one of a kind dining experience! Sa Mesa is an Italian restaurant in the heart of Seminyak. We had reservations for a family style dinner with 27 other guests all at the same table. The evening started with a social meet and greet and followed with an 18 course tasting menu served with an endless amount of Limoncello. What started out as dinner with strangers, ended with a super fun evening of friends singing and dancing the night away! We met some really interesting people from all over the world. The concept of Sa Mesa is one not to miss! Oh, and the food was wonderful. I am only sorry that I was full before that last few dishes and didn’t get to try them. Pete assures me they saved the best for last!
Barbacoa (Latin American Cuisine) One of the last restaurants we tried before leaving Seminyak ended up being one of our favorites. You will find a whole pig roasting over their Asado pit, some of the best beef, lamb, chicken and seafood flat grilled or smoked and fresh bread baked daily in their wood fired ovens. This was a memorable meal to say the least. The decor had a refined warehouse vintage feel to it with mosaic tiled floors, recycled wood and vintage leather details throughout with a nice view of rice fields from the back of the restaurant. We recommend making reservations well ahead of time!
Scuba Highlights from Bali
We used S.E.A. Diving Bali several more times during our time in Bali and would definitely recommend! They did a fabulous job!
The Modern Nomads 
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