The Renaissance Bali is a very upmarket resort and the attached Roosterfish Beach Club has a good reputation for being a family-friendly venue in South Bali.
We wanted to see for ourselves if this was the kind of beach club that we’d want to take our kids to. So, our team went to visit Roosterfish Beach Club and this is what they learned.
Introduction – Getting To Roosterfish Beach Club
Roosterfish Beach Club is located on the Southernmost side of the Bukit Peninsula on Pandawa Beach.
It’s quite a drive from most of the island and even from Uluwatu or Nusa Dua, you’re going to spend an hour or so in a car in the Bali traffic.
Once you get there, parking is available from the Pandawa Beach authorities and Grab/Gojek drop-offs are at the beach entrance rather than at the beach club entrance.
Where Is Roosterfish Beach Club? Jl. Pantai Pandawa, Kutuh, Kec. Kuta Sel., Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia
Website: Roosterfish Beach Club
Opening Hours: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day except Nyepi, Breakfast only from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
What’s Inside Roosterfish Beach Club?
There are a variety of seating options as well as two pools (one for kids and one for adults) and restaurant and bar facilities at Roosterfish Beach Club.
This isn’t the biggest beach club in Bali and you will want to reserve seats in advance if you can to be certain of getting a spot in your desired location.
Our Review Breakdown For Roosterfish Beach Club
All of our beach club reviews are conducted on the same basis to ensure that we treat each beach club fairly.
Our team visits the club and each person assesses the beach club against a series of 20 different categories (as seen below) on a rating scale of 1 (worst) to 5 (best).
Then, when the team comes back to our offices, they vote on the final score in each category to ensure that we are fairly reflecting the overall experience at Roosterfish Beach Club.
One of us then writes up the review and it goes live on our site for a period of , at least, one year before we revisit the venue and make any changes required to our assessment.
Pre-Club Advertising
Roosterfish Beach Club doesn’t do a lot of direct advertising but we’ve seen mentions of it around the Internet which means their PR team is doing some work.
They also have a decent website and you can see a few ads for the club in the area around it.
We think it’s important for a beach club to advertise because it helps to keep the place busy and that translates into more fun in the sun for the guests who spend their time there.
Location
Roosterfish Beach Club is very remote compared to most of the island and it’s a real pain to get there from outside of the Bukit Peninsula.
If you’ve booked a time at this beach club, we advise setting off very early indeed or whether you’re there with family, business colleagues or friends, you’re going to lose your seat.
There is parking at Pandawa Beach if you come under your own steam, but we have to stress that this area is poor for Grab and Gojek services particularly after the sun goes down and on weekends and you may have to wait a long time for a ride.
Pandawa Beach also sees a fair amount of taxi mafia hanging around and that means you can account for some time around the area being harrangued by drivers trying to sell you an overpriced ride home.
Booking Process & Seating Options
You can book online via the website and it uses the Sevenrooms booking service to enable you to book a specific time, date and type of seating.
However, we should note that you can’t specify where inside Roosterfish Beach Club you will sit – there’s no map function.
Peculiarly, the beach club FAQs say that you can only book a seat in the Roosterfish Beach Club via the reservations team, but we found it was no problem to book online.
Hotel guests of the Renaissance Bali Uluwatu Resort do get priority at Roosterfish Beach Club and they can book a spot by Pandawa Beach by speaking to the Navigator Desk within the hotel.
Entry Fee
This is a bit complicated. Roosterfish Beach Club does not charge an entrance fee but you do have to pay for an entrance fee to Pandawa Beach – this is 15,000 IDR per adult and 10,000 IDR per child as well as a parking charge (if needed) of 2,000 IDR for a scooter and 5,000 IDR for a car.
We approve of clubs that don’t charge an entrance fee, there’s really no need to fleece your guests on arrival and you should be able to enter any venue, grab a seat and have a look around without committing to a minimum spend.
This facility also has no minimum spend required for seats in their restaurant.
Minimum Spend
There is a minimum spend associated with every seating area in this beach club with the exception of the restaurant.
This ranges from 350,000 IDR per person for bean bags to 2,500,000 for a party cabana (for up to 8 people).
These charges aren’t unreasonable and given that this is part of the Renaissance Bali Uluwatu Resort, they could be higher.
Welcome And Security
The welcome at Roosterfish Beach Club was friendly and professional but it wasn’t anything overly remarkable.
The security team did conduct a basic bag check which is a good thing, we like to spend a day by the sea in chill circumstances and knowing that they take our security safely is a positive for this.
Inclusions
Roosterfish Beach Club provides a towel to every guest who has agreed to a minimum spend and that’s a very standard provision for a beach club in Bali.
But there’s no premium tier service and that’s a shame as we think they’re missing an opportunity to partner with the indoor spa in the hotel to create a day we’d enjoy even more (and be willing to pay for).
Service
The staff at Roosterfish Beach Club are great and they ensure that you’re secure and well attended to throughout the day.
They’re kind and considerate and happy to chat or walk you through any item on the menu as required.
It wasn’t the pinnacle of Balinese service, but there’s no doubt that they pay attention to the details at this club and they offer great service.
Entertainment
On weekends, there’s a real focus on activities and fun for children and families and this is particularly true around their Sunday brunches.
Otherwise, on weekdays, it’s more of a piped music environment and while their taste in tunes isn’t cutting edge, it’s fine as a place to kick back by the sea.
However, entertainment at Roosterfish Beach Club is certainly not on par with the biggest beach club brands on the island.
Pool Quality
There are two pools at Roosterfish Beach Club and they’re both well looked after with very clean water.
You’d be happy to swim at Roosterfish Beach Club and frankly, we’d expect no less from their prestigious owners.
Menu/Drinks Pricing
We felt that the food menu was quite pricey but that’s partly because Roosterfish Beach Club is part of a hotel and partly because this part of Bali always has high prices.
The drinks are definitely among the most expensive that we’ve seen at a beach club though.
Food And Drink Quality
We thought that both the food and drinks were good but not exceptional and that would be OK if they were cheaper.
Overall, they represent fair value for money but only just.
Sunset View
The sunset view at Roosterfish Beach Club in common with every other beach club on the South side of the island, isn’t all that great.
That’s because you’re pointing in the wrong direction. You do get some pleasant lights in the sky above the venue (as you do all over Bali) but you can’t watch the sun dip below the horizon in the same way as you can in Canggu or Seminyak.
This may or may not be a deal breaker as the sunset is one thing that many people come to Bali for and if you only visit one beach club it should be one with an amazing sunset view.
Music And Ambiance
This is a place for families and the vibe is very much one of children running about and having fun. There’s piped music most of the time in this venue and that’s just fine.
However, if you’re looking to party all night long, Roosterfish Beach Club is the wrong place for you to go.
Payment Options
You can pay by cash or card anywhere inside Roosterfish Beach Club but there are no QRIS options or e-wallet options as far as we can tell.
Exit Process
Leaving Roosterfish Beach Club is as easy as entering the place. It’s not the biggest place and you just follow your way out of the venue back to where you started.
You will be given a warm farewell by the staff as you leave.
Transportation
If you drove to Roosterfish Beach Club you can pick up your vehicle from the Pandawa Beach car park. If you came by Grab or Gojek, we recommend you book about 20 minutes before you leave the venue, earlier if you are leaving during peak hours.
There’s almost no service on this part of the island and if you venture out into the local area without a ride, you will be badgered by the taxi mafia.
Social Media Presence
Roosterfish Beach Club has its own social media presence but their Instagram, etc. hadn’t been updated for 14 weeks when we checked them before we visited.
Overall, they show a reasonable representation of what to expect at Roosterfish Beach Club but they could be better managed.
Other/General Comments
Roosterfish Beach Club is a family holiday destination as opposed to a party zone and if you’re happy with that, it does this job very well but at a somewhat higher price than other beach clubs.
Our Overall Opinion Of Roosterfish Beach Club
We enjoyed our time at Roosterfish Beach Club but we wouldn’t make the long drive out to this part of Bali just for this club.
If we were staying nearby, we’d be much more likely to visit, though the high price of food and drinks is a little off-putting.
Families with children, however, are likely to get a lot out of a day in the sun at this place.
Not sure if this is a good score? See how the other beach clubs in Bali measure up at our list of all the clubs here.
Additional Info – Sunday Brunch
This beach club has a weekly Sunday Brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for a fixed price as well as live music, games for the kids and a foam party after it for the whole family.
You can also plant coral during this brunch session which means you can give a little back to the environment.
The cost is 999,000 IDR ++ per person with alcohol and 555,000 IDR ++ without alcohol. Drinks are only included for the brunch period and do not carry into the foam party.
FAQs
Can You Swim At Roosterfish Beach Club?
Yes, there’s a large pool and a children’s pool at this venue and they’re both clean and pleasant places for swimming. Towels are provided by this business as long as you’re committed to a minimum spend.
What Can You Do At Roosterfish Beach Club?
You can enjoy tasty cuisine, smell the ocean, take a dip in the pool water, drink cocktails and children can take part in the activities provided for them.
Is Roosterfish Beach Club A Family-Friendly Venue?
Yes, in fact, we’d say that Roosterfish Beach Club is a very family-friendly venue and if you have kids and are spending some time on the Bukit Peninsula, it’s a great place to go for a family day out.
You can find more family-friendly beach clubs here.
Who Owns Roosterfish Beach Club?
This beach club is owned by the Renaissance Bali Uluwatu Resort and is part of the larger Renaissance Group.
Final Thoughts On Our Roosterfish Beach Club Review
Beach clubs in this part of Bali are often quite disappointing as they tend to rely on their remote location to drive up prices, while not delivering the kind of services that we expect.
Happily, Roosterfish Beach Club is something of an exception and it’s a great place for some family fun on the Southern edge of Bali.
The downside is that it’s a long drive from much of the island and we’re not sure that it’s going to be worth the drive unless you have children and really want a family-friendly club.
There are bound to be places located closer to where most people stay in Bali with similar facilities.
Want more beach club ideas? Take a look at our reviews of Manarai Beach House and Suku Beach Club.
