When it’s a beach bar, of course, the Alila Seminyak Beach Bar is a hotel beach club in all but name and that’s why it features on our beach club review site.
The Alila Seminyak is a very swanky resort and The Beach Bar is clearly aimed at high-end customers who stay for the night.
However, if you want to unwind in style you can access this Beach Bar too, so we sent our team to check it out. This is what they found.
Introduction – Getting To Alila Beach Bar
The Alila Seminyak is one of the best-known hotels in Seminyak and as the Beach Bar is inside the hotel, it’s very easy to get to using Grab or Gojek.
You can also drive to this resort easily enough yourself and there is onsite parking.
Where Is Alila Beach Bar? Inside Alila Seminyak, Jalan Taman Ganesha Jl. Petitenget No.9A, Seminyak, Kec. Kuta Utara, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361
Website: Alila Beach Bar
Opening Hours: Open daily, every day except for Nyepi, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
What’s Inside Alila Beach Bar?
The Beach Bar has a single infinity pool of medium-size, a restaurant and a bar with seating for guests on beanbags around the pool area.
Our Review Breakdown For Alila Beach Bar
We have reviewed the Alila Seminyak Beach Bar against the exact criteria that we use to review every beach club.
There are twenty categories each ranked from 1 (worst) to 5 (best) and this gives each beach club a score of between 20 and 100. You can find our overall rankings for beach clubs in Bali here.
Our team votes on the rankings before we publish them, to ensure that we have an accurate representation of the whole team’s views.
Once a review goes live, it will be in place for, at least, one year before we revisit a club.
Pre-Club Advertising
Because the Alila Seminyak Beach Bar is primarily a feature for guests of the amazing hotel that it’s attached to, there’s no advertising for this property at all as a beach club.
Yes, the hotel advertises, but the Alila Seminyak Beach Bar does not.
This is a shame really, because it’s never all that busy inside and with a bit of promotion, it might be.
Location
The Alila Seminyak Beach Bar is in a great location on the beach in Seminyak and it’s within walking distance of most of the rest of the area.
Whether you want delicious food in a local restaurant or a change of music or another luxury beach club, it’s all there in Seminyak.
However, the downside of this location is that when the roads get busy (and in Bali, that’s often all of the time) it can take a long time to drive there or from there.
That’s not the fault of the Alila Seminyak Beach Bar, mind you, but it does mean you might want to consider booking your Grab quite a while before you want to arrive.
Booking Process & Seating Options
You can make a reservation online but it’s not a very helpful process, the Alila Seminyak Beach Bar shares a website with every property in the Hyatt Group of hotels.
That means while it’s easy to book a room at the fantastic Alial Seminyak itself, it’s rather harder to book at the Beach Bar.
You will need to send a request and wait for a reply and then go back and forth to book at this hotspot in Seminyak.
Honestly? Given the size of this hotel chain, this process just isn’t good enough. If beach clubs with barely the budget of a single Hyatt hotel can get a booking engine together, so could they.
Fortunately, this means it’s almost always possible to wal-in to this beach club.
Entry Fee
There is no entrance fee at the Alila Seminyak Beach Bar and we think that’s exactly how it should be.
Everyone should be able to see inside a beach club before they commit to spending so much as a dollar inside.
We were also pleased to note that they have a seating area for those with no minimum spend. So, it really is free to get in.
Minimum Spend
There is a minimum spend area and 400,000 IDR secures you the use of a beanbag for the day.
This is very reasonable and given that the Alila Seminyak Beach Bar is a Hyatt property, you won’t have any problems spending 400,000 IDR (it’s roughly one drink and a meal for most people).
That minimum spend is per person (and per beanbag which only accommodates one person).
Welcome And Security
You can spot 5-star hotel quality in service and overall, that’s what you get here at Alila Seminyak Beach Bar.
It starts with a warm welcome and small touches like opening the car door for you when you arrive.
However… there was no bag control at the Beach Bar and we have to deduct marks for that.
We don’t want to see another Bali bombing in the future and security checks aren’t just about keeping outside food and drink out of clubs, they’re also to deter those with nefarious intent.
Inclusions
If you agree to a minimum spend, then you will get access to the pool at Alila Seminyak Beach Bar and they will throw in a towel for you to dry yourself off with.
That’s about standard, but we would have liked to see some opportunity to upgrade the package of inclusions at the Alila Seminyak Beach Bar, particularly given this is a 5-star hotel chain.
Service
While it’s clear that the hotel has well-trained staff and the initial welcome was excellent, overall, we feel that the service at the Alila Seminyak Beach Bar was just OK.
We didn’t feel special, or that the staff were particularly attentive.
Entertainment
When we were at the Alila Seminyak Beach Bar, we were treated to some live music and for once, it wasn’t a DJ churning out bland EDM but it was actually a live band.
There’s not much else in the way of entertainment, mind you, but what is there is pretty good.
Pool Quality
It’s a nice pool, but given the Alila Seminyak has 5 infinity pools in total, we think the fact that Beach Bar guests get access to just one which is quite small isn’t particularly awesome, either.
Having said that, the pool was super clean and we were happy to swim in it.
Menu/Drinks Pricing
We felt that the prices at the Alila Seminyak Beach Bar were a bit on the high side when compared to other beach clubs.
It appeared to be 20-30% more expensive than places like FINNS.
Food And Drink Quality
We though the food was fairly average. After paying 195,000 IDR for a spaghetti bolognese we expected to be blown away by a taste sensation.
What we got was something that was a step up from Jollibee but which otherwise wasn’t particularly special.
The drinks, however, were delicious and packed the appropriate level of alcohol.
Sunset View
Bali has the most fantastic sunset on Earth and one big attraction of the island’s beach clubs is a sunset view.
The Beach Bar doesn’t disappoint in this respect and you get a great view over Seminyak Beach and you can see the sun disappear behind the horizon from anywhere in the Beach Bar.
Music And Ambiance
We liked the music at the Beach Bar. It was nice to have a live band delivering some pop hits, rather than the typical EDM that we hear in almost every beach club.
The overall vibe was very relaxed and friendly and we enjoyed our time at this location.
However, there are no special events or big acts that play at the Beach Bar.
Payment Options
As you would expect from a Hyatt property, you can easily pay by cash or card anywhere inside the venue.
However, we didn’t see any support for QRIS or anything more exotic like Bitcoin (BTC).
Exit Process
This is an easy beach club to enter and the exit process is similarly painless.
So, you simply walk back out the way that you came in and once again, the door staff will ensure that you are given a warm farewell and they can help with arranging any transportation you might need.
Transportation
There is onsite hotel parking which is available to guests o the Beach Bar.
Also, because this is a hotel complex, you won’t be hassled by the taxi mafia if you choose to call a Grab or Gojek to take you home.
However… we should note that the traffic can mean a long wait for Grab or Gojek services and you might want to book them while inside the Beach Bar.
Social Media Presence
The Alila Seminyak has a decent social media presence and the Beach Bar occasionally features in it.
That means the little content that is there isn’t updated very regularly and doesn’t really give a huge amount of insight into what the Beach Bar is all about.
Other/General Comments
Despite all the minor issues around the Beach Bar, this is a good example of a hotel beach club and if we were staying at the Alila Seminyak, we would probably use the Beach Bar regularly.
Our Overall Opinion Of Alila Beach Bar
We quite enjoyed the Beach Bar. It didn’t have the most delicious food or the most fantastic service but it did everything with real competence and the music was really good.
We will come back next time we’re passing through Seminyak, though we wouldn’t make a special trip for it, either.
If you’re trying to find which beach club is best for you, you might also want to check out Sugarsand and Mari Beach Club.
FAQs
Can You Swim At Alila Beach Bar?
Yes, as long as you agree to a minimum spend of 400,000 IDR, you may swim at the Alila Seminyak Beach Bar and you will be provided with a towel to use too.
What Can You Do At Alila Beach Bar?
You can swim, relax, and enjoy delicious food and drink. The Beach Bar at the Alila Seminyak is typical of beach clubs throughout this part of Indonesia in that respect.
Is Alila Beach Bar A Family-Friendly Venue?
Yes, the hotel is very family-friendly. In addition to pool access there’s a kid’s club available in the hotel too. We’ve got a great list of family-friendly venues in Bali too.
Who Owns Alila Beach Bar?
Alila Beach Bar is part of the Alila Seminyak hotel which is owned by the Hyatt Group of hotels.
Final Thoughts On Alila Beach Bar
The Beach Bar is an example of a well-run hotel beach club with no big ambitions.
It’s a great place to unwind in style but there’s not much in the way of entertainment and it’s definitely not a place to party.
