Atlas is the world’s biggest beach club according to their promotional material but does it deliver the best beach club experience?
After our visit, we’re not sure that it does and our detailed review explains why this titan among beach clubs might need to pay a bit more attention to the small details.
Introduction – Getting To Atlas Beach Club
Atlas is easy to find and it’s on the main beach road for Berawa Beach in Canggu. There’s a single entrance way for the beach club and you should be able to find it easily enough by following the signs to the entrance.
There is parking at the club and you can also easily get a Grab or a Gojek to drop you off at the front door and there won’t be any problems getting home at the end of the night.
Where Is Atlas Beach Club? Jl. Pantai Berawa No.99, Canggu, Kec. Kuta Utara, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361
Website: Atlas Beach Club
Opening Hours: Open daily, every day except for Nyepi, from 10 a.m. to 12 midnight.
When you arrive at the club, you can expect to be searched by security and if you have any forbidden items, you must leave them at the front desk to be collected later.
There is an entrance way to Atlas on the beach itself but you can only use this if you have a hand stamp from within the club, you must enter the club from the main entrance the first time you visit.
What’s Inside Atlas?
Atlas claims to be the world’s biggest beach club and we should note that we have no way of measuring the area that they cover to verify this claim.
However, it’s certainly a very big place and they have plenty of areas inside for visitors to take advantage of. There are 5 bars, 3 restaurants (Pavilion, Sunset Bar, and Hidden Island), 5 pools, several common areas, a stage, a shopping street and a kid’s area.
Our Review Breakdown For Atlas Beach Club
We use a consistent set of rating criteria for every beach club that we review. There are 20 criteria, each ranked from 1 (worst) to 5 (best), offering a maximum score of 100.
Our team votes on each review and the marks given before we go to press to ensure that our scores are representative of everyone’s feelings about a club.
Once we’ve given a review, it will remain in place for at least a year until our next review at which time, we may or may not revise the scores.
Pre-Club Advertising
Atlas Beach Club is clearly aiming at becoming a world-class tourist destination but both local and foreign tourists have noticed that their ambitions aren’t always consistent with their efforts.
Only FINNS does more online advertising than Atlas Beach Club but FINNS does it so well, and Atlas is so hit-and-miss.
They regularly release offers missing key information or with horrific spelling and grammar problems.
Even their blog isn’t helpful, it’s full of AI content that is factually incorrect and many of their pieces are written with no readers in mind.
We applaud their intent but feel that Atlas Beach Club should be working much harder to develop the kind of marketing that really excites you about visiting their beach club. When they do hit the mark, it works really well but attention to detail matters.
Location
This beach club is part of the coastal paradise of Berawa Beach and it’s right next door to the world’s best beach club, FINNS. It’s in the Canggu area which is now the most popular part of Bali having displaced Seminyak from that position.
Canggu is usually considered to offer the best combination of traditional Bali and the modern face of things. You can still find rice paddies and temples among the hotels and beach clubs here.
Berawa Beach itself is one of the top spots for surfers on the island and while its black sands aren’t as striking as the beaches in Nusa Dua, they look amazing at sunset.
Having said that, you shouldn’t plan on swimming at this beach and should use one of the pools that Atlas Beach Club offers, instead. The current is strong and unpredictable and riptides are a real danger.
You will also find that this part of the island is within a short walk of stores, a pharmacy, a supermarket, and other restaurants and bars.
Booking Process & Seating Options
We find the booking process for Atlas a little confusing. They throw too many options at you at once and without prior knowledge of the club’s layout – it’s hard to decide where to sit when looking online.
The good news is that Atlas Beach Club is rarely sold out (the rest of this review may explain why) and you may find that you can get a walk-in slot at Atlas Beach Club relatively easily.
If you do decide to book, you will be given three options for each bed that allows you to choose whether to come in the morning, in the evening or for the whole day.
The daybed price (the minimum spend) reflects the competition for these slots.
We should also note that, in common with other beach clubs, Atlas does not admit people with head or facial tattoos.
Entry Fee
Atlas Beach Club is one of the only beach club destinations in Bali to charge an entrance fee. They charge 150,000 IDR ($10 USD or $15 AUD) in low season to all guests except those with a minimum spend. This fee may rise for the peak season. special events and dates.
In fairness to Atlas, this entry fee comes with several inclusions such as free general pool access, a free towel and a free drink (from a limited drinks menu).
It also entitles you to seek out a seat at the bar which is recessed away from the pool and entertainment areas and restricts your view of the ocean.
We’re not big fans of entrance fees at beach clubs, and we think Atlas Beach Club could do better in this respect.
But as a local taxi driver put it, “If they didn’t charge an entrance fee, most people would go inside and take a selfie and leave.”
Minimum Spend
Atlas Beach Club in line with most other beach clubs on the island (and indeed, across the planet) expects you to commit to a minimum spend in their venue if you want to use a day bed (a posh version of a sun lounger).
The minimum spend for everything from their pavilion bean bags to the picnic booth sun lounger style arrangements is slightly higher than in most of the clubs in Bali.
Having said that, the overall cost of most items in Atlas is also slightly higher than in most clubs in Bali.
The minimum spend is defined as the whole daybed price and while you can split the minimum spend between guests on the same bed, you must pay the full amount even if there’s only one of you.
We think that given there’s a general admission fee, the price of the daybeds is a little on the high side at Atlas, it’s not rip-off territory, but they could do better too.
We also find it frustrating that they have the W Atlas Superclub onsite and yet, there’s no admission ticket that covers both services, even though many people people want the lifestyle experience of a day in the world’s biggest beach club and Bali’s biggest nightclub.
You should also know that there’s no free cancellation option here, if you book something at this destination if you don’t show up, you lose your deposit.
However, if you want free cancellation – just buy your tickets for Atlas from Klook, which are discounted when compared to their own website.
Welcome And Security
The entry process to Atlas Beach Club is also a little confusing. You are met with a line of booths, which you must buy a day pass from or confirm your booking for a daybed before going inside.
You will then be greeted by someone who checks your tickets, because redundancy is always a good sign in what should be a simple process, before being ushered into the club.
We should note that we found this process reasonably painless and that the staff were very professional. However, once inside, we found ourselves wandering about aimlessly with nobody around to ask for directions.
We did find the bar eventually but all the other beach clubs we’ve visited did a better job than Atlas Beach Fest (the overarching branding for the beach club and Atlas Superclub) did of helping us get seated.
Inclusions
As you’d expect from a premium service the inclusions are pretty good at Atlas. All daybeds include access to their high-speed Wi-Fi, towels and pool access.
If you want to pay for their VIP service, it doesn’t have as many inclusions as the FINNS VIP Beach Club but their private butler service is kind of cool and not something we see at many international tourist destinations.
And the entrance fee, includes a towel, a drink and access to the pool, which is fair enough. Though we would note, in our experience those on a day pass will find that the service they are offered is pretty poor compared to guests on daybeds.
Service
We feel the make-or-break point of any great beach club is the service and sadly, Atlas, is very much hit or miss in this respect.
For every amazing interaction we had with a member of staff at this beach club, we had another that was just terrible.
The low point came when trying to redeem our free drink coupons at the bar, a waiter told us that as we weren’t spending any money, we had to fetch the drinks ourselves! This action was then repeated when we ordered another round of drinks and were spending money.
We also found that when we needed service it often simply wasn’t there. It’s a big place and without clear signposting, it needs staff around to help you get around.
If Atlas wants to be a world-class tourist destination then it needs to emulate other international tourist destinations and create exceptional service within the club.
We were also puzzled by the lack of toilet facilities, there are big queues especially for the ladies’ toilets at busy times.
Entertainment
One thing that makes beach clubs such popular destinations in Bali is the entertainment and here Atlas has some excellent stuff.
Their daily performances are very good even on non-event days, though we found that the layout of the club, combined with the generally low turnout often makes them feel like a party where nobody turned up.
Watching dancers on a stage playing to an empty set of daybeds or stilt walkers staggering through seated areas with barely anyone in them, is quite sad.
However, there’s no doubt that the Atlas Superclub has some very good entertainment and their DJs are good quality and their visiting acts such as Martin Garrix, Akon, Jah Marley, etc. are often very good if you like their music.
Pool Quality
The pools at Atlas have been renovated recently and there’s something for everyone among the five pools on the site.
However, we should note that prior to the renovation people were complaining about poor maintenance standards and missing tiles in the pool areas and it’s possible that this might become a problem again in the future.
Menu/Drinks Pricing
Atlas Beach Fest has some of the most expensive food of its kind on the island. There’s no doubt that the food is good, mind you, but this is one destination where you’re going to spend a lot of the minimum spend on food.
The same goes for drinks pricing which is generally higher than average too.
Food And Drink Quality
We find the food at Atlas Beach Club to be of generally excellent quality and there’s no doubt that they’ve put a lot of thought and effort into the menu creation.
They have some ridiculous dishes that are meant to appeal to big-spending tourists, but we really can’t fathom who would spend $200 on a posh nasi goreng (which appears to be an ordinary fried rice with a steak dumped on top of it).
The drinks are somewhat reasonably priced, but we think the cocktails could be a bit stronger, given the prices. But overall, there’s nothing wrong with the quality of either the food or the drinks at Atlas.
Sunset View
The sunset view in this area is magical and the reflection of the sun’s rays in the water on the black sands at the end of each day is wonderful.
Of course, if it’s cloudy, the light show isn’t as good but that’s beyond the control of the Atlas property and gives you a reason to come back to Bali if you miss it.
Music And Ambiance
The music is generally good at the beach club and takes its cue from the Atlas Superclub DJs, we can’t say that it’s the most memorable music that we’ve ever heard but we’re not bored or turned off by the tunes on a visit to Atlas either.
However, when it comes to ambience – you have to hope you visit this club on a busy day. If not, you will find that the open sitting areas are often empty and deserted and the whole club feels eerie and unpleasant.
Payment Options
There’s no need to explore obscure payment cards, etc. to pay the bill at Atlas. They will happily take your money in any way that you can provide it.
We also didn’t find it hard to pay at Atlas as they extracted the money from us at the same time as we ordered, which we see as a service issue rather than a payment problem.
Exit Process
Leaving Atlas is as confusing as arriving and we ended up giving up on the official route after getting stranded in the toilets and just barging back out the way that we’d come in.
A security guard did give a half-hearted chase to try and deter us, but wasn’t committed enough to prevent us from leaving.
We can’t fathom why a club of this level that expects to attract high tourist interest can’t make it easy to get out when you’re done.
Transportation
Atlas Beach Club is not part of a taxi mafia location and they also offer a free shuttle service to their partner locations for both local and foreign tourists to use.
You can also easily get a Grab or Gojek from the front of Atlas Beach Club and getting home is relatively painless.
Their parking area, however, is quite a distance from the entrance, there’s no valet service and you have to pay to park.
We’ve had to revisit this review as we’ve noticed that Atlas are now using a shuttle service in this area, but the shuttles have Jakarta plates, which means they’re not paying tax on these vehicles in Bali.
We feel that beach clubs ought to make an effort to integrate properly with the community here and this isn’t paying your fair share.
Social Media Presence
Atlas Beach Fest has a strong social media presence but as with their pre-advertising campaigns you can expect to enjoy lots of typos and nonsensical content that could have been easily fixed with a bit of care and attention.
However, they are on Instagram, Facebook, etc. and you can get a good idea of what you will see on your visit from the photos and videos on these channels.
Other/General Comments
Atlas Beach Club is the world’s biggest beach club but it’s just not the best beach club in Bali. Let alone the world.
There’s too much emphasis on size and not enough emphasis on the small details that create an incredible experience and we felt that the club was more focused on nickel and diming us than it was on creating a vibe that would make us want to stay.
We were deeply disappointed with a day out in Atlas and we’re hoping that the club will be making big strides to improve over the coming years or so. For now, we’re just not feeling it.
We also find it particularly odd that they’re selling their food on Grab now. This makes the club experience less exclusive and leads us to wonder who is ordering this hugely overpriced nasi goreng as a takeout?
Our Overall Opinion On Atlas Beach Club
Atlas Beach Club must try a lot harder if it wants to be one of the most popular destinations in Bali.
We try not to be too critical of the clubs we review and we want them all to succeed but the overall quality of the experience at this place just isn’t good enough to justify the high price tag that it commands.
Given that it’s right next door to the best beach club in town – FINNS, Atlas has an uphill climb if it wants to be the highlight of people’s trip to the island.
Atlas features on our lists of the top beach clubs in Canggu and in Bali. So, if you’ve found this review helpful, you can easily find other beach clubs in Bali to enjoy. You might also enjoy our reviews of Luna Beach Club and Mano Beach House.
A Quick Mention Of Atlas Beach Fest And Atlas Superclub
Atlas Beach Fest is the overarching brand of the Atlas Beach Club and the W Atlas Superclub. The super club is the biggest nightclub in Bali and it’s a very popular place to dance the night away.
However, we should note that they’ve not done a good job of integrating these two offerings and they are treated as two very much separate entities for most things (though some events do have special packages to encourage you to plan a longer visit).
FAQs
What Is The Difference Between The Atlas Beach Club And Super Club?
The super club is the biggest nightclub on the island, the beach club is a club on the beach where adults and kids of all ages can enjoy some relaxing time, food and drinks with music and entertainment provided.
What Can You Do At Atlas Beach Club?
Atlas Beach Club like most beach clubs is a place where you can swim, relax, eat, drink and party while being entertained by live performers and DJs.
Who Owns Atlas Beach Club?
Atlas is owned by a consortium of private investors under the banner of the Holywings Group. These are Indonesian investors mainly based in Jakarta.
Final Thoughts On Atlas Beach Club
We feel kind of sad whenever we visit Atlas, it’s got so much ambition, but there’s no clear path to capitalizing on that ambition.
We think it’s telling that even the local taxi drivers are shocked when you say you’re going to Atlas rather than to FINNS.
You will have fun at this beach club, but it’s going to cost more than elsewhere and the experience won’t be as polished.
