COMO Beach Club is part of the COMO Uma Canggu Hotel on Echo Beach in Canggu. It’s not exclusively for hotel guests and you can either book a seat in advance or turn up in person and arrange a daybed.
But is it worth your effort or is running a beach club a step too far for a hotel group? Our team went to check out the COMO Beach Club at the COMO Uma Canggu and this is what they learned.
Introduction – Getting To COMO Beach Club
You can’t miss the COMO UMA Canggu complex on Echo Beach as it’s near the car park that replaced all the little beach bars, warung, surf shacks, etc. that used to be there. The car park isn’t the hotel’s though, it’s just a local facility.
That means it’s very easy to get to in a Grab or Gojek as your driver will know exactly where to take you and there’s parking on site as you’d expect at a hotel of this quality.
Where Is Cafe Del Mar Bali? Jalan Pantai Batu Mejan, Canggu, Kec. Kuta Utara, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia
Website: COMO Beach Club
Opening Hours: Open daily, every day except for Nyepi, from 10 a.m. to 12 midnight.
What’s Inside COMO Beach Club?
This is a very basic club as it’s part of a larger hotel resort offering. The “club” itself is really a single pool area with some daybeds around it and music pumping out.
There is also a restaurant and bar area that counts as part of the club but you can’t access the pool if you opt for a seat in these areas. And what’s a beach club without water?
Our Review Breakdown For COMO Beach Club
As with all of our beach club reviews, we are grading COMO on 20 different criteria.
Each criterion is worth between 1 (worst) and 5 (best) points, offering a maximum possible score of 100 (Best) and minimum possible score of 20 (worst).
We vote on the review contents as a team to ensure that our reviews are fully reflective of our team’s experiences before we publish the review.
Once live, a review will remain in place for a minimum of a year before we revisit it.
Pre-Club Advertising
Given that this business is really COMO Uma Canggu and the club is a secondary consideration, we’re not surprised that we’ve not seen any pre-club advertising.
However, it also means that the club attracts a very specific audience in the main (well-heeled Australian families) and there’s a very heavy emphasis on kids being present.
Overall, this is a failure for COMO Uma Canggu because no advertising means fewer bodies through the door.
Location
COMO Uma Canggu is on Echo Beach and it’s within walking distance of other beach clubs, bars and restaurants as well as a range of boutique stores.
If you can’t get parking at COMO Uma Canggu, there is also some parking on Echo Beach itself, a short walk away.
The beach is popular with surfers and intermediate surfers are going to love the challenge here.
However, it’s not great for swimming and you should probably stick to the hotel pools instead.
Como Uma Canggu and the club inside were built with an excellent view of the sunset and the Indian Ocean.
Booking Process & Seating Options
You can reserve seats in the restaurant on the hotel’s website and this is a painless (and free) process using the Chope service.
However, if you want a daybed, these are allocated on a first come-first served basis which means, you will want to get there early to be certain of a bed.
This is doubly so for non-hotel guests as hotel guests, obviously, get priority for beds.
Entry Fee
There is no entrance fee for the club at COMO Uma Canggu but we need to stress that free entrance only applies to the restaurant and bar area.
However, this enough to qualify COMO for our best beach clubs in Bali with no minimum spend.
You cannot enter the pool area and swim if you opt for free entry.
Minimum Spend
In common with most beach clubs, the club at COMO Uma Canggu requires that you commit to a minimum spend if you want a daybed by the pool (though hotel guests may use this facility without a minimum spend).
This is 1.5 million IDR per daybed. That’s a fairly reasonable price for a 5-star hotel offering and you’ll find that you will go through 1.5 million IDR in food and drink very quickly.
Welcome And Security
The welcome, as you’d expect at a 5-star hotel complex, was professional, warm and friendly. They didn’t need to do much more than that given this isn’t a big place.
They also give you a brief security search and as with all beach clubs in Bali, if you have anything they’d prefer you not to bring in, you will be asked to leave it with security until you leave.
Inclusions
There’s a towel included if you agree to a daybed, but otherwise, there’s nothing included at all at COMO.
That’s fine, that’s fairly standard and this club isn’t really big enough to have a differentiated premium or VIP offering.
Service
There’s no doubt that COMO excels in this area, the staff were more than just friendly they showed true Balinese hospitality and can be very proud of their efforts.
They provided a bag rack without being asked, offered a magazine to read when one of us was there on our own and had a lot of other nice touches.
Some of the other clubs in Bali could learn a lot by sending their staff and managers to this place. COMO hotels know how to deliver high-end service.
Entertainment
This isn’t a huge club and we weren’t expecting a ton of entertainment but we were pleased to see a live DJ around.
We’ve been to bigger clubs where they’re playing a tape on a loop and that’s not OK. So, well done COMO.
Pool Quality
There’s only one pool but it’s a very nice pool and the water is exceptionally clean.
The only downside is that this is very much a family club and the water is often full of little kids having an awesome time, so you might not want to take a drink into the pool with you.
Menu/Drinks Pricing
This was surprisingly reasonable, for a 5-star hotel property we were expecting to pay a lot of money and yet, the meals and drinks were not unreasonable at all.
The menu is varied and interesting too.
Food And Drink Quality
COMO Hotels are, of course, very good at delivering 5-star food all day every day for their guests.
It’s not quite fine dining, but more upscale casual dining and the food is very good quality even if it’s not “the best we’ve ever had”.
The drinks are cold and the measures are appropriate. This is the sort of thing that every beach club could do well at but many don’t.
Sunset View
This part of the shoreline of Bali has amazing sunset views and you can enjoy the sunset throughout the club, though there may be parts of the restaurant area where you don’t get to see it in full.
Music And Ambiance
With live music and a lot of kids to keep entertained, we were quite impressed by the music at COMO.
No, it’s not likely to form the basis of your next mixtape but it’s good fun.
The only downside is that it can get a bit loud at times, we like to be able to hear ourselves think, particularly, during the day.
Payment Options
As you’d expect at a 5-star hotel chain, they will be happy to take your money in cash or by card.
We didn’t see any QRIS service advertised, though, and that’s a popular option for a lot of locals.
Exit Process
Getting out of the club is as simple as getting in. You just walk back the way you came.
The service remains exemplary throughout your last interaction and everyone should leave this place with a very positive impression.
Transportation
It’s easy to get a Grab or a Gojek from a 5-star hotel complex, there’s no taxi mafia allowed inside at COMO.
You can also retrieve your own vehicle easily enough and be on your way with the minimum of fuss.
Social Media Presence
COMO has a decent social media presence with regular updates on Instagram, etc.
However, the shots are always of the place empty and we think that’s because it doesn’t get that many visitors.
Other/General Comments
We like COMO a lot but we’ve got to be fair, it’s not so much a beach club as a better hotel pool.
If you want a place for families and kids to play while you enjoy some breakfast or lunch or if you have a room in the hotel you’re going to be very happy.
However, if you’re in the mood for a party, we’d advise you not to make the trip and go somewhere else, instead.
COMO is one of the best beach clubs in the Canggu area, but why not find out who ranks higher? It also appears on our best beach clubs in Bali list.
Our Overall Opinion Of COMO Beach Club
COMO is much better than some of the bigger clubs and for a hotel club, it’s first-rate.
We wouldn’t choose it as one of our “must do” clubs but if you have a young family and want your kids to be able to run about and even join in with the kids club, this is a great place to spend an afternoon/evening.
FAQs
Can You Swim At COMO Beach Club?
Yes, though we need to be clear. If you opt for seating in the restaurant, you don’t get pool access. That means if you want to swim at COMO, you will need to agree to a minimum spend and take a daybed.
We don’t think this is unreasonable, COMO Uma Canggu is a business nad they have to make a profit. It seems sensible to agree that you get free pool access as long as you’re buying some food and drink.
What Can You Do At COMO Beach Club?
This isn’t a very big club and you will find that there’s a single pleasant pool area along with a deck area and a dining area. You can enjoy pleasant food and drinks as well as swim in the pool (assuming you’re not a dining-only customer).
They have music playing around the lagoon pool all day long, so if you want to enjoy a club vibe, it’s sort of there, but there are a lot of kids enjoying this space too.
Is COMO Beach Club A Family-Friendly Venue?
Yes, in fact, we’d say that the club at COMO Uma Canggu is mainly a family venue. On our recent visit, the pool area was absolutely crowded with children and there were very few childless groups in evidence.
This is good news if you have kids and, in fact, COMO Uma Canggu also has a kids club (which can be used for an additional fee if you’re not resident in the hotel).
However, if you’re child-free, you might not enjoy the sound of hundreds of kids happily playing as you try to enjoy the pool and restaurant areas.
Who Owns COMO Beach Club?
The COMO Group owns Como Uma Canggu, the beach club, COMO Shambhala, and all other COMO properties around the region.
The group is controlled by a Singaporean national Mrs. Christina Ong and includes fashion, lifestyle, dining and wellness brands in addition to the hotels and beach clubs.
Final Thoughts On COMO Beach Club
COMO Uma Canggu is a hotel, first and foremost and that means they’re all about selling suites (and to the particularly well-appointed, a one-bedroom residence) and the club is an integral offering to the families that stay in the resort.
It’s very pleasant and guests of the hotel also have access to rooftop pools, yoga classes, the Glow juice bar and more. It’s fair to say that COMO Uma Canggu has come a long way from the times when this was a traditional surf shack on Echo Beach.
However, the actual beach club isn’t in the same league as the other beach clubs in Bali mainly because it’s not the main focus of COMO’s business.
We’d visit this club if we were in the area or if we were staying in the resort, but we wouldn’t make a special trip to Echo Beach for it.
If you liked this review, why not look at our reviews of Suka Sunset Beach and Cafe Del Mar too?
