Mari Beach Club, Bali is a smaller beach club on Jalan Batu Belig in Canggu and it clearly has aspirations to be a major destination.
However, as our team found when we visited Mari Beach Club while the overall experience is good, there are some minor sticking points for their journey to legendary status.
Introduction – Getting To Mari Beach Club
Mari Beach Club is Canggu on Batu Belig Beach. The club itself is inspired by the culture of Bali and the entranceway and buildings are made mainly of bamboo.
Getting to the club is easy if you’re coming by Grab or Gojek though your driver may have to pull up quite a distance from the main gate leaving you to walk a few yards in the hot sun.
There is also parking available, at no additional cost, next to the beach club.
Where Is Mari Beach Club? Jalan Batu Belig No.66, Kerobokan Kelod, Kec. Kuta Utara, Bali, 80361
Website: Mari Beach Club
Opening Hours: Open daily, every day except for Nyepi, from 11 p.m. to 12 midnight.
When you arrive at the club, you will be expected to report to the receptionist where if you already have a booking, you will be given directions on how to get to your table.
And if you don’t, you will be able to choose a table with the appropriate minimum spend before being directed to your seating.
There is no entrance to this club from the beach and you will need to use the main entrance on Jalan Batu Belig to get in.
What’s Inside Mari Beach Club Bali?
Mari is not one of the biggest beach club venues in Bali and there is a single main pool area (with one shallow pool suitable for families and an infinity pool with an oceanfront view) with a pair of bars/restaurants Sole and the imaginatively titled “main bar”.
You are also able to reserve a fire pit if you want a BBQ at Mari, please note, that you cannot bring your own food for this – you must buy it from Mari.
Our Review Breakdown For Mari Beach Club
Mari Beach Club Bali is, like every beach club on our site, being judged on 20 separate criteria.
Each criterion is graded from 1 (the worst) to 5 (the best) with a total mark from 20 (the worst) to 100 (the best).
To keep things as objective as possible, we vote as a team on the scores and the review itself before we publish.
After publication, the review will remain in place for, at least, one year before any revision is made. You can find a list of the best beach clubs in Bali with all the scores and review links on our site.
Mari also features in our best beach clubs in Canggu.
Pre-Club Advertising
We know that it must be challenging for a smaller beach club like Mari Beach Club to do targeted advertising online.
It’s often a large expense with no guarantee of return. This probably explains why we rarely see ads for this club on Facebook, Instagram, etc.
This is a bit of a shame though as if you’re not reaching your audience online, they’re not coming to your club and on our visit to Mari, it was very evident that this isn’t the busiest club in Bali.
Location
Mari sits on the borderline between Canggu and Seminyak and it’s right on the beach.
It’s very easy to get to by taxi and only a short drive from the major beach towns.
There are shops and other facilities within walking distance of this club and you should find that the area is quite pleasant.
Mari Beach Club sits on Batu Belig Beach which is a pleasant stretch of sand.
It’s not the best beach for swimmers as this side of the island sees some fairly powerful currents that can drag you out to sea if you’re not very careful but it’s a great place for experienced surfers to tackle some very challenging waves.
Overall, Mari is in a great location and we think you’ll appreciate the sea view as you enjoy drinks and seafood at your daybed or the bar.
Booking Process & Seating Options
Mari has recently overhauled their booking engine and it’s much clearer to see what you’re booking online.
However, what’s missing is a map. You can tell what facility you are booking, but not where it is in the building.
There is a PDF map that you can open separately, but that’s confusing and not as helpful as picking a location from a map to book.
You will also find that the minimum spend prices can be a touch confusing with the “best deal” and “normal” prices being the same on some seats and very different on others.
The “best deal” only applies from noon until 2.45 p.m. and the “normal” price applies to the rest of the day. We think that 2 hours and forty-five minutes is a touch stingy for a reserved seat and is less time than in most other beach clubs in Bali.
We do appreciate that Mari Beach Club opens later than other beach clubs but there’s no excuse for this and we’d recommend that you book an all-day option for the best value.
Entry Fee
In common with most beach clubs in Bali, there’s no entrance fee at Mari Beach Club but that doesn’t mean that it’s free to get in, either.
Mari Beach Club requires all customers to agree to a minimum spend to secure a seat and without a seat, you’re not coming in.
We don’t mind this, we found that our agreed minimum spend for a seat at the bar evaporated within 10 minutes of sitting down. But we do find the idea of “no entry fee” a little misleading if you can’t get inside without spending some money.
Minimum Spend
Every table, seat and sunbed in Mari Beach Club has a minimum spend requirement.
The good news is that this starts at just 150,000 IDR per person (for a bar stool) and you can book a table in the bar for just 700,000 IDR for two.
We don’t find the minimum spend requirements at Mari very onerous as the drinks and menu items are quite expensive and you will quickly go through the minimum spend and find yourself running up more of a tab.
One thing that was a touch irksome, however, was that you can’t just swipe your card and run a tab, you have to do it each time you add to your order.
Welcome And Security
We found the welcome to be very friendly but one of the least efficient processes we’ve observed in Bali.
It’s a part manual and part digitized system that seems hellbent on extracting data for data’s sake.
We were lucky that when we arrived, there were only a couple of people in front of us in the queue but if there’d been more, we might have spent 2 hours outside before we got in.
The security check was the same as at every club, with a quick metal detector check and a visual bag inspection.
Mari has a dress code and you must wear smart casual wear in the restaurants and bars and swimwear in the pools. If you don’t meet the dress code, you can’t go in.
Inclusions
Mari’s minimum spend culture means that every guest qualifies for free towels and you can swim in their pool, no matter where you are sat in the venue.
You must take a shower in the venue before you enter the pool.
We would note that the pool area is in blazing sunlight and even some of the daybeds around the area are poorly shaded.
So, try to make sure you take a hat and some suncream or you may burn.
There are no premium service offerings, however, so it’s just the standard inclusions that you find everywhere in Bali, nothing more.
Service
Mari’s culture of service is very good and we found that the wait staff were very helpful and knowledgable about their products.
However, we did get lost trying to find our seats and as with some other beach clubs, it would be nice if they signposted locations or had staff on hand to point the way.
The only minor complaint we had about service was the constant reinforcement of the tab and minimum spend. We’d rather just leave a card behind the bar than keep fussing every time we order.
Entertainment
Mari like most Bali beach clubs has a reasonable live DJ during the day and for most nights too.
They hold occasional events where you can book cultural dance performances during the evenings or live music from certain artists.
However, overall, there’s nothing exceptional about the entertainment at Mari Beach Club.
It’s just not big enough to have the kind of unique entertainment culture of a bigger club like FINNS.
Pool Quality
Mari Beach Club has two pools, which is less than most beach clubs offer but still more than enough for the majority of visitors.
We would note that half their daybeds do not offer shade, so seating next to the pools can be way too warm during the main part of the day with the Bali sun beating down.
Our inspection of the pools revealed them to be clean and not cloudy or otherwise polluted. They’re more than good enough for a day’s splashing around.
We’d also note that many of the sun shades are a bit on the small side and you could easily end up burning while using them.
Menu/Drinks Pricing
This is our main sticking point with Mari Beach Club. So far, we’ve been quite enthusiastic about this place, and we think it’s unique and has plenty to offer.
However, the menu items are grossly overpriced. We will come to the quality of the items in the next section but when you have to pay $10 (USD that’s $15 AUD) for 3 potato croquettes! It’s just not good value. Not at all.
Food And Drink Quality
And that’s a shame because we loved the food at Mari. It’s exceptionally well made and the croquettes were the best we’ve eaten anywhere.
But when all is said and done, they’re still 3 potato croquettes, not a full meal and you can get an amazing meal at FINNS, for example, for the price of those croquettes at Mari.
The cocktails were well made, mind you, with plenty of alcohol, which is not always a given at beach clubs in Bali.
Sunset View
Mari Beach Club is on the right side of the island for a fabulous sunset view and you can see the shoreline from almost everywhere in the venue.
However, if you’re inside the venue at the back, you may find the buildings block your view.
In fact, we’d say the best part of being at Mari Beach Club is having a cocktail in hand as the sun drops down behind the Indian Ocean and the sky lights up.
Music And Ambiance
The music is neither a disaster nor anything to write home about at Mari Beach Club.
It’s not entirely bland like at Potato Head, it’s definitely not cutting edge and it doesn’t have that happy party vibe of FINNS, it’s just background music.
The overall ambience of the club suffers a little because it’s rarely full and it’s quite spread out, so there’s little interaction between guests a lot of the time.
Payment Options
Mari Beach Club is happy to take your money in all standard forms and you won’t have any trouble paying for your seafood and beers with a card or cash.
Exit Process
It’s very easy to get back out of Mari Beach Club as you literally retrace your steps to head out the front door again.
The walk is short and not at all challenging, and there’s even a wheelchair ramp, though we’re not sure how a chair would fare inside the venue as it’s not the easiest path to navigate even on foot.
You are wished goodbye by security and the welcome staff and it’s pleasant enough.
Transportation
It’s very easy and convenient to get to and from Mari Beach Club, you can drive almost up to the door and either park or get a Grab or Gojek.
There’s no taxi mafia in the area and you don’t need to walk far after leaving the club to get a pick up.
The area isn’t that busy most of the time, either, but you will find that the road feeds out into busier Seminyak and Canggu roads, so as with all trips in Bali, it may take a while longer than you think to get home on a journey from Mari Beach Club (but that’s not the club’s fault).
Social Media Presence
Mari Beach Club has most social channels already set up and you won’t have any problem locating their Instagram, etc.
However, it’s a small club and as with pre-club advertising, there’s clearly not a huge amount of resource put into this kind of marketing.
It’s adequate to introduce you to the beach club and the design, etc. but it’s not a showcase of what you will experience on the day either.
As noted right at the start, advertising is not this club’s strong suit and pictures of an empty venue on Instagram aren’t really inspiring to people who want to visit.
Other/General Comments
A visit to Mari Beach Club, Bali, is generally going to be a positive experience. The biggest sticking point is the cost of menu items—we’d like to see a real focus on providing better value for money.
The other real issue is the entrance process, which ought to be run for the convenience of your customers rather than the convenience of your marketing team.
Overall, though this small bamboo beach club does create a unique environment for you to chill out in.
Our Overall Opinion On Mari Beach Club
Mari Beach Club is never going to be the biggest venue on the island and while in some ways it feels similar to FINNS, particularly with the bamboo design, it’s a small beach club.
We think it’s a nice place for a day in the sun relaxing but we wouldn’t pick it as a party spot at all.
We tend to visit Mari when we’re nursing a bit of a hangover and want an uncomplicated but customer-oriented experience but we don’t go as often as we could, thanks to the overpriced food and drinks.
FAQs
Is Mari Beach Club Family-Friendly?
Yes. Mari Beach Club is a great place to take children if your kids enjoy splashing around in the pool and playing by themselves.
However, all children under the age of 8 must be accompanied at all times by an adult inside the beach club.
We’d also note that there’s no special provision for children in this beach club, so younger children might get a little bored.
Check out our list of family-friendly beach clubs in Bali.
Can You Swim At Mari Beach Club Bali?
Yes, Mari Beach Club has a nice pool area where you can swim to your heart’s content.
This pool includes a swim-up bar, however, and might not be great for swimming all day long.
You can, in theory, also swim in the ocean but we wouldn’t advise it. This part of Bali’s coastline has strong currents and you don’t want to get pulled out to sea by a riptide.
What Can You Do At Mari Beach Club Bali?
Mari is a compact beach club and that means you can eat, drink, listen to their in-house music, splash about in the pool and take a walk down the beach.
There’s not much in the way of entertainment, simply due to the size constraints. It’s a place to spend a day chilling out, rather than for full-on parties.
Who Owns Mari Beach Club?
Raffi Ahmad, who is a famous artist in Indonesia, is the main shareholder in Mari Beach Club and the design and layout are inspired by his work.
Final Thoughts On Mari Beach Club Bali
Mari Beach Club is trying to create a unique experience on the Seminyak seafront at Batu Belig Beach.
The food and drinks are good but quite pricey and there’s not much to do once you enter the venue, you may find it’s a great place for spending a day relaxing, but the tasty seafood and striking bamboo design don’t make it busy enough for a party venue.
We would visit Mari Beach Club to recover from a day of partying at one of the bigger beach clubs like FINNS rather than make it our first port of call.
You may also enjoy our reviews of Alila Beach Bar and Favela Chic.
