Hard Rock Hotel in Kuta doesn't really rock and there's not too much that is hard about it which suits much of my fellow travellers here who'd struggle if they had to think about what they're doing. Bali has that effect on some of us. The rooms are adequate, not luxurious but not dodgey either. I notice that some reviews talk of the rooms smelling like mould, well it's Bali and you run the air-conditioning 24/7 here so what do you expect, fresh air? I suspect that fresh air may be available via room service. Kids rule the roost and are catered for through the Kids Club and the impressive pool that has a sandy island, water slides and water playground. Pretty safe environment for them but I'd steer them away from the swim-up bar as that seems to be reserved for drunk Australians trying to sit upright after consuming twice their body weight in Bintang. That said, it would be down right un-Australian if they didn't attempt to do so and it makes their decison to get a dodgey tattoo of Bert Newton's face across their back easier (although I didn't know Bert had a beard). All in all there's not too much to think about here - breakfast tends to be included and the buffet covers off on every conceivable angle including hot fish curry, the breakfast of champions. The HRH is a safe have in the heart of Kuta near Poppies 1, across from the beach and around the corner from Kuta Square. There's a Starbucks next door if you need you caffeine hit before hitting the shops. Food at the Hotel is what you'd expect from the Hard Rock brand and is satisfying, especially the wood-fired pizzas by the pool, but I'd steer away from the Hard Rock Cafe as I've been a couple of times and never had a meal that I've not regretted paying for. The crew at the hotel are very courteous ad on occasion we've had some very good personal service from the guy looking after our room - Nyoman but I'm sure of you had Made, Ketut or Wayan look after you, you'll have a similar experience. Well, I'm going back next week with the family, so it can't be too bad, can it?

We stayed for 6 night in January 2013. This is the first time I have stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel however I am a very regular visitor to Bali. We chose this hotel to celebrate my daughters 18th birthday (she was surprised with a birthday cake shaped like a guitar - nice touch!) and we were happy enough with the hotel and its facilities although some areas were looking tired. The breakfast is fantastic and the bands of an evening are very entertaining. The pool is huge with cabanas that can be rented for the day surrounding the pool area. We were there during school holidays and the children at the kids club looked like they were having a fantastic time! However the photos on the website are taken at very generous angles which makes the hotel rooms look much bigger than they are. We were disappointed that the Boom Box recording studio was "under renovation" (nothing mentioned on the website) during our stay which was disappointing as we wanted our daughter and her friends to be able to take home some extra memories (its these extras that people choose hotels for). We thought the dog made of towels on our bed one evening was a wonderful touch, so well done to the housekeeping staff! The security at the front was very good although the walk from the front gate to the lobby is long and up hill!! Whilst I enjoyed the experience at staying here, I am not a fan of large hotels and would much prefer a smaller balinese styled hotel.

We stayed here with another family group in October 2012 for the first 3 nights of our 2 week holiday in Bali. Was a great place to start as it is just across the road to Kuta Beach and a short walk to poppies lane where you get the true Bali shopping experience. It's a very large resort style accomodation with an amazing pool complete with swim up bar, and private gazabos as an optional extra.
The breakfasts were great, typical large hotel buffet style with lots to choose from.
Drinks by the pool were quite expensive, so best to go across the road to the beach and find a nice spot under the trees where the locals with their portable bars will look after you very well. They have Bintang and soft drinks, but were happy to take us on their scooter to a shop they knew and we purchased Bacardi Breezers which they happily kept on ice and served up to me with my friend's Bintang's.
The ground floor of the resort has a cool bar with live night time entertainment, but I have to admit we only went there for a drink one night as we completely wore ourselves out during the days and were happy to go to bed instead.
The resort is quite westernised, so you don't really get the Balinese style experience here as we did when we stayed at other more traditional accomodation.

We stayed here September 2012. The Pools are Amazing!!! The room was fantastic and kept very clean. Kids loved the kids club. The food was great. I celebrated my Birthday during my stay and the Cake and Staff singing Happy Birthday at Breakfast was a lovely touch. We enjoyed our stay and would stay here again.