We went to Bali for 2.5weeks in April without booking for the last part of our stay. While staying at Villa Kipas (great place) we went on a tour of most hotels in Seminyak/Jimbaran looking for a place to stay. After reviewing many places (inc Four Seasons) we decided to stay at The Legian. And we were not dissapointed. We have been to many of the GHM hotels (inc Miami and Vietnam) and it compares very well to them although The Datai is still best.
The hotel was full but the service was still quite personal and attentive. We booked a 2brd apartment and it is an exellent choice for a family. It is true that the rooms are a bit hybrid and could be anywhere else but they are modern and the service remains 100% Balinese. Food is really good although breakfast can be a long wait. Location is great and you can walk to many places, esp good nearby restaurants. We ate at the Samaya and La Lucciola (both a dissapointment). We loved the Legian and will not hesitate to go back and enjoy the sunset while listening jazz or having a massage. We are missing it already!
Pros: location + service + beautiful ambience + perfect to watching the sunset in style
Cons: If hotel full, it can be a bit of a struggle to get a sunlounger, the beach in front is not the best part of Seminyak as the current is quite strong (go swim in front of the other hotel or close to Ku De Ta/Oberoi).

We passed through on our way to Australia for Christmas, from Europe. December is great in Bali unless you want to roast yourself a tan quick - it was never uncomfortably hot, but it didn't rain much (you can be unlucky they say, but in the three years we have been in Bali in December, we never have ...). This was our first time in Seminyak, which we loved. Not that we did much outside the hotel - we had an eight month old baby with us, and my parents tagged aling in the room next door as well. But what we liked about Seminyak was that it was good shopping, filtering out much of the trashy shopping of Kuta/Legian, leaving a good blend which we could easily find what we were looking for. But enough about that - it was the hotel which counted for us, and verery quickly we became thrilled with what we found - not from the start because the entrance isn't at all a take your breath away experience - but once you enter the room and settle in you quickly see what it is all about. All you read about the personal touch at this hotel is true - the babysitters which take your little one away so you can eat your breakfast in peace - the pool attendant who keeps an eye on your every need - the executive chef who drops over to your table every night, the staff who all know your name and your little preferences - pretty much everything works like clockwork. Which in Bali really is quite something. We dined more nights than the usual at the hotel restaurant which from a visual and chill out experience can't be beaten. Frankly, I've visited a few of the "in places" to dine out in the area and in my view the hotel dining is a better experience for the chill out factor, and it is not that much more than the trendies ooutside the hotel when it comes to the wallet. The food isn't amazingly good (although it is very good). The wine is expensive. But overall, it works brilliantly with the waves crashing in the distance and the outdoor setting a dream. And the staff make it a real joy. Where it is worth going out are the more cheaper but excellent value places - I can't remember the name but we ate very good freshly made pasta which was significantly better than most of the pasta dishes I am served in goodish Italian restaurants in Europe (outside Italy, of course) and for value, laughably good. But in my view Koo-de-tah (or however they want to spell it) and its equally trendy spots is for those staying in cheaper hotels who want the fine dining beach experience, not for those already in a fine hotel on the beach and have it all a hundred metres from their rooms, but without the hundreds of other guests alongside. All in all, financial crisis or not, this place merits your attention, and your hard earned dollars, if, that is, you want a totally chilled out small hotel feeling, in a haven of tranquility far enough away from the hustle of the masses (who you are trying to avoid). The only other comment I would make is that although we didn't see the Club area, I understand it is without direct view/access to the beach. On that basis, our deluxe room ground floor with the beach in front of us can't be beaten. There's something to having the beach rumbling away just in front of you morning, noon and night. It is an experience I sorely miss living in Europe (and with real estate prices beachside in Oz these days, probably will have to accept I won't get there ever again). The Club may offer me many things, but (especially with our bubs, but even without I would surely feel the same) the fact that we could walk to the pool and the beach (although it isn't much of an attraction when you actually set foot on it) in one minute, plus the fact that we could smell the beach air (that was not affected by the visual detritus, I am glad to report), and sit on our terrace or even better walk to our covered pagoda covered beach-side bed and return without a second thought, made it better than I could imagine anywhere else. There may well be other places equal in Bali, but for what we paid, this place gives us enough reasons to not bother searching for another - we're happy with what we found.

We stayed at the Legian for 5 nights out of our 9 night visit to Bali and it was the best hotel for overall experience. The staff were friendly and the pool staff new our names from day one which i thought was a nice touch.

The rooms were huge and loved the four poster bed with white curtains around it which was very romantic. We had breakfast brought to our room every morning and had this out on our massive balcony overlooking the ocean. The day bed out on the balcony was a great touch as well, but by mid morning is was too hot & humid to sit out there. The bose sound system & ipod docks were great, they even give you an ipod to listen to during your stay which had some fantasic music downloaded.

The pool was divine with 2 infinity edge pools we were always able to get pool beds close by and you overlook the beach which is quite entertaining watching surfers being dumped by the waves - kept my fiance happy!

I would definitely recommend this hotel it is fantastic.

We stayed at The Legian Bali to attend a friend's wedding at Four Seasons, Sayan. Had 3 nights at the Legian, then travelled to Ubud for two nights at the Four Seasons, then back to the Legian for another 3 nights. As we booked via a travel agent I am not exactly sure how much we paid for the room but it seems to be around USD700 for a Deluxe Suite.

After being picked up at the airport, we arrived at the hotel to be greeted with a complimentary fruit mocktail, absolutely delicious. The check in experience was excellent with the staff leading us to comfortable chairs to enjoy our drinks and bring the forms to us for completion they were very attentive (very different to any Australian hotel I have been too, where you usually have to stand in line waiting for someone to serve you). That first night we arrived in the evening and decided to have a drink at the bar, the hotel arranged a baby sitter at very short notice, the babysitter was very nice and came over every day for a few hours so we could do some shopping and head out at night, she was excellent.

Hotel breakfast was amazing each morning, I would gorge myself and not need anything else until the afternoon. They had both western and asian breakfast buffet. The Nasi Goreng at breakfast there was better than anything I have been able to find back in Perth.

The room was huge, with a small kitchette which came in handy so we could prepare food for our daughter. Had an excellent view from our balcony.

They have a heap of sun lounges near the pool and overlooking the beach, but get down early to snare a prime position.

The only problem we had with the hotel was the second time we checked in we ended up with a room at the opposite end that we originally had and found that this area had a heap of mosquitoes.

Overall, the hotel was amazing, staff excellent and attentive, they all knew our names, close to the beach, breakfast was unreal. Generally was a really good stay, defineately will stay again once the aussie dollar picks up a bit moreso i can afford the accomodation.