We stayed at The Oberoi on our honeymoon in September 2009. I can honestly say it was the best holiday we have ever had. We were wowed by the hotels grounds and location (right on the beach) the hotel did not feel imposing at all and we felt at home right away. The lanai we stayed in was beautiful and modern. It was private without being isolated. We were most impressed with all the staff they were not only helpful but friendly and curtious all the time. The beach was lovely although the sea was a little more rough than expected! The food was fantastic although we preferred the buffet much more than the ala carte menu. All in all the hotel completely exceeded all our expectations-it was fantastic!

I stayed at the Oberoi with my partner for 4 days and hated leaving: the hotel is an oasis amidst a slightly imperfect area. The service was flawless, with almost every person striking a perfect balance between friendliness and distance. The room was great and offered just enough privacy.

The hotel itself was lovely and has a gentle, calming design. I never saw a computer screen or any sort of infrastructure (until check out, when they ran a credit card) and in the end, it was rather magical.

When i return to Bali, I wouldn't stay anywhere else.

We did have a lovely time at this hotel. The room was especially lovely and the whole resort was clean and professionally run with friendly staff - especially at the Kura Kura bar. All the amenities are as described on the hotel's own website and photo's give an accurate picture of the hotel.

We found 2 'faults' with the hotel. Firstly that there is sometimes a faint smell of sewerage that drifts across the beach - especially noticeable at breakfast time. I think this is mentioned in other reviews too.

Secondly, there are not enough sun loungers for all the guests. We were there for 3 days and on 2 of the days we could not get a lounger at either the pool or the beach. (On the second day a member of staff did bring two out to the grass area near the pool for us to use but not on the 1st occasion). It's understandable that the hotel would not necessarily be able to foresee where people may want to lie and therefore not have enough loungers at either the pool or the beach but to not have enough overall is a bit on the poor side for a 5* hotel.

These are really two fairly insignificant issues - if you were staying at a less pricey resort (Which we did and had a better experience). The food was good but no better than we had in other hotels. The drinks were significantly more expensive than in other places.

My advice would be to spend less and stay somewhere else where you'd get equal or better scenery, beach, pool, food, rooms etc but at a far, far greater value for money.

We have just returned from the Oberoi having spent 10 glorious days there. Having read many of the reviews before we went we chose this Hotel above many other highly rated hotels in the area and we not dissappointed.

Best thing I think is to get some of the minor criticism that have been listed out of the way.

Firstly some one had said that the rooms do not have smoke detectors. Not true. Our room had one and we checked many of the other rooms as we are looking to go back to the Oberoi in 2010. They all had smoke alarms. All of the staff have been trained in Fire Drill and there are many - discreet, fire hydrants in the extensive gardens close to each of the villas so NO worries with this.

Secondly there have been comments that the hotel is of a rather dated appearance. Also not true. The Hotel was built 30 years ago admittedly but the rooms are very much uptodate with beautiful old world charm, lots of marble floors, traditional Balinese style furniture and very well furnished .Modern TV's with 60 satelite channels, DVD players, modern fridge, great size beds with lovely linen and furnishings. If you want a modern chrome and steel box that could be anywhere in the world try somewhere else.

Beacause each room is a seperate villa within lovely grounds you do not have the traditional Hotel approach where if you sit out on your balcony you have a couple next to you on your left and right as well as below and above you. Not at all private and not what I would want for a romantic getaway. For the 10 days we were there I think we passed one couple who were staying in a villa near ours. Had many lovely evenings sitting on our balcony sipping wine with not a sole in site nearby or any noise from a TV or HIFi that was turned up. If you want some party atmosphere, literally walk out of the main gates and next door is the fabulous Ku De Ta night club and restaurant. Could not be easier to get to. Great place for teenage kids and very close by.

Now to the prices. This Hotel is NOT expensive. It is a very good price for 5 star luxury with excellent service. There is nothing that can be done exchange rates from either the US Dollar, AUS dollar or UK pound. Its a fact of life that because of the global recession when you compare the exchange rate the prices are higher than you may have paid two or three years ago. This is the same everywhere in the world I am afraid and not fault of the Oberoi Hotel or Bali in general.

When you look at the quality of the rooms, the quiet and beautifully maintained gardens, the wonderful beach that is cleaned daily by the Oberoi gardeners, the lovely restaurant, bar, pool and business centre ( free as well) you get a lot of luxury and quality for the price you pay. yes there are cheaper Hotels but you may find noisy family groups, teenagers dominating the pool, loud groups at the bar, close to the road and a dirty beach infront of you. Not so at the Oberoi. As the old aying goes you get what you pay for and if you have travelled a long way to get here you surely want to make sure that it is as good as you expect, or as we found it, much better than we expected.

Finally a few words about the restaurant. I also have to disagree with many of the comments that it is expensive. Having travelled extensively throughout the world and living now in the South of France, the Oberoi restaurant is very good value for the quality of food and service that you get. The chef is excellent and even has a lower cost option of the Plat Du Jour, three courses at a fixed price, which is excellent quality, presentation and flavour. Not some cheap pasta dish and ice cream but a lovely choice that is changed every day.

Please remember that this is a five star Hotel with an award winning chef, who produces an excellent quality of food at prices that you would expect to pay at such a restaurant anywhere else in the world. To give you an idea a three course meal with wine would be around 35 to 50 euro per head. That is a good price for the quality you get in the beautiful surroundings coupled with the outstanding service. If you want cheap food it is available from the many restaurants up the road but you will be sitting close to a busy road, with a restaurant full of loud tourists, wait a long time for your food and will probably be dissappointed. Again you get what you pay for. Wine on the island has a 300% import tax on it so the prices at the Oberoi bar or restaurant are very similar to what you would pay at other Hotels and Bars. Drink the local balinese wines - they are very good value for the price

If you take the package with your room to include American breakfast then you probably will not need to eat that often. Let me explain. the Breakfast in the morning is wonderful and will include, fresh fruit juice ( freshly squeezed not poured from a carton) fruit salad platter, muesli ( just the best I have ever had!) , cooked breakfast of eggs - fried, boiled, poached or scrambled, bacon, sausage, mushrooms and potatoes. This is then followed by friut compote and yoghurt, toast and pastries! And endless coffee and tea. If you can manage lunch then go for something light but basically breakfast will see you through to dinner. So you actually save money as you only really need to buy two meals per day. I am sure that this would not be the case in some of the other hotels.

A long review I know but if you want a holiday to remember for all of the right reasons you cannot go wrong with booking into the Oberoi. You will not be dissappointed at all.We were so impressed we have now booked three villas to take our children and their wives for christmas 2010 - it really was that good!!