The Apurva Kempinski Bali
Gigantomania on the island of the gods
11/05/2025 Reading time: 2 Minutes
Perfect for ...
Anyone for whom a wide range of offers and an impressive ambience are more important than island flair and personal service.
Anyone for whom a wide range of offers and an impressive ambience are more important than island flair and personal service.
As a travel journalist, you're usually tough when it comes to "dinner for one". At least that's what I thought until I had to sit alone at a table of eight in the hot pot restaurant at The Apurva Kempinski Bali, designed for large group dinners, because there was supposedly not a single, tiny seat available in any of the seven other culinary outlets. Do you also think it's not very funny or service-oriented? Then don't book a spa treatment at Bali's largest hotel! Otherwise you might also be annoyed when your massage is canceled by phone shortly beforehand without any expression of regret due to "overbooking".
Gigantomania or hospitality? The Kempinski, which has 465 rooms, suites and villas, seems to have opted for the former - but this hardly seems to bother the mostly Russian and Chinese guests. After all, they are busy making themselves "instagrammable" anyway. There are more than enough locations for this - be it on the snow-white dream beach, where (for whatever reason) camels parade. Be it at the 42 m long infinity pool. Or on the cascading balconies and terraces. The scenery is rather soulless, but admittedly also very impressive. And so at some point I succumb to the selfie addiction and "shoot" myself in the hotel's own Koral - Bali's first "aquarium restaurant" - where delicious Hokkaido scallops and dry-aged red snapper are served in front of passing sea turtles and manta rays.
and dry-aged red snapper are served.
But it's best to make up your own mind about this hotel, which left me, the travel journalist who normally doesn't fear "dinner for one", feeling rather lost.
Test highlight
Lunch at Koral, Bali's first "aquarium restaurant"
Gigantomania or hospitality? The Kempinski, which has 465 rooms, suites and villas, seems to have opted for the former - but this hardly seems to bother the mostly Russian and Chinese guests. After all, they are busy making themselves "instagrammable" anyway. There are more than enough locations for this - be it on the snow-white dream beach, where (for whatever reason) camels parade. Be it at the 42 m long infinity pool. Or on the cascading balconies and terraces. The scenery is rather soulless, but admittedly also very impressive. And so at some point I succumb to the selfie addiction and "shoot" myself in the hotel's own Koral - Bali's first "aquarium restaurant" - where delicious Hokkaido scallops and dry-aged red snapper are served in front of passing sea turtles and manta rays.
and dry-aged red snapper are served.
But it's best to make up your own mind about this hotel, which left me, the travel journalist who normally doesn't fear "dinner for one", feeling rather lost.
Test highlight
Lunch at Koral, Bali's first "aquarium restaurant"
700394
