Unique Sleeps: Double Six Seminyak, Bali

Seminyak is famous for its strip of shops, bars, restaurants and day spas but at one of its newest hotels, the Double Six, you won’t need to leave the hotel. Double Six Seminyak sits across the road from Double Six Beach, with its back to the busy shopping district and rooms looking straight out at the ocean. If you’re after no-brainer Bali break, this is the spot for you.

On my very first visit to Seminyak I’m shocked – the sheer amount of shops and restaurants lining the narrow streets really took me by surprise. In one of the Double Six fleet of hire cars, we pass rainforest cafés, Italian trattorias, libraries turned late night bars. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks – how do you choose from so many options? Well, I’m a little embarrassed to say that I didn’t try a single one.

From the moment we pulled into the long Double Six driveway, I had no desire to leave. Instead, I spent a few days soaking up the Bali buzz from the hotel – before you judge me, you can actually see a fair amount of life going on from the hotel pool. One Bali’s longest, the pool stretches 120 metres around the building. Each morning I pop into the water and swim all the way along the beachfront section of the resort. I watch surfer instructors run drills at the Rip Curl Surf School directly opposite, see dogs running along the beach with their owners and chuckle at the cute local kids playing soccer on the sand. Hopping straight out onto the private terrace of my Pool Access Suite, I spend some more time people watching from the deck chairs. I could of course cross the road and hang out at the Double Six’s private patch of the beach but that seems like too much trouble.

Instead, I head to breakfast at Seminyak Italian Food, where a fruit skewer arrives at the table smoking and sizzling on top of a bed of dry ice. Queue the theatrics! Robert Marchetti, the man behind Sydney’s Bondi Icebergs Dining Room and North Bondi Italian, isn’t afraid to cause a little drama. Seminyak Italian Food is a casual Italian eatery where you’ll feel at home with an Aperol spritz and a calzone, but his other signature restaurant, The Plantation Grill, is where things get serious.

Bali may be outside, but step inside this two storey dining room and you’re transported straight to the 1920s. Dramatic floor to ceiling windows, studded leather booths, Tiffany lamps, sparkling chandeliers and a grand staircase await. The Sling Bar is designed for pre-dinner Martinis but make a beeline for your table – the list of light cocktails is worth perusing while you snack on pretzel bread hot from the oven, served by waiters dressed in bow ties and waist coats. From big bold beauties like whole rock lobster thermidor to delicate beetroot salad, dishes are full of finesse and flavour. Save room for dessert – skip the menu and wait for the dessert trolley of daily changing gluten free sweets to be rolled around. The coconut and chocolate cake is a Bounty Bar on steroids.

 

By day two, I’m happily back at the pool, with a pizza on order for lunch and sundowners at the famous Double Six Rooftop Pool – we sip cocktails in sunken booths surrounded by ornamental pools and one seriously good sunset. Like I said, why would I ever need to leave?

Lisa was the guest of Double Six Seminyak