Facility

Lounge and lobby are located at 6th floor. 

Room

We booked 2 superior rooms with twin beds. The bed and pillow is very comfortable. Extra bed is possible.

We stayed at 19th floor and we did not hear any noise from the busy street. The room is an excellent soundproof room. All the basic amenities are available. If you need toothbrush, you gotta call housekeeping. The bathroom is stylist, modern and complete with rain shower, but there is no bathtub. The building and the room look new. 

One thing I didn't like, the room was dim even all lights were turned on at night. 

Breakfast

I booked this hotel at SGD150 and I find this rate quite expensive. I mean this rate in Bangkok is expensive. I like this hotel but I don't think I will stay here again because I want to fully utilize my money on shopping expenses instead. LOL.

Location

Vertigo on the 61st floor Banyan Tree Hotel, located at Sathorn Road, is one of the most popular tourist attraction in Bangkok.

We took taxi from Novotel Platinum Hotel and the taxi fare cost about 200 baht.

From the lobby, an express lift will take you to Vertigo within seconds. The 360 view from Vertigo is breathtaking. I would suggest that you opt for the first seating at 6:30pm to catch sunset.

Reservation

Reservation and strict dress code is required to go up there. No flip-flops, no athletic apparel, no torn clothing and no backpack. Long trousers, closed shoes and no sleeveless for guys. For ladies, no denim shorts. You can make reservation via their online booking system - http://www.banyantree.com/en/bangkok/experience_the_resort/dining/vertigo_and_moon_bar

You can also email them at guestservices-bangkok@banyantree.com

Service

Waiters were attentive, helpful and polite. 

Food

We ordered their 4 course set menu. We had spicy Thai tuna as appetizer, pumpkin soup, flame-grilled Wagyu beef as main and mango cheesecake dessert.

Spicy Thai tuna


Pumpkin soup


Wagyu steak


Mango cheesecake


The set menu starts at 2700 baht per pax. Starter price starts from 650 baht, steaks from 1000 baht, main course from 1400 baht and dessert from 400 baht.

The steak was small, dry and no taste. None of us like it.

At this price, 3600 baht, I would say the food was average. It is very expensive especially in Bangkok, but it's a great experience. I suggest just go there for a drink and only dine there if money is not an issue.


Here is their set menu as of July 2014.



Vertigo ala carte menu as of April 2014

It was a relax day. We arranged spa treatment at Bali Orchid Spa. It's owned by Balinese and all masseurs are female. It's located outside of Kuta central but this was not a problem as they provide free transfer for guests who stay in Nusa Dua, Jimbaran, Kuta, Seminyak and Sanur. It opens daily from 9am - 11pm. 





Their driver came to pick us up from our hotel. He's punctual and friendly. We didn't expect the spa salon is so close to our hotel, Park Regis Kuta. It took us less than 5 mins to be there. 

We opted for 2 hours spa package and the 2 hours treatment included

• Thalasso foot wash
• Balinese massage
• Body scrub
• Yogurt moisturizer
• Flower bath

We enjoyed the massage a lot! This spa salon is more authentic compared to those you will see in Kuta central. You probably need to spend Rp60,000 - 80,000 for an hour massage whereas you can get a very good treatment in Bali Orchid with just a little bit more money. We paid only Rp400,000 per person. Credit card is accepted but 3% surcharge is applicable.  

We spent the whole afternoon in hotel after massage. Relax in the swimming pool, enjoy the sun.

We have never been to Kuta so we decided to have our dinner at Kuta. We found this restaurant, Kori Restaurant & Bar, with high rating in tripadvisor.


It's located in the centre of Kuta. It took us 15 mins from Park Regis Hotel by cab at fare of Rp26,000.

The restaurant and the ambience surprised us, their service and food were great too. We had sate appetizer, giant hanging seafood, Kori's exotic seafood, warm chocolate pecan and banana split at Rp 569,000.

I wouldn't say the food is cheap, maybe compare to our home country. But it's definitely not cheap in Indonesian standard. Imagine this meal is equivalent to a day salary to our driver.

Appetizer. I love Balinese sate.


Hanging seafood and Kori's exotic seafood. I love the soup.


Warm chocolate pecan pie. Yummy.

Water rafting

Finally the highlight of the trip, Ayung River water rafting! We arranged water rafting on the 2nd last day because muscle pain is expected and we do not want the muscle pain affects the rest of our trip. 

Most small companies are charging USD35/pax or Rp350,000 for water rafting tour in Bali. There are quite a few bigger water rafting operators in Bali are charging higher price like USD75, such as Bali Adventure Tour, Telaga Waja Bali Rafting, Alam Amazing Adventures, Bali Bintang Tour and etc. The difference among them is the raft starting point, finishing point and facility. All different start and end points provide different rafting experience. Also these bigger companies like Bali Adventure has better office, restaurants and cleaner showers whereas other smaller operators probably just provide simple and basic facilities. 

Reception office at Payung Rafting is just a simple desk with water and tea provided. Their shower facility is basic, cloth curtain and shower head. Food is normal too, vegetable soup, steam rice, fried noodle, fried chicken and fish satay. 

Eka, our driver, recommended us Payung Rafting, a local Balinese owned rafting company in Ubud. Because of our driver, we paid only Rp350,000 per person instead of USD65 as stated on Payung Rafting website. 

We reached Payung Rafting office at 10am and only started rafting at 11am as we had to wait for others to form a group of 4. We were handed helmets, life vest, paddles and climbed down 350 steps to the river. The steps are steep and slippery however whoever is healthy should have no problem with it. We made it down and the got into a yellow raft. We were given a water proof bag to keep our iPhone and camera etc. Don't bring you DSLR as the ride is bumpy. Bring a small camera or use your iPhone if you want to take photo. We were also asked to take off our sandals and our raft guide secured our sandals with a rope. 

Our guide gave us a few minutes briefing on how to paddle and basic commands to follow such as move forward, backward, stop, down. We were informed that it would be a 10km raft and would last about 2 hours. We made a stop along the way after 45 mins. At the stop there were locals trying to sell drinks. They also asked us to buy drinks for our guide. We did and our guide choose a can of beer which cost Rp40,000. 

Our Rp350,000 was well worth. We get to enjoy beautiful scenery and some strong river flow. The raft was relatively easy so it is good for everyone. Anyone who is looking for more exciting rafting experience, you probably should try other rivers. Our driver told us that Rp50,000 tips to rafting guide is expected. 

Someone from Payung Rafting took our rafting photos at somewhere. We could purchase our photos in CDROM (10 photos) at Rp100,000 or just print out at Rp50,000 at the end of the session. 

Batur Volcano

After having simple lunch at Payung Rafting office, we continued our journey to Mount Batur. Mount Batur itself is actually a small volcano. It is still active today. 

It's about 2 hours plus ride from Kuta to Kintamani. Entrance fee of Rp20,000 per person. 



It was a rainy afternoon but we were lucky that it stopped raining when we reached there but still very cloudy. Because of the rain, we saw a little rainbow! 



Our driver brought us to a cafe where you can overlook mountain and lake. 



Nice place to enjoy a cup of coffee in the afternoon. 

Tirta Empul temple

It's a Hindu temple famous for its holy water where Hindus go for purification (soul and mind). They believe that the holy water has the healing power. 

This temple is about an hour drive from Ubud. We paid entrance fee of Rp15,000 per pax. 



The purifying pool


I noticed that these people started from the first mini fountain to the last one so to complete the whole process.

Ubud

We wanted to visit Ubud market but we were hungry and it was quite late in the evening, we decided to have our dinner at one of the famous restaurant in Ubud, Bebek Tepi Sawah. Bebek Tepi Sawah means duck beside rice field. 

This restaurant has a very nice table setting surrounding rice field and beautiful view. It was a relaxing dining experience there.




We ordered 2 sets of their popular crispy duck, 1 sate lilit and 1 water. All these cost us Rp 292,900. Crispy duck rice set comes with 3 different chillis. Many may compare this with the China style pekin duck. I would say both are good. This is a deep fried duck dish which some people may find the duck malnutrition. Sate lilit (fish satay) taste very nice and was served beautifully!

It's an outdoor restaurant so ants and mosquitoes can be annoying.

Try to go there earlier so you can grab a better seat (near the main building) to watch traditional Balinese dance performance in the evening.

Ulun Danu temple

It was a rainy afternoon when we visited Ulun Danu temple. My picture didn't come out as what I expected. It's better to visit this place in the morning as it's usually clearer sky. Ulun Danu temple is located beside Lake Bratan at Bedugul. It opens daily from 7am to 5pm. This is probably the most famous and most photographed temple in Bali after Tanah Lot temple. 

If you come from Kuta to this place, it's gonna be a long drive. Most people will make a stop at Jatiluwih rice terrace which takes an hour to reach. Entrance ticket Rp30,000 per pax. 

Visitor can rent a wooden boat (sampan) to enjoy the view. We paid Rp9500 for a 30 mins ride with boatman.