The Alila Beach Bar is in one of the most upscale hotels in Bali, the Alila Seminyak, and there’s no doubt that while this is a hotel facility, it’s not one reserved for guests of the hotel, and you’re welcome to pop in and enjoy the place if you’re passing by.
So, as our team can’t say no to a nice spot of dinner and drinks at a swanky venue on the island, they were swiftly dispatched to find out whether the Alila Beach Bar was in the same league as the island’s beach clubs.
This is what they discovered during their time at the Alila Beach Bar in Seminyak, Bali.
Introduction – Getting To Alila Beach Bar
Getting to Bali is always going to be down to where you start from. If you’re coming from Australia or other parts of Southeast Asia, it’s not going to take too long or be too painful to fly to Denpasar International Airport (or Ngurah Rai International Airport as it’s better known locally).
For those coming from further afield, such as the United States or Europe, it’s a longer flight and potentially a more expensive flight.
However, there’s no doubt that Bali is generally way cheaper than Ibiza or Tulum, so you can quickly save back the cost of the flight on your holiday expenses.
Once you arrive in Bali, Seminyak is one of the island’s top tourist destinations and it’s within a short drive from the airport, Canggu, Ubud, Kuta, Jimbaran, Uluwatu and even Sanur and Nusa Dua aren’t too far off.
You should be aware, though, that traffic on the island can be brutal at times, and you should allow much longer to get somewhere than the distance on the map suggests.
We always recommend using Grab or Gojek (the local ride-share apps) to book a ride rather than trying to drive yourself around. These services are incredibly cheap and much safer.
As it’s a hotel beach club, you will find there’s onsite parking and your ride-share can easily drop you at the door, which is nice.
Where Is Alila Beach Bar? Inside Alila Seminyak, Jalan Taman Ganesha Jl. Petitenget No.9A, Seminyak, Kec. Kuta Utara, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361
Online: Alila Beach Bar
Opening Hours: Open daily, every day except for Nyepi (a Balinese holiday that takes place in March or April each year for a single day – it’s the festival of silence and the entire island closes down for the day), from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
What’s Available At Alila Beach Bar?
This beach bar is more than your standard beach bar, and there is an attractive infinity pool, which is medium-sized compared to other beach clubs, as well as a restaurant and bar. The pool area has some comfortable beanbag seating for guests.
Our Detailed Review Of Alila Beach Bar
We implement a consistent evaluation process for every beach club to ensure just treatment of owners, management, and staff, and to present reviews in a standardised format that enables easy comparisons across venues.
The evaluation procedure is outlined as follows:
- A team is designated to review the venue.
- Each member is required to visit the beach club, with the option to do so independently and on different days.
- During their visit, every reviewer completes a scorecard, rating the club from 1 (least effective) to 5 (most effective) in specified categories, while also documenting their observations.
- After all team members have completed their visits and scorecards, they meet to discuss their experiences and settle on final scores for each category.
- A chosen team member then composes the review, reflecting the team’s discussions and final scores, before it is published on our website.
Reservation and Booking Process
We don’t know if we are meant to be grateful that you can book a seat at this beach club, but we’re not because it’s such a convoluted process.
This hotel is owned by the Hyatt Group. It ought to be the simplest thing for them to install a booking engine on their website. But they haven’t.
So, while you can reserve a room in a few seconds, you need to start a back-and-forth email chain with a hotel employee to get a seat by the pool.
This is insane, and it’s not OK. In 2025, there are tiny beach clubs offering complete booking services, but one of the biggest hotel chains in the world can’t be bothered? Meh.
However, because of the difficulty level to book and the overall pricing of things at this beach club, they usually have room for a walk-in at any time of the day.
Ambience and Atmosphere
This is a very much upscale, chill by the sea spot, and if you want to go somewhere that makes you feel a bit like a mover and shaker, it’s going to appeal to you.
There’s no loud music and nothing to distract from the job in hand, which is enjoying the Bali sunshine while eating delicious food and drinking expensive and pretty drinks.
We quite like that, though, there’s something to be said for a day without distractions and enjoying the company of the people you are with.
But, it does mean that the vibe here is very much one note, and there’s nothing to shake things up during the day to stimulate your energy levels.
Location And Accessibility
Seminyak Beach is, rightfully, one of the most popular places in Bali because the beach is lovely and the area has many things to offer visitors.
However, there is a downside to all this upside – traffic. The area has some of the worst traffic on the island, and you may end up spending a lot of time waiting in your vehicle to get there.
Of course, Alila Seminyak Beach Bar has absolutely nothing to do with how much traffic you encounter, but it does mean that it’s a very good idea to set off much earlier than you intend to arrive.
This is also a nice location for a sunset view, and it’s one of the best views in Bali. If you want that perfect tropical sunset shot, this is as good a place as any to get it.
Aesthetic And Design
There’s a charming, almost understated, feel to the design at this beach club, and we thought the beanbags around the pool rather than daybeds were a nice touch.
However, it doesn’t always look like the place matches the fairly high price tag on the food, drinks and resort rooms.
It feels a little like they tried too hard to pull off the downmarket casual chic, though fortunately, the service and other touches will swiftly remind you of where you are, even if the decor doesn’t.
One great thing about it is that you can get a good sunset view from almost anywhere in the venue, thanks to the very open design.
Staff Friendliness and Professionalism (Service Standard)
Bali’s reputation for service is legendary. There’s something about this small Hindu enclave in a Muslim-majority nation that has turned the locals into friendliness personified.
You are always welcomed with a smile and what feels like genuine warmth wherever you go here.
Then, the Hyatt Group and the might of its training department come along and instil a dedication to professionalism and customer service that goes above and beyond the day-to-day call of duty on the island.
Yes, the service standard here is exceptional. It has to be. Nobody pays 5-star prices to be served by surly and uninterested people unless they’re in Europe.
Service Speed and Efficiency
It might just be the layout of this place, but while the staff were always very good at anticipating when we might need something and materialising to take our orders, we did feel that sometimes the delivery of things we ordered was a touch on the slow side.
It wasn’t so bad that it made us want to complain, but there were moments when we felt thirsty and hungry because of the wait.
On the bright side, we found there was absolutely no problem getting the bill at the end of the day, and if some change was required, that materialised pretty swiftly too.
Food Quality and Variety
We were actually a bit disappointed in the food at this beach club. While there’s more than enough variety on the menu to keep almost anyone happy, the quality of the finished product wasn’t of a standard to match the prices.
A spaghetti bolognese in Bali will normally set you back around 20-30,000 IDR (that’s about $1-$2 USD or $2-$3 AUD). In this beach club, it’s 195,000 IDR++ (which means another 20% on top for taxes and service charges, both of which are a legal requirement in Indonesia). That’s nearly 240,000 IDR in total ($15 USD or $24 AUD).
Was this bolognese 10 times as good as one in your local warung? No. In fact, we think we’ve had better in our local warung. It is better than McD’s, but that’s not saying very much.
We don’t mind high prices in beach clubs; in fact, we expect it. But we do expect the quality standards to meet the mark, too.
Beverage Selection and Creativity
On the flip side of things, the beverage selection here is excellent, and there’s no doubt that when called upon to present an attractive drink, the bar staff do a first-rate job.
The menu is sufficiently varied that anyone calling in for the day isn’t going to find themselves running out of drink options any time, either.
Most importantly, the drinks are mixed strong enough to justify the price tags, and that’s important as some clubs in Bali serve a pretty watery cocktail.
Cleanliness and Hygiene
We’d have been pretty disappointed if any property managed by the Hyatt Group didn’t meet our exacting standards for cleanliness and hygiene.
Fortunately, this wasn’t something we had to worry about at the Alila Beach Bar. Not only was the pool area kept immaculate, and the toilets were also very nice, and we had no concerns about eating or drinking at this beach club.
Comfort of Seating and Lounging Areas
The beanbags are nice for slouching in, and that they’ve been moulded into chair form actually makes them more comfortable than at most beach clubs.
The very few daybeds, on the other hand, weren’t great, and while we could spend a couple of hours on them, we wouldn’t fancy spending all day reading a book on them.
The restaurant and bar seating was comfortable enough, but nothing to write home about or ask for their supplier’s name either.
Overall, the seating here is “good enough” but not “wow”, and we want “wow” when we’re going upmarket in Bali for the day.
Music and Entertainment
During the day, the music here is piped in, and that’s pretty much what we’d expect at a hotel beach club. It’s neither great nor offensive, it just provides a backdrop for you to chat with your mates for a few hours.
At night, however, they have a live band on, and while the emphasis is on pop classics, we were fine with that – we thought it made a nice change from the EDM of other beach clubs, or worse, the bland chill-out tunes beloved of places like Potatohead.
It doesn’t have the amazing energy of a place like FINNS Beach Club, which is just up the road in Canggu, but it’s pretty good for a family day out.
Seasonality
This is Bali, the Island of the Gods, and there’s nothing of any concern when it comes to seasonality. The island’s “wet season” sees rain every 2nd or 3rd day for an hour or two, and then? 8 hours of glorious sunshine on average each day!
Better still, the temperature is pretty much ideal all year round. Though it is a little cooler in the dry season with an onshore breeze.
There’s only one mandatory day a year when businesses close, Nyepi, which is the Balinese Festival of Silence. Even the airport shuts down for that day.
It takes place in March or April each year, and most people appreciate a day of calm, relaxed quiet in between parties.
Pricing and Value for Money
If only the food were better, we could have got this score up by at least a point. We don’t think the pricing here is exorbitant, and we wouldn’t be complaining if it weren’t for the quality of the food.
Everything else feels like good value for money. But we really do feel that beach club food is an important part of a great day out, and the food here isn’t great.
Beach Access and Quality
You can walk straight onto Seminyak Beach from this beach club, and it’s a very popular beach with soft sand.
Unfortunately, it can get supremely crowded at certain times of day, and that’s why it loses a point here.
Otherwise, it’s great for a walk along the shoreline. But don’t swim in the ocean, the current is very random and can occasionally drag even a very strong, experienced swimmer out to sea.
The infinity pool at the Alila Beach Bar is better for swimming in.
Sustainability Practices
The Alila has a great food waste policy, which is dedicated to circular solutions for waste and minimising the impact of waste on the local environment and community.
They take part in local initiatives to help promote sustainability in food education on the island, and this includes providing mentorship to Balinese students.
This hotel also has an organic garden, which is fully hydroponic and ensures that the dishes they serve are farm-to-table. They also offer zero-waste cocktails.
Overall, this is pretty good, and it’s nice to see a property in Bali being specific about what they have done regarding sustainability, rather than pontificating about what they’d like to do. Though there’s still plenty of room for improvement, too.
Exclusive Perks for Guests
You get a towel and the use of a seat for a mere 400,000 IDR per person, minimum spend which seems fair enough to us.
This is very much a Bali standard, and while there’s no option for an improved list of inclusion,s not even for a fee, it’s good enough for a mid-rank in this category.
Safety and Security
Obviously, hotels in Bali take your safety very seriously, and there’s a small car check before you drive onto the compound at Alila Beach Bar.
There’s also more than enough security around the place to ensure that if any problems were to occur, they’d be resolved before they had any impact on other guests.
Event Hosting Capabilities
While there are private event spaces throughout the Alila Seminyak, the beach club is not listed as being available among them.
Consistency of Experience
As with most hotel beach clubs in 5-star properties, the experience is very reliable and consistent. But there’s very little effort being put into improving the experience either, no iteration, just maintenance.
Additional Amenities and Facilities
The club has nearly all the amenities and facilities we’d expect from a hotel beach club and anything else you might need is just a short walk or drive away in Seminyak.
Summary
This is definitely one of the better hotel beach clubs in Bali, though we were a touch disappointed by the food.
Overall, though it’s a lovely spot for a day out with friends and family, when you want to chill by the pool in the sun and maybe enjoy a little live music in the evening.
We don’t think we’d travel too far just for this beach club, but if you’re going to be in Seminyak? It’s a good choice for a day or a few hours out.
FAQs
Can You Go Swimming At Alila Beach Bar?
You can swim at the Alila Beach Bar, but unless you’re a hotel guest, you are required to agree to a minimum spend of 400,000 IDR (that’s about $30 USD or $40 AUD).
To be fair, given the prices at this beach bar, we can’t see how you’re going to spend much less than this amount anyway. So, agree and the hotel will not just let you use the pool, they will provide you with a towel to dry off with too.
This is good, because as with most beach clubs in Bali, you’re not allowed to bring your own towels into the venue.
You could also, in theory, swim on Seminyak Beach as there’s direct access to the sand from the Alila Beach Bar, but we don’t recommend it.
As with most stretches of water on this side of the island, the currents can be a bit unpredictable and pull even the strongest swimmers out to sea. It’s best to stick to the pool.
But do enjoy a walk along the beach, it’s a very pleasant beach, though we strongly recommend you wear flip-flops or sandals to prevent your soles from burning on the hot sand.
What Is There To Do At Alila Beach Bar?
This is a hotel beach bar, and that means you can swim in the pool (with a small minimum spend), drink and eat. And that’s about it.
There is definitely no party vibe at this beach club, and you won’t find yourself dancing the night away here.
Is Alila Beach Bar A Child-Friendly Venue?
Yes, Alila Beach Bar is a child-friendly venue. In fact, the entire resort is family-friendly. In addition to children being welcome to use the pool, there’s also an onsite kids’ club.
We should note that this club is open to outside guests for a fee; resort guests’ children may use the kids’ club at no extra charge.
That seems reasonable enough to us, after all, this is an expensive resort, and guests are paying for the club in the high room rates.
Who Is The Owner Of Alila Beach Bar?
The Alila Beach Bar is owned by the Alila Seminyak Hotel, which is one of the most upscale hotels in Seminyak.
This hotel is owned by the Hyatt Group, which is one of the largest collectives of hotels in the world and thus publicly traded. The majority of investors will be from overseas.
Final Thoughts On The Review Of Alila Beach Bar
This is an excellent hotel beach club, and while it has no ambitions to compete with the other beach clubs on the island, we’d be happy to spend a day chilling here with friends, particularly if we were in or around Seminyak.
Of course, if you’re looking for something a bit more lively, FINNS Beach Club in Canggu is just up the road, and they have the best party environment of any beach club in the world.
