The Legian is one of Seminyak, Bali’s absolute institutions, and its beach club, Pool Bar, is possibly the most exclusive beach club destination on the island.
And this is because you need a $600 (minimum) USD a night hotel room at The Legian before they will let you into the beach club. Outsiders and walk-ins are not allowed here.
So, our team was very excited to learn they would not just be out enjoying a beach club with this review, but that they’d also get a swanky place to stay for the night. This is what they learned at Pool Bar in Bali.
Introduction – Getting To Pool Bar At The Legian
Bali is an island in Southeast Asia, in the Republic of Indonesia, and it’s one of over 18,000 islands in the Indonesian archipelago.
It’s pretty easy to get to Bali from other Southeast Asian countries and from Australia. However, it’s a long way from North America and Europe.
The good news is that you can often save more money by coming to Bali than you spend on flights when compared to places like Miami, Tulum, St. Tropez, Mykonos, etc.
If you do opt to head to Bali, then this beach club is on the main beachfront in Seminyak, one of Bali’s most popular destinations.
It’s very easy to get to from the airport and from most of the other tourist towns on the island. However, we do need to stress that you must be a hotel guest to use this beach club – this is very different from most beach clubs in Bali, which admit walk-in guests.
That means spending around 10,000,000 IDR ($650 USD) to secure a room at this very upscale resort.
When you arrive, there’s valet parking and ride-shares, taxis, etc. will have no issues pulling up to the front door to drop you off.
Given that you’ll be checking into your room before you hit Pool Bar, you will fnid the staff are very happy to direct you to a daybed when you’re ready for some sun, sea and sand.
Where Is Pool Bar At The Legian? 8583+6CR, The Legian Bali, Jl Kayu Aya,, Seminyak, Seminyak Beach, Bali, 80361, Indonesia
Online: Marriott
Opening Hours: open during daylight hours and until 11 p.m. to hotel guests only, every day (including Nyepi, Bali’s Day of Silence)
What’s Available At Pool Bar At The Legian?
Pool Bar Legian is home to some very attractive and comfortable seating. It also has bar and restaurant facilities. There’s an amazing infinity pool which rivals the best in Bali.
However, as this is a small, exclusive hotel facility, there is no entertainment and certainly no live DJs. It’s not built for parties, and you’re meant to chill here with friends and/or family and enjoy rich conversation or simply read a book on a daybed.
Our Detailed Review Of Pool Bar At The Legian
We employ a uniform method for reviewing every beach club to ensure equitable treatment of owners, management, and staff, and to deliver reviews in a consistent format that simplifies comparisons across different venues.
The review procedure operates as follows:
- A team is designated to assess the venue.
- Each member must visit the beach club, with the flexibility to visit independently and on different days.
- During their visit, every reviewer completes a scorecard, evaluating the club from 1 (lowest quality) to 5 (highest quality) in outlined categories, while also documenting their impressions.
- After all team members have completed their visits and scorecards, they convene to discuss their observations and establish final scores for each category.
- A chosen team member then writes a review that captures the team’s discussions and final scores, which is subsequently uploaded to our website.
Reservation and Booking Process
There is absolutely no reservation or booking process at this beach club, because they don’t allow you to book the beach club – you can only book a room in the hotel, which comes with the guarantee of some space at the beach club.
So, forget looking for a booking link on their website, there isn’t one, and that’s very much deliberate.
We should note that if you’re a hotel guest and you have some specific need for a part of the beach club, you should talk to management in advance, and they will do what they can to accommodate you.
Ambience and Atmosphere
The vibe here is pure upmarket chill. You won’t find any annoying music or anything to distract you from the serious business of unwinding.
You leap onto a daybed, where you will be waited on hand and foot for the day, until you’re ready for a nice cooling plunge into the infinity pool.
Then, it’s back on the daybed, rinse and repeat, until you’re ready to leave. Sure, you may end up hankering for a party by the end of the day, but you’re going to love the day up to that point.
Location And Accessibility
Seminyak is one of Bali’s most popular beach towns, and it’s very easy to get to this location from almost all of the island’s hotspots and tourist towns.
The Seminyak beachfront is a very nice strip of beach, and it’s one of the most visited on the island; however, the area directly in front of the beach club tends to remain clear of people, and the sand is always clean and kept free of contaminants.
You will find that this is a lovely area to witness the sunset from too, as the beach is facing in the right direction to watch the sky light up as the sun dips below the horizon above the waves.
There is ample parking on-sitee, and there will be no problems getting dropped off or picked up in this exclusive resort.
Aesthetic And Design
This beach club was built for the wow factor, and there’s no doubt in our minds that they succeeded. This is why people spend $600+ a night on hotel rooms, because the facilities are something special.
The infinity pool area gives the club a proper focal point that people can base themselves around and feel part of a crowd, though there’s very little social interaction between groups here, because people here tend to be seeking privacy and isolation.
All the furniture is beautiful, and it’s all laid out to create an intimate space that you can enjoy without ever feeling cramped or crowded.
Staff Friendliness and Professionalism (Service Standard)
Bali is world-famous for its first-rate hospitality, and the island’s people are known for their caring, warm, and kind natures.
However, places like The Legian take that natural aptitude for people and they polish and refine it until the staff are truly exceptional and would be anywhere on Earth.
Whatever you need or want, the staff are going to try their utmost to make it happen, and you can be certain that their professionalism will shine through on any occasion.
Service Speed and Efficiency
This is the kind of place where the staff don’t need signalling, they anticipate when you need them and magically appear as you do.
The service is entirely exceptional in this respect, and everything here seems like a well-oiled machine, where your orders are taken and then whatever you asked for materialises on the fastest possible reasonable timeline.
Overall, we’re not sure how you improve upon the service offered at The Legian, and again, this is part of the reason that the rooms here are $600 USD a night; they never neglect the details.
Food Quality and Variety
The food menu here is fantastic, and there’s no shortage of variety. As you’d expect, each dish is also of the highest quality and looks incredible if you’re trying to boost your Instagram feed.
The ingredients are world-class, and the chefs have real creativity balanced with solid attention to the basics to ensure that every bite is as delicious as it looks.
Of course, this is The Legian, and it’s not cheap, and by that we mean, this may be the most expensive beach club in Bali. But you probably already knew that if you’re staying here on holiday, and probably don’t care too much either.
Beverage Selection and Creativity
The same goes for the drinks, which are always strong enough and beautifully prepared. You feel like they’re a talking point when they arrive.
The cocktail list is extraordinary, and this kind of highly curated selection of showstoppers is exactly what we want in a location like this.
The downside, once again, is price. You are going to pay a substantial premium over anywhere else on the island to enjoy the drinks at Pool Bar.
Cleanliness and Hygiene
This place is spotless, and anything less would have been a huge surprise. It’s the little details that add up to make a place like this amazing, and the toilets are so clean you could almost eat your dinner off them.
The pool area is gorgeous, and the water is crystal clear throughout. While we didn’t take a tour of the kitchens, we’re 100% positive that they’re at the same standard as everywhere else in this place.
Comfort of Seating and Lounging Areas
There have clearly been no expenses spared in the pursuit of comfort and luxury at The Legian, and the daybeds here are gloriously comfortable.
As are all the other seating spaces around the pool and on the beach. You simply can’t get away from the fact that they want you to feel good about being here.
Music and Entertainment
One thing they can’t score for, though, is music and entertainment. There’s a little piped music around the pool, but nothing that you’re ever going to remember even an hour later.
There is no entertainment of any kind, no live DJs, no bands, nothing and that, of course, is fine.
This is an exclusive hotel facility designed to give guests a place to relax and talk to their friends and family; it’s not meant to keep them engaged beyond that.
Seasonality
This is Bali, and there is absolutely never a bad time to be in Bali. This part of the tropics provides two seasons, a “rainy” season in which it rarely rains for more than an hour at a time and where they see, on average, 8 hours of sunshine a day.
And a “dry” season, where it still rains occasionally, but a little bit less than it rains in the rainy season. That’s it.
So, then, there’s the issue of Nyepi, which for all other beach clubs on the island is an issue because they’re required to close during the Balinese day of silence.
But as this club is on hotel grounds, it doesn’t have to close, though you won’t be allowed onto the beach itself on this day. So, there’s absolutely no seasonality at Pool Bar whatsoever.
Pricing and Value for Money
We’re torn here. For the kind of facility that The Legian is, when you compare it to other facilities of a similar nature around the world, it’s exceptional value for money.
However, we tend to compare beach clubs within an area for the fairest comparisons and in this respect, it’s the most expensive beach club that we’ve been to in Bali and by a long distance.
So, we’ve given the Pool Bar a comfortable score of 3. It’s most definitely not a rip-off, but we suspect for a lot of our readers, it’s a long way out of their comfort zone budget-wise, all the same, and we can’t blame them.
Beach Access and Quality
The beach at Seminyak is one of the nicest beaches along this stretch of coastline, and it has absolutely fabulous views at sunset.
We’d also note that you can’t beat the beach access at this beach club, and you can wander from the pool area to the sand and back without issue (but under the close eye of the hotel security team, who will only allow guests to wander in from the sand).
The beach club’s clean-up crew keep the sand here fresh and clean, and there’s nothing anyone can do about the fact that this part of the ocean isn’t great for swimmers.
So, stick to the infinity pool if you want to swim. That’s not a hardship, though.
Sustainability Practices
The sustainability page on The Legian’s website hasn’t been updated in, quite literally, years. It talks about achieving things in the future with a target date of 2020, for example.
We like that they are committed to zero-pastic waste and that they have a community project, but it feels like there’s a substantial amount of work to do, starting with updating their website…
Exclusive Perks for Guests
To be fair, the fact that you get a sunbed and a towel at this beach club puts you in one of the most exclusive clubs on the island.
But there’s nothing over and above that offered to guests, and that means this beach club matches most other beach clubs in Bali for perks, but does nothing to exceed them.
Safety and Security
This venue will scan your vehicle as you enter and offer some basic security protocols as you enter the hotel lobby for the first time, too.
This is a good thing, we feel that the safety of guests ought to be every venue’s top priority.
Event Hosting Capabilities
The hotel does run events and has a range of capabilities for all sorts of events, from corporate entertainment to weddings. However, the Pool Bar is not part of their available properties within the resort venue, and as such, we can’t give this beach club any points in this category.
Consistency of Experience
The Legian is legendary for its consistency, it is why people go back time and time again, even when the room rates are stratospheric.
This consistency carries through to the Pool Bar. We’d also note that while we have deducted the same point we remove from every facility that doesn’t show an urge to evolve their beach club continuously, we’re not sure that you can improve on this facility as it stands.
Additional Amenities and Facilities
All the basic amenities are on hand at this beach club and if you need anything else that can’t be provided by the resort, we’re sure you’ll find it within walking distance or a short drive in Seminyak.
Summary
We really liked spending time at Pool Bar at The Legian. It made us feel rich and important, which we think is the general idea of exclusive hotel beach clubs like this one.
Of course, our inner party demons were baying for an evening at FINNS by the end of a very quiet day by the pool, but while we were there, we could all agree this beach club is something special.
No, it’s not the same as spending a day at a big beach club, and no, we’re not sure we could justify the $600 USD a night you need to spend to stay here if we weren’t on an expense account, but we’re very glad we got to experience it, at least, once.
FAQs
Can You Go Swimming At Pool Bar At The Legian?
Yes, in fact, we’d be shocked if you couldn’t swim at a place called “Pool” Bar. They have a beautiful oceanfront infinity pool, and it’s a facility that is entirely reserved for use by the hotel’s guests.
That means this pool is rarely packed out with crowds of revellers, and you can swim all day long without competing for lane space. We like to go a few lengths after breakfast, and this is a great spot for it.
The pool is also an excellent spot for a sundowner with an epic view of the sunset over the beach.
You could also decide to swim in the ocean on the beach here, but we don’t recommend that you do.
That’s because the currents on this side of the island are very haphazard and random, and even the strongest swimmers can be pulled out to sea by a sudden riptide.
There are no lifeguards on any of Bali’s beaches (whereas there are lifeguards on duty at the pool here), which makes things even more risky.
So, our advice is to stick to the infinity pool; it’s a privilege you’re paying for, you might as well take advantage of it.
What Is There To Do At Pool Bar At The Legian?
This is a hotel beach club with an emphasis on relaxing and leaving the everyday world behind. You can swim in the pool, chill on the daybeds or eat and drink from the restaurant and bar facilities.
However, there is no DJ, no entertainment, and there won’t be any dancing after sunset; this place is all about chilling.
Is Pool Bar At The Legian A Child-Friendly Venue?
The Legian is a 5-star hotel, and all of its facilities are child-friendly. This includes the Pool Bar, where children can enjoy themselves alongside their parents.
There is a lifeguard posted at the infinity pool, and your children would be best to confine their swimming to the pool; there are no lifeguards on the beach, and the water is dangerous in the ocean.
Guests are expected to keep an eye on their children and ensure that they don’t annoy any other guests at the beach club as they play.
However, there are no special facilities for kids at this beach club, and there’s a good chance that if kids spend too long at Pool Bar, they might get bored.
Who Is The Owner Of Pool Bar At The Legian?
The Pool Bar is owned by The Legian Hotel, Seminyak, it’s a major guest facility there. The Legian Hotel is then, in turn, owned by the IHM Hotel Group.
IHM is an international hotel chain and their ownership is mainly overseas investors.
Final Thoughts On The Review Of Pool Bar At The Legian
This hotel beach club is something special, for sure. It’s swanky, upmarket and stylised to heck. If you’re staying in The Legian and you’re not spending time on a daybed here, you’re missing out.
If you want absolutely nothing more than a day of luxury including top-notch food, service, drinks and comfort, you can’t go wrong.
However, this place isn’t open to walk-in visitors; you must be a resident of the hotel to use Pool Bar and this hotel is not cheap, especially for Bali, at $600 USD a night.
Of course, there’s a lot more to The Legian than just the beach club, but only you can decide whether you’re prepared to shell out $600 on a room and beach club access.
