The Apurva Kempinski is considered to be one of the finest resorts on an island of fine resorts, so our team was particularly interested in checking out this luxury hotel’s beach club.
Amazingly, Reef Beach Club is open to walk-in guests and guests from outside of the hotel and that meant they could pack their bags for Nusa Dua, without running up a huge tab for a room for the night.
This is what they learned when they visited one of Bali’s best resorts to explore the Reef Beach Club.
Introduction – Getting To Reef Beach Club
Getting to Bali is the first step in the process. Bali is one island of about 18,000 that make up the Indonesian archipelago and it’s part of the Republic of Indonesia.
It’s not far from Australia and the rest of Southeast Asia, but you might be looking at a much longer flight if you want to come from the United States or Europe.
One thing you should consider when evaluating Bali is that it’s much cheaper than North American and European beach club destinations, you can often save the cost of your flights and much more without compromising on the quality of your holiday by going to Bali, instead.
When you arrive in Bali, this hotel is in Nusa Dua which is on the Bukit Peninsula, it’s a short drive from the airport but a longer drive, particularly in heavy traffic which is not uncommon in Bali, from most other resort towns and particularly from Ubud.
Once you arrive in Nusa Dua, you will find that the beach is one of the most beautiful in Bali and that there’s plenty of parking at the Kempinski, you will also have no issues being dropped off at the door by a ride-share from the Grab or Gojek apps.
It’s a big hotel but the staff will make sure you get good directions to the beach club and will be on hand just in case you go astray on the way.
Where Is Reef Beach Club? Jl. Raya Nusa Dua Selatan, Sawangan, Nusa Dua, Badung Regency, Bali, Indonesia
Online: Reef Beach Club
Opening Hours: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day except for Nyepi (this is the Balinese Day of Silence and Bali’s only compulsory holiday; it takes place in March or April every year)
What’s Available At Reef Beach Club?
The Reef Beach Club is a hotel beach club and that means they have an infinity pool, comfortable seating areas including daybeds and cabanas as well as restaurant and bar facilities.
This beach club also offers non-motorized watersports for free to all of its guests, whether or not they are staying at the hotel.
You should know that this is not and never will be a party destination, so you’re not going to get live DJs or heavy entertainment. However, they do have live bands at times.
Our Detailed Review Of Reef Beach Club
We evaluate all beach clubs using a consistent process to ensure fairness for owners, management, and staff, and to present reviews in a standardised format that makes it easy to compare different locations.
The evaluation process is structured as follows:
- A review team is tasked with examining the venue.
- Each member is required to visit the beach club, though they may do so separately and not on the same day.
- At the venue, reviewers fill out a scorecard, rating the club from 1 (poor performance) to 5 (excellent performance) in specified categories, while also noting their experiences.
- Once all members have completed their scorecards, the team gathers to review their findings and agree on final scores for each category.
- A team member is then assigned to draft the review, reflecting the group’s consensus and scores, before it is published on our website.
Reservation and Booking Process
It’s not the worst booking process that we’ve encountered for a beach club but for a brand as big as this, it’s also far from the best.
You can click on a date and then either choose indoor or outdoor seating and use a simple form to reserve a spot.
However, there’s no guarantee of a seat, your reservation isn’t secured with a deposit, and it expires if you’re not in the beach club within 30 minutes of the stated time. You also can’t pick which seat you want, so you’re at the mercy of the beach club staff when you arrive.
Given the random nature of traffic in Bali, that means you need to leave home pretty early to be sure of enjoying a day at this beach club.
Ambience and Atmosphere
This is very much a family-friendly resort with a beach club facility which is as widely inclusive as possible.
It’s a place to chill out and have a little fun for the day, it’s not a party destination and nor is it trying to be.
There’s a certain sense of occasion from being at this place just because the brand is so strong and recognizable but there’s also something missing here, it’s a bit corporate and sterile.
Location And Accessibility
Nusa Dua isn’t the most convenient place to get to on the island, because of its awkward position on the Bukit Peninsula.
You may need to leave up to 2 hours to drive here from other parts of the island, and maybe even more if you’re coming from Ubud.
When you arrive there’s no doubt that the beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in Bali and the Indian Ocean looks great lapping against the sand.
However, it’s not well positioned for a great sunset which takes place behind you rather than over the ocean.
Aesthetic And Design
This hotel is spectacular in only the way that upmarket 5-star hotels can be and there’s no doubt that walking through the door to take in the sight of this beach club on Nusa Dua Beach is a thrilling moment.
The infinity pool is gorgeous, every daybed, cabana, chair, etc. is perfectly laid out and the entire vibe is carefully curated to take your breath away.
Reef Beach Club is the kind of place where you will take a lot of photos for your Instagram and to share with your friends and family back home.
Staff Friendliness and Professionalism (Service Standard)
This is the Kempinski and amazing service is their bread and butter and this is Bali where friendly and warm service is the national standard.
So, as you might expect this hotel has some of the finest service that you can expect to experience during your time on planet Earth.
Nothing feels like too much trouble, every interaction leaves you feeling like a VIP and there’s no stress or aggravation to deal with.
You’re going to love being at Reef Beach Club every time that you interact with the staff.
Service Speed and Efficiency
While the natural island instinct may be to deliver friendly service in the most laid-back way possible, that’s not what happens at the Apurva Kempinski.
Despite the sweeping scale of this place, servers anticipate when you will need them, and then, they’re there taking your order.
As soon as the order is away, it feels like the drinks are on their way back to you and nothing seems to stay in the kitchen any longer than it has to either.
Efficiency is definitely the name of the game at this beach club and we can’t argue with that.
Food Quality and Variety
The food here is a bit expensive, but there’s no doubt that there’s plenty of choice and that the ingredients are fresh, locally sourced and first-rate.
Overall, we thought everything was delicious that came out of the kitchen here and we only wish we could afford to do this kind of thing more often.
Beverage Selection and Creativity
There’s a very wide variety of beverages available at Reef Beach Club from wines and champagnes, to cocktails and mocktails, to spirits and even a half-decent beer selection.
The drinks are also very nicely presented and always strong enough. However, like the food, they’re just a touch on the expensive side.
Cleanliness and Hygiene
This is a 5-star hotel that competes at the absolutely highest level on the island and the attention to detail and cleanliness are excellent.
It’s a big facility, Reef Beach Club, and you might expect things to get a little mucky at times, but the cleaning staff is always on hand to sort things out.
You’ll find the pool area, changing rooms and toilets are also kept spotlessly clean which is nice.
Comfort of Seating and Lounging Areas
The seating at the Kempinski’s Reef Beach Club is generally very nice and very comfortable but we did find some of the restaurant area seating a little hard on the backside.
Overall though, if you want to spend the whole day lounging by the pool, you’re going to be very happy with the daybeds.
Music and Entertainment
They do have some live bands on at Reef Beach Club occasionally and they’re usually very good and designed to appeal to a wide audience.
However, the piped music at other times is very bland and there are no DJs to get your dancing pulse racing.
And unlike places like FINNS Beach Club, there’s no real entertainment either, no dancers, magicians, etc.
Seasonality
This is Bali and that means there’s barely any seasonality to be concerned with. Life in the tropics comes in two seasons – dry season which is busy, cooler than the other season and less humid.
And the wet season which gets on average 8 hours of sunshine a day, has pleasant tropical temperatures and the occasional shower. It rarely rains for any substantial period of time unlike in Thailand or Goa, for example.
The only time that most of the island comes to a standstill is for a single day of the year, Nyepi, the Balinese festival of silence, where all businesses must close for the day. The date varies but it always occurs in March or April.
Pricing and Value for Money
For a 5-star resort, we’d say that comparatively this beach club is pretty good value, when you look at it on an international scale.
However for a beach club in Bali, it’s one of the more expensive offerings, it’s not a rip-off by any means, you get a lot of what you pay for.
But it’s not the most amazing value for money, either.
Beach Access and Quality
Nusa Dua beach is generally considered to be one of the nicest beaches in Bali, but from our perspective the lack of a good sunset view drags it down a little.
Other than that, the sand here is always clean thanks to the hotel’s clean up crew and while the water can occasionally have a little trash floating in it thanks to the general state of the ocean across the world, swimming here is safe and it’s a great place for most watersports other than surfing.
You get full unhindered access to the beach from this beach club which is great, particularly if you have kids that want to build sand castles.
Sustainability Practices
The Apurva Kempinski has announced several green initiatives from planting mangrove seeds to aiming to become carbon neutral.
However, there’s no detailed sustainability reporting and it’s hard to see how much progress is being made towards the resort’s targets.
It’s a good start, but more can be done.
Exclusive Perks for Guests
Given that there’s no minimum spend at this beach club, it’s quite generous that they provide you with a daybed and a towel.
However, for such a swanky resort, you’d think they’d offer tiered services with more inclusions if you are willing to pay for them.
Safety and Security
When you arrive at the Kempinski your car will be swept by security personnel to ensure the safety of all their guests. There is also a minor bag check on the way into the lobby area.
This is a good thing, we believe that every beach club should do their part in keeping Bali incident free.
There’s also a solid security presence inside the beach club to ensure that if there is any trouble inside, it doesn’t escalate into something that might upset the other guests.
Event Hosting Capabilities
It won’t be cheap but if you have the money, the Kempinski’s dedicated events team would be only too delighted to host any kind of event that you want to host at the hotel and beach club.
Of course, it depends on the size of the group that you want to host but Reef Beach Club is a big facility for a hotel beach club and it ought to accommodate most events.
The only real challenge for the hotel is that this will displace some of the regular guests, but there are so many spaces here that it’s probably not that big a deal.
Consistency of Experience
This beach club is incredibly consistent in the experience that it delivers. Many of our review team have been here on several occasions and discussions with other guests and a read through of online reviews all concur.
That’s what you’d expect from a very high-end resort, that level of dependability. However, we’ve never really seen them innovate at this venue either. It is what it is, take it or leave it.
And while it is very good, we think there’s always room for improvement too.
Additional Amenities and Facilities
If they don’t have it in this beach club, they’ll probably be happy to send someone out to fetch it for you or they’ll have it somewhere else in this spectacularly appointed resort.
There’s no doubt that while you are paying a premium at Reef Beach Club, that premium is because they have worked very hard to ensure that all your needs are met.
Summary
The Apurva Kempinski is a very swanky hotel and it comes as no surprise that their beach club is one of the best in Bali.
It is a hotel beach club which means it’s not the right environment for wild parties, but if you want a nice relaxing day by the pool with friends and/or family and don’t mind paying for it, it’s a great choice.
The only real downsides of this beach club are the location is Nusa Dua which can be a bit of a pain to get to and the fact that it’s on the wrong side of the island for an epic sunset view.
FAQs
Can You Go Swimming At Reef Beach Club?
There’s a very nice infinity pool at the Reef Beach Club inside the Apurva Kempinski Hotel in Bali. It’s directly on the beachfront in Nusa Dua, and the hotel staff keep it very clean and well-maintained.
It’s worth noting, however, that this part of Bali isn’t great for sunset views, and you won’t need to struggle to get a good spot at sunset for this.
In addition to the swimming pool, the Apurva Kempinski provides all beach club guests with access to free water sports (these are all non-motorised; if you want to do something with a motor, that’s chargeable) in the ocean on this beach.
What Is There To Do At Reef Beach Club?
Reef Beach Club is a hotel beach club, and as usual, that means you can enjoy a swim in their infinity pool, relax on a daybed, eat and drink, and enjoy conversation with friends and family.
This is not a party spot, and there are no live DJs, bands, entertainers, etc., and given the huge number of families in this venue, that’s probably all for the best.
It’s a vibrant beach club for sure, but it never gets loud, raucous, crude or over the top. It’s a place where people can bring their children with a certain confidence.
Is Reef Beach Club A Child-Friendly Venue?
Yes, the Apurva Kempinski hotel is a 5-star resort venue in Nusa Dua, the family-friendly capital of Bali, for those families who want to spend a small fortune on a name-brand hotel on the beach.
That means kids are welcome all the way throughout the venue, and the hotel does have some specific facilities for children.
However, you should check with the hotel before you visit to ensure that any given facility is open to non-resident guests.
Who Is The Owner Of Reef Beach Club?
This beach club is part of the Apurva Kempinski Bali Hotel, which, in turn, is owned by the international conglomerate, the Kempinski Group.
These hotels are found all over the world, and their ownership is public as a register of shareholders.
Final Thoughts On The Review Of Reef Beach Club
Reef Beach Club is a very nice hotel beach club that welcomes outside guests. Singles, couples, groups and families are all allowed in, and the hotel does not discriminate at all.
However, this is one of the most luxurious hotels on the island, and this beach club is not going to be easy on your wallet.
For many people, that won’t matter. If you’re staying in Nusa Dua, you probably have a pretty good budget for your holiday, and the seafood and sangria at this beach club are a cut above.
The most important thing here is to book your seats in advance, as it’s a very popular spot and the best spots can disappear early in the day.
The one big downside is that this beach club doesn’t have a great sunset view, which is something you’re guaranteed to get in Seminyak, Canggu, Kuta, Jimbaran, Uluwatu, etc.
