Location: ★★★★★
Zen: ★★☆☆☆
Luxury: ★★★☆☆
Sexytime: ★★★☆☆
In a nutshell: Great location, intriguing design, rooftop pool is amazing from 4-5pm onwards.
IZE Seminyak was my first stop in Bali after 24 hours of travel and a 3-hour layover in Taipei. It’s only a 30 min drive from the Ngurah Rai International Airport and the location literally couldn’t be better for exploring Seminyak because it’s right on the main street and all the popular restaurants and bars are within walking distance, including Café Organic Bali, which is easily one of my favourite breakfast places on the island.
What I liked about IZE Seminyak
The first thing I noticed is that the architecture is super cool here and the walls were pretty much built for Instagram. It’s modern, sleek, lots of geometric shapes and patterns and the general vibe is upscale and trendy, and the rooftop infinity pool looks out over a small forest with some locally-inhabited properties and has an epic sunset view.
I was in one of the Deluxe Pool Rooms (I think there are only 8 or 9 total) on the bottom floor of the hotel, which I normally wouldn’t like, but these rooms walk out into a long lap pool only accessible to Deluxe room guests. I’d never seen anything quite like it before, so that was cool. The rooms themselves are bright and fresh, even the ones in the basement, and I was stoked to find out that they source bath products made from natural ingredients.
Things to note
IZE Seminyak doesn’t feel like Bali. It feels more like… Singapore? There’s no bamboo in sight and not once did I catch a whiff of incense, so you’ll want to save a few nights for somewhere else if you intend to experience genuine Balinese vibes.
Also, the rooftop pool has a few different areas to chill and a good bar up there as well, but the whole thing is mostly in the shade until about 4pm. Hit the beach if you’re looking for a place to tan, but get back in time for sunset, cus like…
Worth it?
I wouldn’t travel to Seminyak just to stay at IZE, but it’s a super ideal spot to stay while exploring the area.
TripAdvisor review: IZE Seminyak
Website: ize-seminyak.com
Full resort album: flickr