Nusa Dua Beach Hotel and Spa - Handwritten Collection

Built in the style of a Balinese palace and spread through manicured tropical gardens, Nusa Dua Beach Hotel gives you a resort stay with the beach right in front of it. English and Indonesian are spoken by the hotel team, so you can deal with the practicalities easily, whether you are arranging dinner, a massage or the next day's plans.

The setting suits divers who want more than a bed between boat trips. You have several places to eat, three bars, four pools, a full spa and enough room to disappear into the gardens when conversation can wait. Families are well catered for, but couples can also make use of the beachfront restaurants, evening performances and the adults' ability to find a quiet corner while the children are occupied.

The Palace Club adds a more private rhythm, with its own breakfast arrangements, afternoon tea, evening cocktails, concierge service and access to the sports centre and spa facilities. It is the sort of detail worth considering if you prefer your holiday organised before the first splash.

You are on the Nusa Dua peninsula in southern Bali, in the Benoa area of South Kuta, with direct access to the resort's 200-metre white-sand beach. Sun loungers, parasols, showers and shade trees line the shore, while a coastal path links the beaches of the neighbouring resorts. It is useful for an evening stroll when staying inside the resort starts to feel like a full-time occupation.

The location is firmly resort-based rather than town-centre Bali. Even so, you have a few alternatives close by: Indian Food Delhi6 Restaurant is about 50 feet away, Piasan Restaurant about 150 feet away and Rajas Balinese Restaurant about 300 feet away. Bemo Corner Coffee Shopbenoa is roughly 350 feet from the property.

The Pasifika Museum is around 0.6 miles away, and Ocean Walk is about 0.9 miles away. Ngurah Rai International Airport is approximately 6 miles away by road, with the hotel describing the journey via the Bali Mandara motorway as taking about 15 minutes.

The rooms are arranged for different sorts of dive parties rather than one-size-fits-all occupancy. Family rooms and interconnecting rooms make sense when children or friends are sharing the holiday, while couples can choose a room where the balcony and the view matter more than extra sleeping arrangements. The larger accommodation categories extend into suites, including the Royal Residence Suite, but the useful distinction is how much space and privacy you want once wet kit, beach bags and ordinary luggage have all arrived.

Balinese furniture gives the rooms a local identity, with views either towards the tropical gardens or out towards the ocean from a terrace or balcony. Air conditioning matters in Bali, particularly when you return warm, salty and ready to stop moving; soundproof rooms are also available for those who value sleep over late-night resort activity. A minibar, flat-screen television and daily housekeeping cover the practical side, while room service runs around the clock.

For a longer stay, Palace Club privileges can change the way you use the room: breakfast, afternoon tea and evening cocktails are handled as part of the club service, with concierge support included. It is a more structured choice, but one that may suit you if you would rather settle into a routine than negotiate every meal after diving.

Breakfast starts at 6.30am, with buffet and à la carte options. That is early enough for a proper meal before a morning departure, rather than forcing you to survive on coffee and optimism. The buffet breakfast at Wedang Jahe runs until 10.30am, among greenery and fish ponds, while Tamarind serves breakfast until 11.00am from its terrace overlooking the beach.

There are five restaurants, each with a distinct job. Tamarind covers Mediterranean cooking from breakfast through dinner, with salads and Western dishes at lunch and a beach view throughout. Raja's Balinese Cuisine focuses on Balinese and Indonesian dinner dishes in an air-conditioned setting and is halal certified. Maguro Asian Bistro brings Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese dishes to lunch and dinner, while Cabana serves South American food beside the main pool. The lightest breakfast setting is Wedang Jahe, with Indonesian and Balinese dishes in a garden setting.

Three bars keep the day moving without making you cross the whole resort for a drink. Chess Bar sits by the beach and pool, serving cocktails, wine, beer, refreshments and light snacks until midnight. The Pool Bar is in the swimming pool and opens until 11.00pm, while The Lobby Bar adds signature cocktails, beer and wine from 10.00am until 1.00am, with a lounge and terrace overlooking the resort grounds and ocean. Dinner service runs as late as 11.00pm, with last orders at 10.00pm, and cultural dinner performances include Barong Dance on Mondays, Legong Dance on Wednesdays and Fire Dance on Fridays.

Four pools give you different places to spend a non-diving afternoon: the main pool with its swim-up bar, a lagoon pool, a children's pool and a spa lap pool. The beach adds 200 metres of sand, loungers, parasols and shade trees, so you can choose between a proper swim, a horizontal afternoon or the increasingly popular holiday sport of moving from shade to shade.

Nusa Dua Spa offers massages, facials, body scrubs, body wraps, flower baths, sauna, steam room, jacuzzi and other treatments using Sensatia products. There is also a spa lounge, a foot bath and beauty services. The fitness centre and yoga classes are available for a more active recovery day, including sunrise yoga with an ocean view and sea breeze.

If sitting still becomes untenable, you can play tennis or squash, cycle, use the games room, join a Balinese cooking class or try paddle boarding. A travel and tour desk handles cultural outings, while evening programming brings Barong, Legong and Fire Dance performances on selected nights. Families have the Gecko Kids Club from 9.00am to 6.00pm, indoor and outdoor play areas, a children's pool and babysitting, leaving adults free to enjoy dinner without conducting a table-side evacuation.

Ngurah Rai International Airport is about 6 miles away by road, and an airport transfer service is available through the hotel. You can arrange the journey as part of the booking process, while the concierge, tour desk and car-hire service help with plans beyond the resort. WiFi is free throughout the property, and public parking is available on site; valet parking is also offered.

Check-in runs from 3.00pm to 11.00pm, and check-out is by noon. You need photo identification and the card used for the reservation at check-in, and the hotel asks you to provide your expected arrival time. The minimum check-in age is 18. Palace Club guests can request a later departure until 3.00pm, while other late check-outs are handled on request.

A 24-hour front desk, concierge, currency exchange, cash machine, luggage storage and safety deposit box cover the small jobs that become surprisingly important on a dive trip. There is also a medical clinic with a doctor available around the clock, a laundry and dry-cleaning service, a lobby shop open from 8.00am to 9.00pm, accessible bathrooms, lifts and wheelchair-accessible facilities. The electrical supply is 220/240V AC with C/F sockets, and Visa, Mastercard, JCB, BCA, American Express and Diners Club are accepted.

The sustainability work is concentrated in the spa's partnership with Sensatia. Its treatment range uses organic ingredients, cruelty-free products and eco-conscious packaging, with the brand chosen for its focus on responsible production.

That is a specific, useful measure rather than a grand environmental claim: the products used in treatments are selected with these standards in mind. The spa's approach links a little post-dive recovery with a lighter touch on the materials involved.