SOL by Meliá Benoa Bali - All Inclusive

You are looking at a full-service resort on Tanjung Benoa Beach, with tropical gardens, Balinese-inspired design and an all-inclusive arrangement that keeps the practical decisions to a minimum. The setting is polished rather than homespun, with a private beach area, a lagoon-style pool and several places to eat and drink without leaving the grounds.

English is spoken by the hotel team, and German is spoken too. That matters when you are checking a transfer, sorting out a late meal or asking a perfectly reasonable question about tomorrow's plans. Families are clearly part of the picture, with a kids' club, children's pool and indoor play area, while couples have the beach, spa and evening dining to themselves once the day's activities wind down.

The useful detail is that you can make this as active or as lazy as you like. There is a programme of activities, but nobody is forcing you into it. A balcony, a cold drink, air conditioning and a proper meal can be a perfectly respectable itinerary.

The resort sits in Nusa Dua, Indonesia, directly beside the beach at Jalan Pratama in the Tanjung Benoa area. The beach is about 0.1 miles away, with direct access, white sand, loungers and parasols. You can move between garden, pool and shore without turning the day into a transport operation.

The immediate surroundings are not short of places to eat. Cafe Gong Bali and Ulam are only a few hundred feet away, while Bengawan Solo Coffee is around 300 feet from the resort for a quick caffeine repair. Nusa Dua Shopping Centre is also within easy reach, and the Pasifika Museum is about 1 mile away.

Ngurah Rai International Airport is about 12 km away, making the arrival and departure relatively straightforward by Bali standards. The resort is around 20 km from the city centre, so this is a Nusa Dua base rather than an address for wandering into a major urban centre every evening.

The rooms are arranged for two, with Balinese-style details, private balconies and a choice of views including the gardens. The SOL Double Room is the sensible couple's choice if you want a generous room without moving into suite territory; the SOL Junior Suite gives you more breathing space and a separate sitting feel when you would rather not spend the evening sitting on the edge of the bed.

Air conditioning is the feature you will notice most when the room becomes your own private decompression chamber. There is also a ceiling fan, while the balcony and outdoor furniture give you somewhere to sit with a coffee or a post-dive drink. A refrigerator and electric kettle cover the small but important business of keeping water cold and making something hot without putting proper clothes back on.

The bathrooms have showers, including rain-shower facilities, with towels, toiletries, a hairdryer, bathrobes and slippers. A flat-screen television carries international channels, and Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel and in the rooms. Daily housekeeping keeps the room from becoming an archaeological site of wet towels, swimwear and tomorrow's clothes.

All-inclusive is the central arrangement here, with access to the restaurants and bars included in the resort's dining setup. Breakfast is a buffet, with continental, vegan, gluten-free, Asian and American choices. It is a broad start rather than a single local speciality, which suits a mixed group where one person wants fruit and coffee and another wants something more substantial before heading out.

The Kitchen is the practical workhorse: open around the clock, beside the lagoon, with an international breakfast buffet and international, Indonesian and Asian dishes available from the menu for lunch and dinner. Menega sits between the garden and the beach, serving local and international food during the day and themed dinners in the evening. That is the one to keep in mind when you want the tropical setting to do some of the work.

Amarta Restaurant moves indoors and brings Mediterranean cooking with Balinese influence to the table. There are two bars: Nelayan Pool Bar, with direct access to the water and cocktails and refreshing drinks, and Ayodya Bar beside reception, a lounge-style stop for the period between lunch and dinner. The hotel also has three restaurants, so you can vary the evening without arranging a taxi.

The main pool is an outdoor lagoon-style pool surrounded by tropical gardens and loungers, with a children's pool alongside it and a bar built into the pool area. Beach towels, parasols and sun loungers are available, so the transition from swimming to horizontal recovery is pleasingly short.

For the less chlorinated forms of relaxation, Spa Body & SOL sits by the sea and offers open-air massages and exclusive treatments. Couples' massages, full-body massages, foot treatments, body scrubs, wraps and other spa treatments are available, alongside a spa relaxation area, sauna and hot tub. You can also use the fitness centre or join an outdoor yoga class if your legs still feel like cooperating.

There is enough here to fill a non-diving day without pretending that every activity needs a medal at the end. Tennis, cycling, table tennis, billiards, darts, karaoke and a games room cover different levels of enthusiasm. You can also join a cooking class, try traditional Balinese flower arranging, play giant chess, take part in the activity programme or book surf lessons. Evening entertainment and themed dinners keep the day from ending when the sun goes down.

Check-in starts at 15:00 and check-out runs until 12:00. Early check-in from 12:00 and late check-out until 14:00 are available subject to availability, which may help if your flight times refuse to behave. A photo ID and the card used for the booking are required at arrival, and you should tell the hotel your expected arrival time in advance.

An airport shuttle is available and can be arranged with the hotel; private parking is free on site, and parking does not need to be reserved. The front desk operates around the clock, with luggage storage, a tour desk, currency exchange, concierge service and express check-in and check-out available when you need them.

Wi-Fi is free throughout the resort. The hotel accepts cards, while cash is not accepted. Children of all ages are welcome, with cots and extra beds available for some room options. Bali's Nyepi, or Silent Day, brings island-wide restrictions on noise, lighting and outdoor activity, including hotel arrivals and departures, so check the date before fixing your travel plans.

The resort holds Ecostars certification. That is the environmental credential attached to the property, while the rest of the stay remains refreshingly easy to understand: beach, garden, pool, spa and meals all sit within the same resort grounds.