Bali Tourism News

Bali hotels dress up for Christmas

December 26th, 2007

Prodita Sabarini, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

Bali hoteliers have gone straight back to work after hosting the climate change conference, as the holiday season has arrived.

In the high-end resort area of Nusa Dua, the Westin Resort, which hosted the two-week conference at its Bali International Convention Center, has prepared events and packages for the holidays.

“We have a number of events for Christmas and New Year’s, including a special event for children,” Westin Resort spokeswoman Rainata Tjoa said.

The “Westin Kids-Only Party” is a complimentary Christmas celebration for children staying with their parents at the resort. Non-hotel-guests wanting to give their children a treat can pay to join in.

Other hotels, such as Sanur’s Bali Hyatt and Nusa Dua’s Grand Hyatt, are also preparing Christmas parties to pamper children.

“Kids sometimes get bored when attending adults’ parties. That’s why we’re arranging a kids-only event to entertain them,” Rainata said.

For a religious Christmas Eve, both the Grand Hyatt and Bali Hyatt will be holding midnight mass.

At the popular tourist beach of Kuta, the Hard Rock Hotel has been fully booked, mostly by domestic tourists.

“This year for Christmas we are receiving a lot of local tourists, with people from Surabaya, Bandung and Jakarta making up 60 percent of the hotel’s guests,” said Hard Rock hotel spokeswoman Dewi Banowati, who added the hotel was throwing a “Triple X-Mas Bawl” on Christmas Eve.

Discovery Kartika Hotel is preparing a Christmas Eve buffet and a breakfast with Santa, said hotel spokeswoman Dewi Sinta.

She said there would also be a Christmas choir, and an Egyptian-theme party for New Year’s dubbed “One night with Nefertiti”.

“During this time of the year, usually guests book rooms three days prior. We estimate our hotel occupation rate will exceed 70 percent,” she said.

In Ubud, the Christmas celebration at the area’s largest hotel, Maya Ubud, will be Balinese in style, featuring royal court dancers and a gamelan orchestra performing the epic Ramayana.

Catering to Eastern European and Orthodox Christian guests, some hotels, including Westin Hotel and Nikko Hotel, are also preparing Christmas events in January.

“We have a number of guests from Russia, so we are trying to cater to their Christian celebrations in January,” said Nikko hotel spokesman Fretty W. Zahfitri.

Christmas is celebrated by Orthodox Christians on January 7.

Source: The Jakarta Post

Entry Filed under: Bali Tourism News