During our trip to Bali we stayed in four different hotels. Each was different in it’s own way, so I thought I’d write a separate review for each one – starting with Cara Cara Inn.
Cara Cara Inn was the third hotel we stayed in, during our very short stint in Kuta. We’d booked two nights there with the plan to go out drinking both nights, however after such a heavy first night we were far too damaged to attempt night two (at least me and Tamzin were anyway).
When we booked the hotels originally, this was the one I was most excited about as it had the most character. You could tell by the pictures on booking.com that it was colorful, quirky and a really social place – quite like a hostel.
When we arrived we checked in straight away and were able to go to our room. The long check in wait meant we had time to look around the colorful lobby, which had really cool seating areas, a laundry area and a big massive chalkboard that the staff were writing on.
On the way up to our room the hotel was definitively giving me more of a hostel vibe, with its communal areas and showers on every floor. We were on the top floor, which looked to be the quietest in terms of people, however, there was a ping pong table and giant Jenga in the communal space.
Our room was tiny in comparison to the first two hotels we stayed at, but we had kinda expected it given the style of the place. I would almost say it was too small for three people but with the amount of hidden storage space the place had, it was fine once our cases were tucked away nicely. The only downside in terms of size was probably the bathroom, as it was very hard to change in there, especially at my size!
The room has a big double bed in the corner, with a bunk bed on a sort of mezzanine. As it wasn’t a metal rail up to the bunk bed and as I was still feeling ill, I opted to sleep on the top bunk (which I regret as soon as I realised I couldn’t watch Netflix in bed).
We also had a desk, a bean bag (which I sat on most of the time) and a TV WITH NETFLIX. I wouldn’t normally care about having Netflix but as we were so delicate the next morning we could barely leave the room, which meant we had a bit of a Friend’s marathon.
Each morning we had the choice of what breakfast we wanted, there wasn’t a lot of choice but on the one day we did eat in the hotel we all chose the English breakfast – which wasn’t very English at all. We also ate lunch in the hotel once, however I don’t think I can comment on it as I only managed about three fries and a glass of water. What a mess.
On our second day at Cara Cara Inn we decided we’d spend some time by the pool as when we booked it, it looked like a really cool area of the hotel. Stupidly we didn’t realise the pool wasn’t south facing, so by the time we got there the sun was gone, but we still managed to enjoy a good few hours there. There were pool floats, hammocks, awesome sun loungers and as they music playing the entire time it was a really relaxing afternoon. By the end of the day, we pretty much had the place to ourselves so we actually managed to get some cool photos in the pool (despite me looking dreadful from the hangover and heat stroke).
Overall I LOVED Cara Cara Inns quirkiness (we all know I love a good quirky hotel), and I would definitely recommend it for that alone – especially if you’re only going to be there one or two nights.
I don’t think this is a great place to stay much longer than that, however I don’t think many people stay in Kuta more than a few nights (if they are they are much braver than me).
The whole place is an Instagram dream waiting to happen, and with its great location in terms of shopping, drinking and eating – you really can’t go wrong for the £30 odd we spent each night.
Kirsty Leanne
xoxo
