We love the Padma Resort, absolutely love it. After staying at many different hotels in Bali that cater to families within the same price range, we firmly believe that the Padma Resort is the stand out family resort in Bali. From the moment you arrive you instinctively know that you are in for an exceptional experience.
Kids Club
A free service at Padma Resort – The Games Centre caters for children aged 10 – 17 years with computers, Nintendo Wii, Play Station and assorted video games and is open from 9 am – 8.30pm. The Wolly Kids Club caters for children aged 4 – 12 years and is staffed by 3 Balinese ladies who conduct the scheduled activities and take care of the children. The Kids Club and Games Centre is newly built and situated next to the new Family Wing and Family Pool and Slide area. The indoor area of the Club is clean and bright with colouring, puzzles, soft toys, lego and books available. A separate TV room plays Disney Junior or PG movies depending on the age and interests of the children attending at the time. There is also a nap area for tired children. Filtered water and juice are available all day. Buffet lunches with healthy/allergy considerate options are available for a small fee. The outside playground has seesaws, and climbing equipment suitable from 2+ upwards and a trampoline. Children older than four may attend without an accompanying adult. Younger than four will require a parent or a nanny to assist them.
Pool Areas
The Resort has three separate swimming areas. The Family Pool is newly built next to the Family Wing and has three water slides suitable for children aged 2+. The Family Pool has a depth of 0.6m at its deepest, but the majority of the pool is at paddling/wading level. There are mini splash pools, water jets, gentle waterfalls and two large raindrop umbrellas showering water streams set in a pleasant garden environment. There are sun lounges, a towel service area and pool service food and drinks menus for both children and adults as well as an ice cream parlour situated at the entrance to the pool area. The pool has two attendants, but children remain the responsibility of parents at all times.
The Children’s Pool is part of the older pool area and is situated under a large waterfall. The depth is 40cm, and there is an area with spa jets set within the pool so that parents can relax while being close to their children. There is a secret cave behind the waterfall that provides a great space to explore and play. Within the area is the resort’s second largest pool space, the Lagoon Pool, a large meandering pool with a depth of 120cm that winds its way throughout lush gardens and under bridges and waterfalls. Lagoon Access Rooms open up directly into this pool, and each Lagoon Access room has a small private pool area that meets up with the larger public pool. There is a swim up bar for the adults that provides snacks and happy hour drink specials. The Bindang Cafe is situated on the edge of the pool and provides more substantial meals throughout the day.
The Main Swimming Pool is situated close to the beach and has a deeper depth that ranges between 1.45-1.75cm. This pool is suitable for adults and older children. Water volleyball, water tennis, aqua aerobics, swimming races and bombie competitions are held throughout the day. There is also a swim up bar and food service available.
Padma Resort Accommodation
As a family of three, with a small toddler, we have always been comfortable staying in a Deluxe Chalet. There is ample room for a toddler cot (larger generally than Australian travel cots) to be placed in the small entrance alcove, to afford some privacy for the adults. Should the child be too old for a toddler cot, the day bed is set up as an extra bed, but this affords less privacy for parents. Ground floor chalets have a patio and a small garden space with lawn. (Request lawn, as it provides a play space; a few chalets have been planted with creepers instead of grass, which cannot be played on.)
The Padma Resort has a new purpose built Family Wing which can accommodate 2 adults and 4 children in bunk beds.
Extra info
The Padma breakfast buffet (included in all bookings via the Padma Resort website) is truly a marvel. Freshly squeezed juices, excellent coffees, tropical fruit, pancakes, pastries, yoghurts, cereals, bread, waffles, an egg station, a large cooked breakfast variety, western and Asian breakfast/ brunch options, salad bar, muffins… the list is truly endless. The breakfast buffet is something you will remember forever! The children also love to feed the huge lazy koi fish that swim in the pools as you enter the restaurant area. It’s also great fun to try and spy the squirrels in the trees or in the temple statues scattered throughout the resort.
The SKAI Bar is located within the resort, on the beach. A marvellous place for watching the sunset while sipping a cocktail or nursing a Bintang.
The Padma Resort offers a cooking school in traditional Bali cuisine – great fun! Please see the website for the many activities the Padma Resort offers to guests.
Padma Resort has an excellently serviced gym, sauna/steam room, tennis courts, yoga and activities for adults. There are two beauty spas also located within the grounds and booking your accommodation via the website offers a variety of discounts and specials for various treatments at the spas.
Security is tight at the Padma Resort. All cars and taxis are inspected by guards before being permitted to enter. Roving security guards can be seen walking the resort at all hours of the night.
Legian area
You won’t really need to leave the area, should you stay at Padma. Legian is not party central, like Kuta. It is a very family friendly part of Bali. There is a bustling market area within 2 minutes from the Resort entrance for all your shopping needs. There are 3 small supermarkets close by for cheap Bintangs to stock the fridge with or to buy forgotten necessities. Rumah Santai Spa is our favourite destination for massage treatments and is a three-minute walk from the Resort. Super cheap eating can be had at local Warongs, plus some mid price restaurants are all within a 5-minute walk. The pavements are in good condition, and it is not too much trouble to traverse Legian with a stroller.
Heading out from the resort, we usually get a babysitter and head to our favourite restaurants – Metis, Sarong, Sip or Sardine Restaurant in Seminyak for an adult evening. La Lucciola on the beach is a nice Italian restaurant we visit with our child – she can run on the beach while we sip cocktails and watch the sun go down!
Info for Parents with children:
Free services that have been afforded to us when staying at the Padma, which make it such a special place that we return to, time and again.
Pick up and return to the airport in an air conditioned Resort car.
Ask for bananas at breakfast (they are not usually placed out amongst the fruit selection) and the staff will bring you as many as you want. Great to be kept for later snacks.
We always take a few zip lock bags to breakfast to stash an extra muffin or slice of banana bread in or fresh fruit for our child to snack on during the day.
We fill our toddler’s bottles with the fresh milk at the breakfast buffet (almond, soy, low-fat all available). Chocolate milk is also available at breakfast! As we leave breakfast we always take with us an extra fresh juice, a choc milk and a coffee to be enjoyed back in our room.
The resort stocks children’s Panadol and Ibrorufen for sudden emergencies. A doctor is on call 24 hours a day and there are a number of 24 hour clinics within 5 minutes walk. Bandaids for scrapes and bumps require a simple call to Housekeeping.
The water purity is always a concern for visitors to Bali. Our child first visited Padma Resort when she was 9 months old. We initially bathed her in the basin using bottled water warmed in the kettle. However, parents can never be 100% vigilant in preventing the ingestion of local water. Flannels are sucked on, you will want to have a swim in the pool, showers and baths must be had! In our six visits to the Padma Resort neither we adults nor our child has ever been ill. The Padma Resort water from the taps and the pool water is all treated and we have given up worrying about it. For new infants, I would always be cautious but the minute amounts that will be ingested in the shower or at the pool by older children have not been a cause for concern for us.
Housekeeping will bring to you (at no extra charge) more bottled water, as much as you need. Four bottles of water are placed daily in your room, but asking for extra is not a problem. Housekeeping will also pick up from your room any baby bottles, cups, plates etc that need washing and will have them steam cleaned and brought back to you immediately. We always request from Housekeeping some liquid washing up detergent for quick washes in the room. Microwaves and high chairs can be pre-booked and will be waiting in your room. Large size toddler cots come with a large mosquito net. The staff are excellent if linen changes are needed in the early hours of the night due to accidents or vomit.
Foxtel with all of the usual children’s stations is in every room, as is the internet (free) throughout the whole Resort.
The Concierge will book all of your restaurant reservations – no need to pay for or struggle with local calls! The Concierge will also help out in any difficulty that you might experience. We recently were involved in a semi-scam dispute with a local establishment and the Concierge sent Resort Security down to sort it out. Problem gone!
The Padma Resort Nannies
Of primary concern to holidaying parents! We have always used the Padma Resort nannies rather than outsourced ladies. Our reasoning has been that in the case of an emergency or accident, Padma nannies know their way around the complex and have immediate access to managers should the occasion warrant it. $6.50 per hour was the current rate of pay, which is payed directly to the nanny. Each nanny is an experienced mother, which provides a lot of peace of mind, comfort and security. The ladies are usually waitresses on their days off. Their level of English is excellent. They are happy to capably feed, bathe, and settle to sleep your children, plus take them to the pool or Kids Club and it can be negotiated that they accompany you out for excursions or to restaurants.
You will be well looked after at the Padma Resort at Legian. It is an ideal place for families, particularly those with young children. The level of attention and care shown to guests, in the midst of a tropical paradise, is the stuff that fun, relaxing holiday dreams are made of!
For more information visit padmaresortlegian.com
We stayed at the Padma Resort at Legian in June 2015, our sixth visit in four years. We are a family of three, and our child is nearly four. Pictures have been taken from the Padma Resort website. No discounts, goods or payments were received by the reviewer from the Padma Resort or any other mentioned establishments for writing this review.
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This post was so helpful. Thankyou so much