We started our '99 holiday with a few days at the Bali Hilton Hotel in Nusa Dua, to wind down and relax before getting serious about shopping and sight seeing using the Holiday Inn which is our usual base. We enjoyed the change greatly and were to return to Nusa in 2000, staying then at the Sheraton Nusa Indah.
Of the two hotels we preferred the Hilton. It is a large and luxurious hotel, more so than any others we have stayed in and easy to get lost in, even just going from room to room as we found out several times. There is some serious attention paid to little details at the Hilton. For example there were large ash trays in all of the public areas, made from half clam shells almost filled with white sand and mounted on pedestals, . These were constantly used by the Japanese guests mainly, and they were constantly being cleaned by a little man who seemed to have no other job. Not only did he remove the butts and then perfectly smooth the surface of the sand but to finish the job he made little drawings or intricate  designs on the surface with the tip of his finger.
The following photos will give you only some idea of the grounds and surrounding areas. This page will be slow to load because it contains a number of large photos. Please be patient. We hope you will enjoy the reward.

The entrance driveway begins at these reflecting pools, ascending from just inside the gateway on the main road to the lobby.

The red tiled roofs mark the entrance lobby up the curving driveway past the fountains.
The tall structure on the right is the hotel's temple.

Decorative brickwork is a feature of many buildings in Bali, a cultural tradition linked to the carving of stone statues of the Gods and creatures from mythology.
The Hilton, being the Hilton, has outstanding modern renditions of the age-old customs executed on a grand scale.

The main pool at the Hilton is a favourite cooling-off place that derives more from western decadence than from Balinese traditions.
The roof of the south wing of guest rooms can be seen on the right.

Part of the detail around the Hilton is the use of sand drawings in little 'beaches' and in the sand filled ash trays throughout the corridors.
Here the beach has a backdrop of a small fountain, tinkling into a shallow pool.

These are truly Bali's golden beaches. The full light of morning reveals the golden sands at low tide, the fishermen's' brightly painted Jukungs waiting for the high tide to go out and the first of the hawkers taking up their positions for the day.

Flowers are a spectacular part of the tropics, and at the Hilton as with most hotels, they are varied and carefully cultivated, their thorny nature tamed by regular trimming.
These multi-coloured Bougainvillaea's are part of a hedge that runs along the pathway and the ponds in part of the grounds.

Red Bougainvillea seem to be on fire in the midday heat.

A coral Hibiscus glows quietly in the shelter of its dark leaves, one of many varieties that abound in the hotel's gardens.

In a quiet corner of the Hilton gardens a cluster of fuchsia coloured Bougainvillea glow in the late afternoon light.

Between the Nusa Dua enclave and the adjoining village of Bualu there are carved stone columns at each side of the roadway, rising from a profusion of bright plantings.

The profusion of plants is matched by the abundance of insects in the lush grasses and amongst the gardens and carved stone statues along the road sides.

A shopkeeper cleans the paths in Bualu.
A downside to the growth that extends even into the heart of the village.

'Cock 'o The Walk' along the white tiled footpaths in parts of Bualu village which is within walking distance of many of the Nusa hotels.
It is rare to see a rooster on the loose in Bali. Most are pampered almost as pets or wait in bamboo cages for the cock fights.

Early morning bathers in the pale glow of the approaching dawn take advantage of the calmer waters inside the reef that fringes many of the beaches in Bali.

Dawn on the beach at Nusa Dua is perhaps even more spectacular than the renowned sunsets on the other side of the island that attract tourists to Jimbaran Beach and along past Tuban and Kuta to the spectacular temple at Tanah Lot. The only real problem is that dawn comes at such an inconvenient hour but as the sun rises a fabulous world is exposed!

There was once a fishing village near the Hilton. The only visible remnants now are a thatch-roofed 'bale' or platform on the beach. Here the men gather to smoke clove cigarettes and tell tall stories of the ones that got away in years gone by. These days the fishermen who remain wade through the shallows to tend their bamboo nets on the inner edge of the reef.

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