Bali is definitely one of our favorite destinations. Even colleagues who have already been there are willing to visit again, multiple times. The main reason is that the hotels in Bali are incredibly comfortable, with delicious food, great accommodations, beautiful scenery, and excellent service, making it the perfect place to do nothing and truly enjoy a vacation!
A while ago, we recommended several hotel packages in Bali, one of which introduced the hotel “Mulia Bali.” Here’s the link, but the good deals are time-limited and in limited supply, so you can’t find them now.
Speaking of which, our most recent visit to Bali was specifically for Mulia Bali, where we stayed for an entire week. We’ve previously recommended packages, but today I want to provide a detailed review of our experience at Mulia Bali because it was simply outstanding. Even if I’m not selling anything, I really want to recommend it to everyone.
Mulia Bali is a local gem created and operated by an Indonesian hotel group, which means they understand the local culture and characteristics even better.
Mulia Bali is situated on the long stretch of white sandy beach in Nusa Dua. Nusa Dua is known to have the best beaches in Bali and is conveniently close to the airport, so the location is quite advantageous.
Moreover, it is also one of the best places to catch the sunrise in Bali. You can simply pull back the curtains in the ocean-view rooms in the morning to watch the sunrise.
In contrast to the busy eastern beaches, Nusa Dua offers a quiet and private atmosphere.
Mulia Bali spans about 30 hectares, which is as large as 42 football fields. A significant portion of the area is devoted to public spaces, beautifully landscaped with lush greenery, blooming flowers, and singing birds. There are seven outdoor swimming pools alone, making it impossible to explore the entire hotel in just one day.
Mulia Bali is also the designated hotel for the G20 Summit and has hosted numerous dignitaries. Many celebrities and public figures come here to vacation or hold weddings.
One important reason we could stay for a week is that the dining at Mulia is exceptional, far exceeding the average level found in Bali. Particularly the buffet restaurant, which could easily be considered the best buffet in all of Bali, serving authentic Cantonese cuisine that you may not even find back home.
Given the scale of Mulia Bali, I believe at least a two-night stay is necessary. If you happen to have a package for the previous two nights, I must say you’ve made a great choice!
Overview of Mulia Bali:
Bali has two major renowned beaches: the lively and commercialized Jimbaran on the west, and the quieter and more relaxed Nusa Dua on the east, which is more upscale with better infrastructure and clustered high-end hotels.
If you want to explore and walk around more, Jimbaran is suitable. But if you want a comfortable vacation, then Nusa Dua is the choice.
Mulia Bali is located in Nusa Dua.
I also observed the guests here, and they seem incredibly relaxed: practicing yoga, swimming, drinking, showcasing seafood, reading books, taking photos, walking children, and enjoying spa treatments… Basically, everyone is just staying within the hotel.
Mulia updates its activity schedule weekly, offering numerous engaging things to do within the hotel.
Inside Mulia Bali, there are actually three different hotels, but their names are quite similar and easy to confuse. We stayed at all three, so I can clearly explain the differences.
Mulia Resort
This is the main hub of Mulia Bali, concentrating most of the public areas and having a significant advantage in amenities. Out of the seven pools, five belong to Mulia Resort. The advantage of having many pools is that you can choose freely, going wherever it’s less crowded.
There are four restaurants, one dessert shop, and one scenic bar here. Additionally, there’s an indoor and outdoor children’s play area, gym, auditorium, multipurpose room, and shopping area.
Once you step out of your room, you can wander around at your leisure.
It has the highest number of guest rooms, with 526 rooms and sizes starting at 59㎡.
We photographed three different room types:
Mulia Signature Suite
This is the main type of room, with an area of 59㎡, featuring a balcony with beautiful garden views and a glimpse of the lagoon pool below, along with distant sea views.
Royal Lagoon Suite
The indoor layout is very similar to the basic room, but the Royal Lagoon Suite is special because it is located on the ground floor with a balcony connecting directly to the lagoon pool.
Royal Beachfront Suite
This suite measures 83㎡ with an even larger balcony, offering unobstructed views of the Indian Ocean, making it a perfect spot to watch the stunning sunrise.
The bathtubs in Mulia Resort are very spacious, allowing guests to soak comfortably. Staying in this room type calls for savoring a long bath since the sea views are right outside!
Staying at Mulia Resort is the most convenient; walking to the restaurants and other public areas is easy. If you stay at The Mulia or Mulia Villas, you’ll need to use the hotel’s shuttle service. From a value perspective, Mulia Resort is the top choice.
The limitation of Mulia Resort is that guests cannot access the areas of the other two hotels, while guests in The Mulia or Mulia Villas can move freely between all three. For breakfast, each hotel has its own breakfast restaurant, so guests at Mulia Resort can only dine at Mulia Resort’s restaurant, while those in the other two can choose from all three breakfast venues, offering more privileges.
The Mulia
Mulia Resort gives off a trendy and lively vibe, while The Mulia’s style is exquisite and elegant.
The Mulia is an all-suite beachfront resort facing the white sand beaches of Nusa Dua and the azure Indian Ocean, with all 111 rooms being suites and starting from 105㎡. The best ocean views in all of Mulia Bali can be found here.
The public areas include a lobby bar, outdoor pool, and beach. The lobby bar serves breakfast in the morning and has executive afternoon tea.
During the afternoon tea time, there are live music performances～
The balcony at The Mulia is spacious enough to host a party!
In addition to the indoor bathtubs, there’s a jacuzzi on the balcony.
You can enjoy a private soak while facing the view, with adjustable water temperature and massage intensity for an incredibly relaxing experience.
We also photographed three room types at The Mulia:
The Baron Beachfront View
This is the basic suite, with a room area of 105㎡, featuring a large bedroom, bathroom, and balcony.
The Earl Beachfront View
This suite has an area of 130㎡, differentiated by a completely separate bedroom and living room, featuring a larger common area.
Earl Suite Lagoon Access
This room type has the same area as the previous one but is located on the ground floor with pool access. Since the number of these suites is limited, they can only be booked directly through the official website. Compared to Mulia Resort’s pool access rooms, this pool is larger and offers broader ocean views, making it immensely enjoyable to swim in!
Staying at The Mulia brings about a change in mood, with such beautiful ocean views from the room, making you not want to leave.
Indeed, the pricier the room, the more relaxed you feel, as the vacation atmosphere is perfectly captured.
Mulia Villas
Mulia Villas is nestled in the hills, integrated into a rainforest area, comprising a total of 108 villas.
Each villa is independent, with room sizes starting at 505㎡, featuring incredibly high-end amenities, including private gardens and pools.
Mulia Villas offers a range of villas from one-bedroom and two-bedroom family villas to six-bedroom estates. The family villas are not listed on the website or OTA, so we made sure to capture some images for everyone.
Starting with the one-bedroom villa, the peaked roof enhances the ceiling height, making it very comfortable indoors.
Especially notable is the 270-degree garden view bathtub, beautiful enough to make me worry I’d wash my skin off.
Villa configurations provide ample privacy, so you can confidently open the curtains without being seen outside.
Gardens come with pavilions, lawns, pools, and sun loungers, and there’s even a shady bed available. Waterscape views differ among the villas, with the best views featuring both rainforest and ocean sights.
Family villas include an additional independent bedroom. One bedroom has twin beds, while the other has a double bed.
The outdoor space is also larger, making it suitable for families or groups of friends to stay together.
Continuing with the photos:
Mulia Villas also has its own dedicated lobby, restaurant, and common pool exclusively for Mulia Villas guests.
I really liked this pool; it provides an expansive view from above.
The shallow area of the pool has water loungers, making it a great spot to relax.
Mulia Villas’ Living Room restaurant offers a breakfast and afternoon tea menu similar to that of The Mulia’s The Lounge.
Breakfast here features unlimited ordering, with a wide variety of options that include both Western and Asian styles. Compared to the buffet breakfast at Mulia Resort, dining here feels much more leisurely, with generally more refined food choices. The Indonesian fried noodles are incredibly delicious and served as my motivation to get out of bed for several days!
The executive afternoon tea includes alcoholic beverages, alongside a three-tiered snack platter and a variety of self-served snacks. The snack platter includes classic English and Asian options.
I highly recommend the Asian-style options, which include both savory and sweet items. Some may take longer to prepare since they are made fresh.
At this point, you should have a good idea of the differences between the three hotels.
Mulia Resort 👉 The Mulia 👉 Mulia Villas, with quality, price, and privacy increasing accordingly. Mulia Resort focuses on convenience and cost-effectiveness, concentrating many public areas and offering a variety of activities.
The Mulia highlights the prime ocean views, featuring the best seasights at Mulia and a superb sunrise viewing point. The jacuzzi on the balcony is a unique highlight.
Mulia Villas offers spaciousness, emphasizing privacy and a tranquil atmosphere, with rooms starting at 505㎡, each with its own private garden and pool.
Outstanding Dining
Bali primarily attracts Western tourists, so the cuisine tends to suit Western tastes. We Chinese guests find it easy to tire of such fare after a while. However, Mulia really offers great food, excelling in both Western and Asian dishes to provide a balanced experience. Staying at Mulia means you can leave behind your seasoned essentials like spicy sauces!
The dining options at Mulia are limited, but they rank among the best in Bali. Mulia features four distinct restaurants, one bar, and one dessert shop (all located at Mulia Resort).
Additionally, each hotel (Mulia Resort, The Mulia, and Mulia Villas) has its own accompanying lounge.
The Cafe International Buffet
I must repeatedly give praise to Mulia’s buffet!
I never expected that the buffet would turn out to be my favorite aspect of the week. It’s not that the other restaurants were not good; it’s just that this buffet is unforgettable!
The Cafe has outdoor seating.
The Cafe serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, showcasing diverse international flavors with dedicated sections for each cuisine.
Firstly, for breakfast, there’s even a hand-pour coffee bar, where you can select the beans you like. The flavor profiles of the coffee are described in detail, so you won’t need to choose blindly; this thoughtfulness is truly appreciated.
There’s also a freshly squeezed juice bar where you can mix and match fruits and vegetables.
Seafood is also available at breakfast, making it an extraordinarily enjoyable meal that might lead you to skip lunch entirely.
Dinner is even more lavish, featuring all-you-can-eat seafood, with diligent replenishing, especially with the sashimi, which uses high-quality cuts.
Dinner is incredibly sumptuous; I didn’t even finish everything in several days as there are sections for hot dishes, barbecue, Chinese, Japanese, and dessert—to name a few.
The dessert section is divided into two rooms featuring French desserts, Indonesian desserts, breads, cookies, and ice cream chocolates. Desserts across all restaurants at Mulia are exceptionally good, most likely provided by the same dessert shop. The benefit of dining at The Cafe is the unlimited dessert options, so I often dined on desserts after my main meals.
Table 8 Cantonese Restaurant
Initially, we weren’t keen on checking out the Chinese restaurant because we eat Chinese food daily at home and wanted to try something different while abroad. However, my assumptions were quickly proven wrong. This Chinese restaurant exceeded our expectations.
This restaurant employs an intricate design for its buffet format. Some dishes are available for self-service, while others are prepared upon request and delivered to your table upon notifying the chef of your table number.
Since Chinese cuisine emphasizes temperature and freshness, this ensures the best tasting experience.
The fresh-made clay pot dish:
In this section, you select your ingredient combinations while the chef stir-fries them fresh for you:
They also offer barbecue, braised dishes, and soups that are incredibly comforting!
Authentic Cantonese dishes made fresh are surprisingly easy to find in Bali!
This Chinese restaurant is very popular among guests; not only us Chinese diners but also many foreigners come to enjoy the food, which brings a sense of pride.
Edogin Japanese Cuisine
Edogin typically offers set menus and a la carte options, with a Japanese buffet available on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
If you prefer a lighter meal with fewer choices, Edogin is a good option. However, for someone with a larger appetite like me, after experiencing The Cafe and Table 8, I left feeling a bit unsatisfied.
Here, the buffet focuses more on seafood, sushi, and teppanyaki, with very good ingredient quality.
Soleil Fusion Restaurant
The first three restaurants are situated in the main building’s lower floor, while Soleil is located by the pool with an even better environment, overlooking the ocean.
The outdoor seating here offers stunning views!
This restaurant primarily serves Mediterranean cuisine but also features some Southeast Asian dishes, appealing again to that Western palate.
Their desserts are highly recommended for being uniquely presented and differing from those at the other restaurants.
On weekends, they offer brunch. They are also vegetarian-friendly and provide clear information on ingredients.
Soleil is best appreciated for its ambiance and atmosphere; come here to enjoy brunch and dessert.
Sky Bar
Located above Soleil, the Sky Bar opens at 17:30.
As the dusk descends, you can listen to the waves and gaze at the starry sky; it’s quite romantic.
Cannelé Patisserie
This is a newly opened dessert shop at Mulia, which, at first glance, might be mistaken for a patisserie found on the streets of Paris.
It is incredibly professional, offering freshly baked breads, artistic French desserts, beautifully packaged room-temperature pastries, enticing handcrafted chocolates, and irresistibly tempting sandwiches.
This setup has already outshined most dessert shops on the island.
