Love F Hotel Kuta, Bali

Getting to the room is easy, as the hotel staff that checked you in will escort you to your room through the hotel’s small elevators and open-air corridors. You will notice that on some floors, there is a lounging area marked by capacious seats that can almost serve as beds. However, I don’t see any practical use of it as there is nothing else to do in that awkward area and lounging in your own room would be a much better choice. Along the corridors are also numerous framed posters of quotes about fashion and though this is in line with Love F Hotel’s theme, it does make the corridors feel a little boring. Perhaps some artwork would do a better job instead of those self made fashion quotes.

Love F Hotel Bali offers two types of rooms which they call the Slim and Fit rooms and the Fashion Suite. For my stay I had the Slim and Fit room which costs 500,000 rupiah per night. The first dissatisfaction that guests might have would probably be the light and hollow sounding doors. Though equipped with a modern and high-tech lock that just requires guests to scan the room key, the doors do not seem to give much security assurance and it feels almost as though someone can easily barge through the door if they wanted to.

As you step into the room, you will be greeted by a clean pleasant sight that has a light and bright feel to it. You might also notice how small the room is and though it is not cramped like many hotels are in Hong Kong, it can still be squeezy especially if two big sized guests are sharing the room. Though Indonesia as a whole is a country where almost everyone smokes, guests might have concerns regarding the cleanliness and smell of the room. However, there is no need to worry because all the rooms at Love F Hotel are non-smoking rooms and with dedicated staff cleaning the rooms, there will not be an issue of the smell of smoke and cigarettes lingering in the room.

The bed is comfortable and the sheets are clean and crisp, making it a match for hotels of greater calibres. Each guests gets an option of two pillows, each of different sizes and hardness. In many hotels, guests can use both pillows together but the pillows provided at Love F Hotel are both very thick and fluffy, making it hard to use both. Then, guests will face a problem of storing the unused pillow. The room is also very well lit as there are numerous lights covering all corners of the rooms. When all the lights are turned on, guests will have no problem doing some reading or planning out the itinerary. However, some guests will still prefer having an adjustable bedside lamp which Love F Hotel unfortunately lacks.

Basic amenities are provided, just like any other hotel and guests can utilise the telephone, remote control for the television set and the air conditioning which are placed on the bedside table. There is also a power socket so that you can conveniently charge your electrical appliances by your bed. There is also a luggage rack available so that you can have a proper place to put your luggages in the small room. The light switches are also located by the bed, but I must say that the controls are not idiot proof. This is because not all lights can be turned off from the switches by the bed and  you will have to hunt for other switches located by the door and the word desk to completely turn off all the lights in the room.

There is a television set that guests can use for entertainment and it is encased in a wooden frame of Love F Hotel’s signature diamond logo. The frame does not serve any purpose aside from adding some form of decor to the room. There are numerous international cable channels to choose from. Turn on the television and flick through the channels and I believe that you will be able to find a familiar movie or drama series that you can enjoy.

Wifi is also available throughout the hotel and in the rooms, and guests will be able to connect their personal devices to it. However, I must say that in a place like Bali where connectivity is not of great importance, the wifi is nowhere as reliable and fast as those in developed and highly connected cities.

The room comes full equipped with a pantry area and a mini bar, though it is a little strange that they are not placed together for convenience. The pantry is located on a shelf by the bed and next to the wardrobe and you will notice that all the amenities provided bear the hotel’s diamond shaped emblem. In fact, it seems to constantly remind you that you are staying in Love F Hotel Bali and not just any hotel.

At the pantry, you will find complimentary coffee and tea and also bottle water that is replenished daily. There is a boiler as well and guests can use it to cook up some instant noodles or make some coffee or tea for late night snacks. Do take note that tap water is non-potable and I would recommend boiling bottled water instead of tap water. One thing lacking here would be the provision of snacks. Love F Hotel does not provide guests with an in-room snack selection, although room service is available, albeit at higher prices. Thus, it is common for guests to head to the many convenience stores along Jalan Raya Legian and purchase some chips and cup noodles for supper.

The mini bar is located on the other side of the room, tucked under the work desk. Inside, you will find bottles of soft drinks and energy drinks provided with compliments of Love F Hotel. Basically, the entire mini bar is free of charge and will be replenished daily by housekeepers. Unfortunately, guests do not have the option of consuming alcoholic drinks in the room as they are not provided. Should you want to enjoy some liquor in the room or just have a glass of wine while watching a movie on your bed, you will have to call for room service. What I would recommend, however, is for guests to purchase drinks from supermarkets or convenience stalls and store them in the room. After all, the mini bar does have ample space for keeping your own drinks. There is one major flaw about the mini bar, and that is that it turns off automatically when you remove the room key as you go off. This means that your drinks are not constantly chilled and should you be thirsty upon returning to the hotel, there will not be cold refreshing drinks to enjoy.

The wardrobe is located along the room’s walkway, and over there you will find the basic amenities that most hotels provide. Love F Hotel provides beach slippers instead of the typical thin bedroom slippers that many other hotels provide and this is a thoughtful provision, since most guests will sure head to the nearby Kuta Beach. The clothes hangers are also unique as they are designed to reflect Love F Hotel’s signature diamond shaped emblem. However, this design only adds good looks to the hangers, but remove much practicality. In order to prevent theft, the hangers are fixed to the wardrobe and guests are unable to remove them. Also, it is practically impossible to hang shorts or pants as how you would normally due to the design of the hangers. As such, many of your clothes will probably have to be folded and not hung. Should you need to iron out your clothes before a night out at the clubs, ring the concierge and they will have an ironing board and iron delivered to your room.

The work desk is pretty spacious and it stretches the entire length of the room. Of course, you will surely not utilise all the space for your work, but it serves well as a platform to place you luggages and personal belongings. Once again, you will notice amenities bearing the hotel’s emblem.

The work desk is actually pretty sparse and if Love F Hotel were a business hotel, I am sure that many guests will find it hard to get any work done in the room. However, Bali is not exactly a place where people head to for business trips and so, even though the hotel does not provide pens, notepads and other office supplies, I am sure that most guests will not have a less enjoyable experience. There is also a handy booklet provided that gives you all the information you will need – from hotel services and amenities to emergency numbers and room service menu – and I find this a nice touch that provides some extra convenience to guests.

More power sockets are also available by the work desk and what I find really nice and attentive is that Love F Hotel provides a power socket for British and Singaporean plugs. This is probably because Singaporean visitors make up a large proportion of tourists on the island and by providing this power socket, the hotel caters to a significant population of its guests. I am sure that Singaporean visitors will find it handy that they do not need to bring an adapter along but for guests who require one, you can just ring up the reception and they will have an adapter delivered to your room. The only problem is that the curtains in the room are right above the power sockets and they hide these power outlets. Guests who do not search thoroughly enough might not be able to find these power sockets. Furthermore, the overhanging curtains not only make locating the power sockets hard, they also make it hard to plug in your electrical devices. This is one area that I feel can be improved on.

The only window to the room is located in front of the work desk and it allows in sufficient sunlight during the day into the already well lit room. The views are rather unspectacular as the hotel is surrounded by other old and plain looking buildings along Jalan Raya Legian. The only nicer sight would be the view of the pool but even so, most guests will probably not have much opportunity to peer through the window as there are no lounge chairs or sofas placed by it.

The room is generally well laid out with all the basic amenities that guests would require. It is clean and fresh and most travellers will be able to get some decent rest here. However, the main issue would probably be the noise levels. Love F Hotel is home to the F Love Bar, a club located on the higher most floor of the hotel. At night, F Love Bar blasts loud thumping dance tracks that can be heard from some of the rooms. Due to what I think is poor noise isolation, rooms on the third to fifth floors of the hotels will be recipients of the dance tracks which play till about 2am. Hence, unless you are a young party goer that will be joining in the fun at F Love Bar or at any other night life hotspots in Kuta, or someone that can sleep regardless of the environment, I would suggest that you request strictly for rooms that are on the first or second floor of the hotel. Those are the rooms that experience minimal to no noise from the club. Clearly, the rooms at Love F Hotel are meant more for the young and adventurous, for those who prefer to spend late nights exploring or partying, and not so much for the elderly or the young who require nights of early and undisturbed rest.

The door to the bathroom is very unique, as it also doubles as the wardrobe door. This design helps to save space as the can be one sliding door instead of two swinging doors that can potentially obstruct the walkway. However, some guests might not be too comfortable with the design as closing the bathroom door will expose your clothing and the safe, while closing the wardrobe will expose the bathroom to the rest of the room.

Like the rest of the room, the bathroom is rather small is size, but Love F Hotel does a good job of not making it feel cramped and claustrophobic. Heavy use of light coloured tiles and smart inclusion of glass makes the bathroom seem more open and airy than it really is. Also, the openness of the bathroom seems to give it a resort feel and this is backed by the white pebbles placed under the sink as a smart way to cover up the drainage system without obstructing water flow or destroying the image of the bathroom.

You will find all of the basic toiletries and amenities provided around the sink area. The hand soap has a nice and refreshing lemon grass scent to it and the other amenities such as toothbrush and cotton buds are all of decent quality. This is a plus point about Love F Hotel, as there are numerous hotels in Bali that provide substandard toiletries and amenities. It is also nice that the hotel puts up a reminder for guests not to drink the tap water. Ladies will also enjoy the use of the attached hair dryer. Besides that, there is a socket for gentlemen to plug in their electric shavers. All these provisions make Love F Hotel feel like a premium hotel and not a shady budget lodging choice. However, the limited sink area means that most of the space is used to place the toiletries and towels and so, guests will find that they have limited space to store their own belongings. This might pose a problem especially to ladies who have lots of skincare and body care products and placing them around the sink will almost definitely be a messy affair.

The bathroom comes equipped with a large sized shower area, complete with a rainfall shower that is bound to appeal to young guests. Shampoo and bath gel are provided as well. The black tiles running down the centre of the shower area creates a nice contrast to the generally white theme of the bathroom and makes the area seem a little more classy. Also the flooring seems to have non-slip properties making it a safe place to be in, even for kids or the aged. The water pressure from the rainfall shower is also very good, and the temperature of the water is easily controlled, guaranteeing  a good bath for all guests.

Unfortunately, not everything is perfect and there are some issues that guests will face as well. For the shower, the curtain tends to blow inwards while the water is turned on, due to the difference in air pressure caused by the warm water. As a result, the shower curtain might stick to your body while you are taking a shower and that is not a very comfortable situation to be in. Also, water might splash out resulting in a wet floor or a drenched floor mat. Guests who bring along several bottles of soap and cleansers will also face difficulty placing them in the shower area as there is only one small holder used to place the shampoo and bath gel provided by the hotel.

Other issues also include a slightly stained and cracked floor in the bathroom – something that is unexpected and somewhat shocking given the hotel’s young age. Although the bathroom is in no way filthy, I think that something should be done to fix these imperfections as they might tarnish the overall looks of the room. With that being said, I must conclude that the bathroom does surpass expectations especially when you consider the price of a room at Love F Hotel.