After months of trawling through brochures and going around the world several times we decided that Bali in Indonesia was the place for us to relax, unwind and enjoy the first couple of weeks as husband and wife. Bali was always a place that I had wanted to go to and I’m so pleased that I got to experience this with my husband.

We stayed in the Bali Hyatt for 13 nights as part of a twin centre in Kuala Lumpa; the hotel is in the area of Sanur which is roughly a 15-20 min drive from the airport on the east of the Island. As you enter the hotel reception you are met by staff and given a typical Balinese welcome and a cool drink while our rep advised the reception that we had arrived. The club lounge had a smoking and non smoking area, with Balinese music playing, surrounded by beautiful gardens and a pond, so very peaceful, the perfect place to have breakfast, a cool drink during the day and a lovely atmosphere for those pre-dinner cocktails. They had a wide selection of drinks that you were able to choose from. The grounds are very spacious, with well tended gardens (you can arrange a tour of them with the gardener if you wish). The hotel has around 400 rooms; I can honestly say that it didn't feel as if it did at all. The hotel is right on the beach, the sea is very shallow so if you want to have a swim you would need to do that in the pool of which there are 2, 1 of which has a swim up bar. The food was amazing, they have 5 restaurants; the Wantilan Café, which is a Balinese restaurant, Cupak Bistro and Grantang Bar which serves European and Asian food, Omang Omang Grill which is by the pool area and is open for lunch and evening meal, Pizza Ria as the name suggests, an Italian restaurant on the beach and finally the Telaga Naga which is the authentic Chinese restaurants. They also have the option for private and romantic dinning which we did one evening, guests can chose either to dine on the beach, the gardens the pool island or amongst the bamboo atrium. We ate a few times outside the hotel. There is plenty on offer and so very reasonable, even more so than the hotels, saying that we mostly ate in the hotel as we were so relaxed and the atmosphere was so perfect that it invited you to stay there. The staff were amazing as nothing was too much trouble, and whatever you asked for was there before you knew it. It was a dream.

We decided to do a couple of excursions while we were there, it would have been such a pity to go this far and just stay in the hotel all the time. We went on a reef cruise out to Lembongan Island. You were situated on a platoon for the day to take part in various watersports and just come and go to the Island as you please. Lembongan Island is were we also we taken for lunch, which was buffet style and had various hot and cold dishes. You could also chose to stay on the island for a while longer and use the pool facilities or take a stroll around the complex, and you can have an option to stay here over night if you wish in one of the beautiful beach huts.

The 2nd day out was on the Waka Land Cruise and we had an English speaking guide with us and were also accompanied by 3 other people in our Land Rover. It did get a bit bumpy at times even with my extra cushioning. This tour gave us a chance to see the magical heart and soul of the island through some of the most spectacular scenery. We had the chance to visit a traditional farm house and explore and ancient quarry. This trip really did give you the chance to see how the local people live. I think the most wonderful part of the day was having lunch in the rainforest; it really was rather special.

Since our honeymoon I have sent many people to Bali, who have in turn really enjoyed and fallen in love with the Island as we both have and can’t wait to return.