There are hotels you visit once and remember fondly. And then there are hotels you return to, year after year, because they have become part of your family story. The InterContinental Bali Resort in Jimbaran is the second kind. We have been bringing our children here for years — through different ages, different stages, different family configurations — and every single time, it delivers. The duplex suite is the reason we keep coming back. Two floors, two bathrooms, a living room the kids can actually use, and a bedroom where Steve and I can close the door and pretend, briefly, that we are on a romantic holiday. We are not. But the pretending is very pleasant.
The duplex bedroom — Balinese headboard, hardwood floors, welcome fruit basket. This is what we come back for.
The Duplex — Why It Works for Families
The InterContinental Jimbaran duplex suite is, in our experience, one of the best family room configurations in Bali. Two levels means the children have their own space downstairs while the adults have genuine separation upstairs. The living area is generous enough for the kids to spread out, the bathrooms are properly sized, and the whole thing is styled with that warm Balinese aesthetic — dark wood, gold accents, fresh flowers on arrival. The welcome fruit basket is always a hit. The kids go straight for the dragon fruit. Every time.
The pool with the Balinese statues — one of the most iconic resort pools in Bali. The kids live here.
The Pool — An Icon
The main pool at the InterContinental Jimbaran is genuinely one of the most beautiful resort pools in Bali. Flanked by ancient Balinese stone statues, surrounded by frangipani trees and manicured gardens, it has a quality that photographs can't quite capture — a sense of ceremony, of being somewhere that has been designed with real intention. Our children have spent entire days in this pool. The water is always the right temperature. The pool attendants are attentive without being intrusive. And the view from the pool deck, looking out towards the ocean, is the kind of thing you take a mental photograph of and keep forever.
Left: pool-ready and completely fearless. Right: watermelon on a stick at the restaurant — the smile says it all.
The Grounds — Space to Roam
The InterContinental Jimbaran sits on an extraordinary piece of land — vast, green, and meticulously maintained. The grounds include lily ponds crossed by stone bridges, a yellow playground that the kids can see from the pool and immediately want to go to, and lawns so perfectly kept that the children run across them in bare feet and the grass is soft enough that nobody gets hurt. There is something about the scale of the resort that works particularly well for big families — there is always somewhere to go, always something to discover, and the children never feel confined. The lily pond is a particular favourite. Two of ours spent an entire afternoon watching the fish.
The lily pond — two of ours spent an entire afternoon here. The resort grounds are extraordinary.
The resort lawns — vast, green, and completely irresistible to small children.
The Playground & Kids' Facilities
The yellow playground at the InterCon Jimbaran is one of those resort features that earns its keep immediately. It's well-maintained, age-appropriate for a range of children, and positioned in a shaded area of the grounds that makes it usable even in the heat of the day. The resort also has a dedicated kids' club with structured activities, which is genuinely useful when you want two hours of adult time by the pool. The staff in the kids' club are warm and engaged — our children have always come back happy and slightly exhausted, which is exactly what you want.
The playground — spotted from the pool, immediately requested. Every single visit.
Sunset Cocktails & Dinner
The InterContinental Jimbaran is famous for its Jimbaran Bay sunset — and rightly so. The resort's beach club and sunset bar are among the best places in Bali to watch the sun go down over the Indian Ocean. The cocktails are excellent (the piña colada is a personal favourite), the service is impeccable, and the atmosphere — palm trees, ocean breeze, children running on the beach — is the kind of thing you try to describe to people and realise you can't. You just have to be there. Dinner at the resort's restaurants is consistently good, with menus that balance Balinese cuisine with international options that the children will actually eat.
Left: the piña colada at sunset — non-negotiable. Right: Sarah and Steve at dinner — the flower crown is a Jimbaran tradition.
Why We Keep Coming Back
The InterContinental Jimbaran has something that is genuinely rare in luxury travel: it works for everyone in the family, at every age. We have brought babies here. We have brought toddlers. We have brought school-age children. And every time, the resort has met us where we are. The duplex gives us the space we need. The pool gives the children what they want. The grounds give everyone room to breathe. The service is consistently warm without being performative. And the sunsets — the Jimbaran Bay sunsets — are among the most beautiful things we have ever seen. We will keep coming back. We already know it.
At a Glance
InterContinental Bali Resort, Jimbaran
Jimbaran Bay, South Bali
Nearby highlights
Wonder & Wander Approved
We've stayed here, got married here, and recommend it wholeheartedly. Let Scout find you the best deal.
