RHUPERT'S COMMENTS:

On the Sunday we transferred to the Hotel Intan Bali at Seminyak for what was supposed to be the remainder of our trip (8 nights). We had booked, and paid extra for, the Superior Bungalows (with outside bathroom), but upon arrival at the hotel we were told that we had been "upgraded" to honeymoon suites for both couples. The "honeymoon" suites were actually in the cottage section and upon initial inspection both couples agreed that they weren't happy with their rooms, so we went to see what could be done.

We were told that the bungalows (with outside bathrooms) were completely booked out until the Tuesday and there was nothing they could do for us. They also told us that the cottages and the bungalows were of the same cost standard, which our travel agent later confirmed was not the case. The shift manager then advised us that, as it was Sunday, we would be unable to meet with the Hotel Manager or contact our Travel Agent, and suggested we stay in the rooms we were assigned and that they would transfer us to the bungalows on the Tuesday. The next morning we were on the phone to the travel agent in Adelaide at 6:30 am and were waiting for the manager who was due to arrive at 8:20.

Now I'm not a fussy person, and in such a tropical climate, I would expect to see some mildew in the bathroom, but upon closer inspection our room was absolutely filthy. The bathroom was very dirty, even the tiles had soap scum build up that looked as though it hadn't been cleaned for weeks. There was dried spots of urine (or some other substance) on the toilet seat. The shower rose was clogged with some sort of build up of muck, every corner was covered in mildew, the bath towels were small and grey (the other couple travelling with us had no bath towels at all).

The tiled floors were chipped and stained. The lamp shades and walls had dirty spots all over them. The back of the bedspread had spots that looked suspiciously like a previous guest had suffered a case of bali belly whilst in bed. The air-conditioner didn't work properly and the matress was very badly stained (big black patches of mould and other brown patches of god-knows-what!).

There was an upper floor to the suite, which was accessed by a spiral timber staircase, but when watching my husband climb the stairs and seeing the stairs bend and the banister wobble I refused to go and see for myself. We took some photos of the matress and bathroom and got some video footage of the room to show our travel agent when we got home (our travel agent has since suggested putting in a report to Garuda).