The Novotel Bali Ngurah Rai Airport is located between the international and domestic terminals of Bali Airport. Avoid the Bali airport traffic horror and walk to this hotel in minutes.
Bali Airport Hotel Novotel bedroom © [email protected]
Why Stay at the Bali Airport Novotel?
If you’re flying into Bali late at night and have an early domestic flight out the next morning – to Labuan Bajo for Komodo, for example – the Novotel Bali Ngurah Rai Airport is the most convenient place to stay. The hotel is located between the international and domestic terminals of Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport and you can walk to it from either terminal. No taxi, no Grab, no negotiating with drivers – and no getting stuck in traffic jams. You can check availability at the Bali Airport Novotel on Booking.com.
Anyone who has sat in the gridlock around Bali’s airport knows how tedious it can be. The roads to and from Seminyak, Sanur and Kuta can be an absolute shocker, particularly at peak times. You might think I’m exaggerating, but you can easily lose a couple of hours of your life being stuck in traffic each way.
If you’re arriving into Bali late in the evening and departing on a flight early the next day, it’s far simpler to stay in the airport itself rather than fight with the traffic to get to a hotel at the beach in Seminyak or Sanur and then fight with it again the next morning to get back to the airport.
Bali Airport Hotel Novotel Walk International Terminal to Hotel Sign © [email protected]
How to Walk to the Novotel from Bali Airport Terminals
The walk from Bali’s international terminal to the Novotel takes around 5-10 minutes. After you clear immigration and customs, you’ll exit the terminal into the Arrivals area. Look to your left and you’ll see signs for “Airport Hotel”. You’ll also see signs for the Domestic Terminal in the same direction – the hotel is located on the walkway between the two terminals, making it easily accessible from both of them. The walkway is covered and well lit, though it can feel a little quiet and deserted if you’re arriving very late at night. You also walk through a car park at one point. Don’t second-guess yourself – keep walking and you’ll reach the hotel lobby soon enough. If you’re arriving at the domestic terminal, the hotel is even closer.
Ramp leading up to Bali Airport Novotel © [email protected]
Be aware that there are a couple of ramps to push your luggage trolley up (or down if you’re going the opposite way) – nothing too strenuous but just to note it’s not flat all the way.
There’s no shuttle service because there’s no need for one – the hotel is inside the airport compound. You can use an airport luggage trolley to wheel your bags all the way to the hotel entrance.
Pro tip – arrange your luggage so that it’s not hanging over the sides of the luggage trolley, making the width of the trolley wider. That’s because when you arrive at the Novotel, you will see two small elevators as the way up to the lobby. The doors of the elevators are very narrow and you can only wheel a luggage trolley in there if the luggage doesn’t extend over the sides of the trolley.
Bali Airport Hotel Novotel bedroom © [email protected]
Novotel Bali Airport Room Review: What Are the Rooms Like?
Once you arrive in the lobby, the Novotel is a clean, spacious, business-style 4-star hotel. The lobby doubles as a large restaurant area too with a high ceiling, so it has a pleasant vibe to hang out. It’s not going to blow your mind aesthetically, but it does everything a transit hotel needs to do and does it well. The rooms are a good size, the double bed is big and comfortable, and the water pressure in the shower is decent – always a plus after a long flight. The blackout curtains are effective and, despite being inside an airport, there’s very little sound from planes taking off or from other guests. For a transit hotel, it’s remarkably tranquil. Check-in is efficient.
Bali Airport Hotel Novotel Shower © [email protected]
There’s a kettle with tea and coffee in the room plus a couple of small bottles of complimentary water. Don’t drink from the tap. Pro tip: you can call housekeeping for more bottled water, or just buy some big 1.5 litre bottles from WH Smith as you exit the airport terminal on the way to the hotel. Stay hydrated!
Bali Airport Hotel Novotel Toilet © [email protected]
Novotel Bali Airport Facilities: Restaurant, Pool and Breakfast
There’s an outdoor swimming pool and a rooftop bar at the hotel which are nice touches, along with a gym. It’s obviously a short stroll back to the shops at the International Arrivals terminal or the larger collection of shops outside the Domestic Terminal if you want to find different dining options outside the hotel.
Is the Novotel Bali Airport Hotel Good for Transit and Layovers?
The Bali Airport Novotel is ideal for divers and travellers who are transiting through Bali and need a comfortable, hassle-free place to sleep for the night. The classic scenario is arriving into Bali on an international flight in the evening and catching a domestic flight to Labuan Bajo (for Komodo diving), Sorong (for Raja Ampat diving), Bima (for Kalimaya dive resort and the occasional liveaboard sailing to Saleh Bay), or elsewhere in Indonesia early the next morning. Rather than spending hours sitting in Bali traffic each way and arriving at your hotel tired and irritated, you walk a few minutes from the terminal, check in, get a good night’s sleep, and stroll back to the terminal refreshed for your morning flight.
The hotel also offers day-use rooms if you have a long layover and want somewhere to shower, rest and recharge before your next flight. You need to contact the hotel direct to check availability and pricing as it changes depending on demand.
How to Book the Novotel Bali Ngurah Rai Airport
You can check availability and pricing on Booking.com. There’s also plenty of previous guest reviews to give you a sense of the hotel. Be warned that the Novotel can be fully booked, especially during peak season, so it’s worth reserving a room as far in advance as possible. (You often don’t have to pay at the time of reservation).
On the couple of occasions when I haven’t been able to get into the Novotel because it’s full, I’ve stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn. This is the nearest hotel to Bali Airport that’s directly outside the airport grounds. The Hilton Garden Inn is also a decent enough hotel but you have the hassle of having to get a taxi from the Arrivals area to it. While the Hilton is very near the airport, you can once again end up stuck in traffic to get there – what should be a five minute ride can turn into a twenty minute ride. So now I try to reserve a room at the Novotel as far in advance as I can.
