If you read last weeks blog post where I totally gushed over Canggu, Bali and all its awesomeness you’ll probably have realised that Bali is pretty much my spiritual home. Where Canggu is all chilled, healthy surf vibes, neighbouring Seminyak is more glitz n glam with high-end hotels, shopping malls and swanky clubs. Potato Head Beach Club Bali is probably the most famous of those swanky beach clubs, so I really wanted to check it out and see what all the fuss was about. I love a good beach club: sunbathing, cocktails, food, music and generally feeling like a queen on your day bed, everything I want out of a relaxing holiday. However, going to a super popular beach club at one of the busiest times of year requires a little bit of planning to get the most out of the experience, no one wants to be all excited for the club, then find they can’t get in (this happened to friends of mine!) So I thought I’d share a few nuggets of wisdom from my day at Potato Head Beach Club Bali, so that you can get the most out of your visit too.

Entry fee

There is no entrance fee for Potato Head Beach club Bali, BUT if you want to a cabana or day bed there is a minimum spend, depending on weather you want a poolside bed or beachfront cabana. We opted for poolside, as we wanted to be able to hop in and out of the amazing infinity pool, with swim up bar easily. The beachfront cabanas are on a slightly lower level, not hard to access the pool, but a bit more of a walk, plus it was more expensive and they have a time limit of 6 hours. Where as the poolside beds you can stay on all day, and we were definitely there for the long haul!

Pool side day bed minimum spend = 500 000 IDR (£27.76/$37.19/€31.67/47.41AUD)

Beachfront cabana minimum spend = 800 000 IDR (£44.39/$59.47/€50.64/75.81AUD)

There is no minimum charge for the bar or any of the restaurants.

Opening Times and when to arrive

Potato Head opens at 10am every day and is open till 2am. We arrived bright and early at 9.15am, as we were staying just a 5minute stroll along the beach. Everyone had told us to arrive early or it’s a nightmare getting in, so we sat pretty smug on the beach watching the traditional Balinese morning blessings with not another soul in sight until we realised we needed to be round the street entrance and not the beach, aaargh! After walking through a series of little alleyways we found the street/road entrance and it was PACKED, noooo! By this time (9:45) we were sure we wouldn’t get a day bed. However, we spoke to the bookings desk and we were able to get a poolside bed, but the first 2 rows right next to the pool had all been taken. By the time we were sat on our bed at 10am other people arriving were being put on the waiting list for beds, so it’s worth getting there early. You can select which bed you want, and we chose one right next to the cocktail bar, however I would recommend being closer to the pool bar if you want a bit more direct sunlight.

Which days to visit

Wednesdays and Saturdays are the busiest days, with some pretty big DJs playing during peak season. We were there on a Thursday just before peak season started (1^st July – October) and it was busy all day and into the evening. But as there was no DJ on in the evening it was pretty chilled after 6pm with people enjoying dinner and cocktails. If you want more of a party after a day of soaking up the sun I would definitely go on a Saturday.

Music: During the day it’s chilled Balearic beats and tropical house. On event nights they host a range of international DJs. Vice, Horse Meat Disco, and Mr Scruff have all played there.

Dress code

There isn’t really one although people do seem to make a bit of an effort. During the day it’s all nice bikinis and flowing beach cover-ups. By 5pm people start coming in for sunset cocktails, and I definitely started to feel a bit scruffy with my sweaty pool hair and no make up. Luckily I’d brought a change of clothes and some toiletries/make up. There are places to store your things and showers to use too, so you can have a spruce up before dancing the night away or enjoying dinner in one of the restaurants. That’s what I love about beach clubs; it’s so easy to go from day to night without having to traipse back to your hotel to get changed.

Food

The food at Potato Head Beach Club Bali is out of this world! The food served poolside is a good selection of small plates, main meals and sharing boards, a mix of local and world cuisine. We ate lobster brioche, soft shell crab sliders, fresh oysters and fish tacos, which were all incredible. They also have 3 formal restaurants: a wood fired pizza terrace, a traditional Indonesian restaurant and an international restaurant serving everything from steaks to sushi.

Drinks

Potato Head Beach Club Bali take their cocktails very seriously, they have a good selection of classic and signature drinks that are like a work of art. Sitting at the swim up bar drinking out of a coconut shell billowing with dry ice was kinda cool. They have a good wine list and you can also order bottles of spirits with selection of mixers. And if you’re not quite ready to hit the hard stuff, a good range of smoothies, fresh juices, coconuts and coffees too.

Cost & How to pay

As far as average prices in Bali goes it’s a bit on the expensive side, but compared to most western countries it’s super cheap. I guess it depends on your budget, but considering the quality I thought it was totally worth it. Here are a few prices so you can judge for your selves:

Cocktail 120 – 140 000 IDR

Young coconut – 20 000 IDR

Beer – 30 000 IDR

Lobster brioche – 140 000 IDR

Chicken, avo & harissa sandwich with fries – 160 000 IDR

It’s pretty easy to make that 500k minimum spend with lunch for two and a couple of drinks. We actually spent far more, because it’s just so easy, the staff are incredibly attentive and we were having too much fun!

If you get a day bed you start a tab with a credit/debit card and you get a little wooden tag, which you can show to any waiter or bar tender. VERY handy when using the swim up bar, although don’t do what we did and lose it in the pool then franticly swim around hunting for it… it’s a bad look ha! We settled our tab at around 7pm by credit card, making sure to tip our awesome waiter (in cash) who’d been so brilliant all day, then paid for drinks in cash after that.

We had such an amazing day at Potato Head Beach Club Bali, the club is so beautiful the staff and level of service top notch and the food and drinks delicious. Without a doubt one of the best beach clubs I’ve ever been to.