Renaissance Nusa Dua review: Bali's best pools at this fresh, new fun resort

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Opened in December 2021 under the Marriott banner, this is the second Renaissance to open in the region (the first, close by in Uluwatu, opened in 2018). It's an expansive complex but is distinctly cutting-edge for Nusa Dua, which is renowned for its high-end comfort-food chain hotels, and is located in an exclusive enclave on a hill set back from, but overlooking, the sea and its tropical surrounds. During my stay much of the hotel was yet to open - including several wings of suites and some of its restaurants and function spaces.

THE LOOK

The open-air lobby is spacious, modern and slick, with plenty of space to while away a few hours with the excellent R Bar to help facilitate this process. Seating options are eclectic and include a swinging nest seat, multi-coloured lounges and balcony seats overlooking huge water features. Eye candy is abundant - from giant chess pieces to modern art depicting Balinese culture, to screens on the ceiling with bright moving patterns. With clear themes of music, art and fashion, the staff also look the part, sashaying behind the bar in bright, luxurious silks and cottons by local designer Paul Ropp, while others wear Bali's high-end resort brand By The Sea.

Outside it's all about the pools - and there's four of them, each with a unique design begging to be captured on camera - especially the unusual circular pool, with a chequered floor and a catwalk-like path cut through the middle, lined with huge lanterns and leading to a walk-in water feature, which has a viewing area from above. There's also a long, deep pool with a volleyball net and a kid's pool with colourful play equipment, part of the Kid's Club. The main pool's bar with its wave-like ceiling is a designer's and Instagrammer's dream, flooded with interchanging coloured lights from sunset.

A separate building houses the gym which has bikes for hire, and the excellent spa which levels up with 90-minute treatments and heated pillows to rest your head. Afterwards, relax with unique herbal teas and fruit with yoghurt.

THE ROOM

Industrial corridors separate the lobby from the buildings housing the rooms, designed for maximum air flow and decorated with stencils of Balinese dancers. I'm in a Deluxe Twin Sea View room with ocean views and a balcony. The bathroom is separated from the bedrooms by a curtain that mimic backstage changerooms, with stage lights in the bathroom and tin inlay decorating the shelves. Turquoise is the chilled colour theme, with black-and-white marble in the shower and on cushions and lamps. Eye candy continues, with motifs of Balinese dancers stencilled into the ceiling and another from a gobo light projected onto the floor. There's even a rattan rocking chair in the corner of the room, and a stainless steel drum posing as a minibar.