Background
Bali, the party centre of Indonesia and Australia. Many Australians make their way to this small island to enjoy the affordable prices, with a more unregulated nightlife and plenty of booze to enjoy. The beaches are beautiful and the culture is rife. For those looking to enjoy Bali’s vibrant party scene will have to make their way to Kuta.
Kuta is the number one destinations for many first time Bali visitors. For those looking to indulge in some drink and dance, it's a bit difficult to decide where exactly you want to go. Bali offers many seaside and sky bars to choose from. In this section we will be looking at one of Kuta’s most popular clubs, the Sky Garden.
This four level complex offers many different activities to choose from. It is located relatively close to the beach and at the heart of Kuta’s nightlife strip. It's also a two minutes walk away from the monument erected for the victims of the Bali bombings. I initially found out about this bar while I was traveling with a mate through Indonesia. I was told by one of the locals that its a must see if you’re keen to grab a bite, drink and dance. It has also been voted the best nightclub in Bali for the past 7 years. I was pretty much convinced and a couple of days later my mate and I were heading there.
The rooftop is very clean a beautifully designed. With tiki style roofs covering the large outdoor bars. Every corner had either a tree or potted plant to give off a garden-esque vibe. When we arrived in the evening the whole area was lit by many different colors meshing together to form a hypnotic like scene. The building was also high enough to be able to see most of the surrounding city. This afforded amazing instagram-worthy photos and a spectacular view of the busy party strip down below. Across the road there is a large slingshot amusement ride to shock and thrill its users. It is always entertaining watching a new pack of victims screaming and roaring while being shot up and down the ride. The bars, like most tourists venues, was over-staffed making it easy to have your requests completed without waiting for too long.
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Buffet
We went to the Sky Garden on a beautiful sunny day sometime in the evening. We were initially heading there for the all you can eat buffet at the roof. Upon climbing up the long stairs, we finally reached the top and were hit by the incredible smells of the food. It was the largest buffet I had ever seen. With large tables covered to the brim with food of all types, You could find local foods, curries, anything you can imagine fried, hot dogs, many cheeses, steaks, several salads, pizza, lasagna, pasta, potato dishes with cheese and the list goes on. They also have a dessert section filled with pastries, cakes, custards and local desserts. The buffet changes theme on different days of the week. Sometimes focusing on steaks, Mexican, pizzas, pastas and more.
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We were provided with massive plates which I stuffed without hesitation to almost spilling point with all types of food.
My mate was vegetarian yet managed to get a large selection of foods to try out. I had two massive plates before I charged the desserts. Nothing better than enjoying a buffet except one that serves food that seems to be of good quality.
After you’ve stuffed yourself and digested a little, you can be ready for the next part. With the buffet wristband you paid for at the entrance, you have access to unlimited beers and several cocktails to choose from. All included in the price.
If you’re feeling like smoking a hookah, the rooftop bar has got you covered. The hookah is a separate price from the wristband. However, the rooftop bar has a lounge area with padded seats to provide you all the comfort of drinking and smoking with mates. Sky Garden also offers a large movie screen which on many occasions would show big films for the pleasure of its patrons.
Like many venues in Indonesia, the Sky Garden has plenty of fans to keep you cool on hot humid days. The rooftop also has a covered DJ booth where you could pop and lock to the latest dancing tunes. This dancefloor is also conveniently placed next to the bar that provides unlimited alcohol. A feedback loop in the making. Most bartenders speak decent English so you wouldn’t have any problems ordering your drink without using the local lingo.
Music and drink
Although, what makes the Sky Garden so widely popular is its party scene. This club offers many different types of genres in different floors and sections of each floor. There are multiple stages and dancefloors spread throughout the venue. It's easy to jump from one place to the other if a certain song doesn’t touch your appeal. This is something I took extensive advantage of. It's also exciting to jump from new stage to new stage to experience new sounds and different dancefloors. The venue is sound proofed properly enough to not allow music from one DJ bleed into anothers. This allows for unadulterated enjoyment of your favourite genre.
The Sky Garden is not only a very popular tourist destination but also a local one. I noticed that the majority of the people partying and dancing where locals, whether from Bali or other parts of Indonesia. On the other hand, the all you can eat buffet on the roof seemed to be predominantly tourists.
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The venue is also famed for bringing many internationally renowned DJs to the venue. With a new DJ every week, it's always a different experience to try out. Some of these big name DJs include Yellow Claw, Australia’s famed Timmy Trumpet, Will Sparks, Steve Aoki, Afrojack and more. On the ground floor you can find countless posters of all the big DJs performing or have performed in the past.
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In addition, if you’re a girl and you dress well, you will be offered free entrance to the venue. Which would be great to save those extra 19-24 AUD on alcohol instead. So enjoy your time with the smoke machines, flashing lights and good food!
This place is a pretty safe venue with police and security always at the ready to make sure everyone enjoys their place
Happy adventuring, drink responsibly!
