The Slow

The hotel advertises itself as a place to relax and slow down. And it is that. Except between 4pm and midnight when a DJ plays music to five customers and your $300 a night room throbs with it. Whole stay spoiled and laying here feeling more stressed than I would at home. Don’t bother.

The slow is everything but what it is trying to be. First it is not a place to “slow”down. I get it, its in the heart of Canggu. Still, nothing about the construction is making you feel relaxed: rooms opening to the bar, very noisy, noisy road is meters away, guest coming at 2am drunk screaming, continus footsteps from the top floor…. Terrible nights. The rooms, yes designer look, built cheaply. Here is an image of the bedroom door as exemple, not acceptable for this price. Everything is run down, feels like nobody cares. The amenities are deplorable. Again i get it, you want to look “cool” and have no tv or no coffee in the room. It doesn’t mean you have to treat us like cattle. The is no water kettle, no teas, nothing. They tell you to buy your coffre and it is the highest price on the street (48k Rp for black coffee). I mean cone on, you have 12 rooms, you pretend you run like a boutique hotel… far from it. So avoid it at any cost.

Didn’t get to stay due to a “reservation system issue”. We booked 6 months in advance for the purpose of securing a private pool room, which appeared in the confirmation email, but when we arrived they said pool rooms were booked out. They said their booking system was having issues since COVID but at no point did they get in touch to confirm our room booking despite knowing this issue. Really disappointing to travel all this way & not get what you booked as the pool rooms were a big part of the appeal. We ended up luckily finding different accom last minute, which they tried to help us with, but it was stressful as of course all the good places were booked out. If you’re booking specifically for the purpose of getting a private pool, email them to double check before you arrive.

Theres no doubt that the rooms are lovely - large and contemporary rather than typical Balinese style. There is no tea coffee facilities or even a kettle which was very disappointing for a hotel of this standard. It is in a busy area of town so close to the beach and restaurants etc. This does mean lots of traffic and noise and unable to open windows but that is the pay off for the location. The hotel lacks any outdoor space which is a shame. There is a roof terrace but when we went up with a drink there were a few staff there on the chairs, smoking. They didnt offer us a seat so we left. Such a missed opportunity to make this a nice space for guests. We had booked breakfast included but the breakfast menu then given is different and limited from what is shown online. So turned out not very vegan friendly as expected unless paid for something from main menu. They just remove anything from menu offered then they charge extra for oat milk in the one small coffee you get with your breakfast! We didnt then eat dinner there and didnt see anyone else eat there in the evenings which seemed strange considering the places round about it were very busy. Ovarall felt it was a bit overpriced and wouldnt stay there again.

We have visited Bali many times and this is the first time we are staying in Canggu. The Slow came recommended and sadly, it did not live up to expectations. Room was noisy (the street noise was loud even at 130am. Room was large and quite nice but it fell short with the lack of bathrobes and bedroom slippers. Walls are also thin - I can hear the neighbours next door. I would not recommend this to anyone who wants a good night’s sleep

This place is fantastic. Overall The Slow achieves ‘the slow’ vibe and is a really lovely place to visit while in Canggu. Their brunch is really amazing (and I’m in love with their pottery and utensils etc too). Staff are really attentive and lovely and what a great place to pass the time and relax.

The hotel is in the perfect location for access to the best restaurants, beaches and shops in canggu and the hotel staff were really helpful. The vibe of the hotel is really cool and edgy with interiors to match - we had an amazing large bedroom with nice design and a plunge pool (however not all rooms have pools)! We had a nice coffee for breakfast every day however the only food option was a croissant so it was good that there’s loads of other places to go for breakfast in walking distance. The hotel restaurant is also still not open for dinner but again, loads of other options around!

Rooms were absolutely amazing. I love love love the design, the bed was comfy, room smelled good and a small free minibar is included. Cool pictures, beautiful linens and furniture. Bathroom amenities were also good, however, I was surprised that there was no robe and slippers provided. Not a big deal but just in terms of value for money. I was well aware when booking that the restaurant had not reopened yet which was not a problem for me. However, this meant that the entire lobby was pretty much dead and you have no access to the roof either. Ashtrays didn't get cleaned in the lobby, pillows not arranged...it just looked a bit sad throughout the day. The staff was lovely but the communication before and during was difficult. I could not book direct as nobody answered my emails and ended up booking through ***********. Since they don't offer breakfast at the moment (only coffee and pastries at an undisclosed time) and there was no kettle in the room, I asked for hot water to make my own coffee which was delivered an hour late the first morning. I couldn't reach anybody, not by phone, email or in person before. One thing that really bothered me: I ordered food delivery and all of the sudden the delivery guy was just at my room door. To me, this is unacceptable. At a hotel of any calibre you cannot just send strangers up to a guests room! All in all, just not worth it for $180 per night at the moment.

I’ve just spent five days at The Slow and recommend it. My friend told me about this as there go-to in Canggu and I can’t disagree. Good for low key traveller who like good quality with no fuss. Massive room with all the mod cons and excellent service. No kids and a hotel for great food and service.