It’s the last word in luxury on a holiday island better known for being budget friendly.
News.com.au has had a first sneak peek of Finns VIP, a new beach club in Bali that will charge holiday-makers $1170 for daybeds.
But these are no ordinary daybeds. They are large circular pods, or “islands”, that protrude from a shallow pool. There are 16 in total, and each has a lockable bin to store valuables and USB chargers.
“We assume these daybeds will be the most popular area of the club,” Finns Bali CEO Tony Smith said.
“People will pre-book them for a group of up to 10 people, and they’ll get $1000 back in food and beverage credits.”
A former Sydney Swans football player-turned-travel agent who got rich in the 1990s after trademarking the terms “Schoolies” and “Schoolies Week”, Mr Smith visited the best beach clubs in the world seeking ideas for Fins VIP, which has its soft opening in Bali today.
“From all my travels to beach clubs around the world — the Caribbean, Mexico, Las Vegas, Greece, Spain, Portugal and Croatia — I have not seen anything that is close to this,” Mr Smith said.
“We have enough daybeds for 1800 people to lie down at any one time, another 1000 dining guests. For big events and New Year’s Eve, we’re capped at 10,000 people.”
The 1.7-hectare property has four pools, including an adults-only 41m long beachfront infinity pool; 10 restaurants and bars, including a French restaurant St Tropez staffed by French sommeliers; and 170m of beach frontage facing the sunset.
Every day, 850 staff will work at the venue. They will enter through an underground tunnel with airport-type security screening — something Mr Smith saw at Queensland’s Hayman Island.
By 2021, Mr Smith predicts the venue will receive a million visitors per year. But Schoolies groups in Bali are unlikely to among them.
“I don’t assume to see any Schoolies coming in because we cater to an older crowd, 18 to 35-year-olds,” Mr Smith says.
“And we’re probably a touch too expensive for them anyway.”
