Nusa Dua is a sterile tourist enclave - no reason to go there, IMO. Seminyak is the favorite of one of our posters here who now lives on Bali. Watch for recommendations from Marmot.

sanur----bali hyatt for one..

on the west coast: pan pacific

Seminyak has very good restaurants, spas and shops. It's a long, sandy, sunset beach with an aggressive surf, so whether you'd consider it a good swimming beach depends on how you feel about big waves.

I like Petitenget, the northern end of Seminyak, for the beach, temples and restaurants.

Is $1800 just for your accommodation or your entire budget. Remember at hotels and some villas there's an added tax of 21%.

I'd look at The Colony -- a delightful boutique hotel which is very well located and a very good value. Nice pool, nice staff, stylish clientele. It's not right on the ocean, but quite close to the entrance at Petitenget and within minutes from everything you'd want to do.

If you want to be on the ocean look at Seminyak Beach Resort. It's less charming, but the location is excellent.

The smaller pool villas tend to be packed together and you have to watch the location as some are farther out. I like the Elysian, but I like Petitenget better than Oberoi. Same for the Seiryu. I'd never heard of it, and it looks lovely on the website, but Jl. Drupadi is a more congested area.

Sorry, I don't have specific villa recommendations in Seminyak. I like the Laksmana group, but they may be out of your price range.

Sanur, Nusa Dua, and Jimbaran all have protected calm swimming beaches but the ambiance is quite different from Seminyak.