Hotels on Bali are rated along guidelines set by the Indonesian government. Generally speaking there are 3 rating categories: Star, Melati and Losmen. And within each of these categories there are various levels. There are 5 levels of Star ratings, 1-5, with 5 stars being best while there are 3 levels in the Melati Category, 1-3, with 3 being best. Losmen are not rated.

That said Star rated hotels are fairly easy to distinguish between - the more stars the more services and facilities one can reasonably expect. A one star hotel will usually not have say, international direct dial telephone service in the room or 24 hour room service, a 5 star hotel will.

Melati hotels are more difficult to define. Some Melati rated hotels, especially those rated 3 (now often marketed as boutique hotels) can sometimes be "nicer" than a 3 or 4 star hotel. In some instances owners of Melati hotels prefer not be star rated for personal or business reasons whilst other Melati rated hotels just don't have the facilities to merit a star rating.

That said, in general, a hotel with a 'Melati l' rating will, as a rule, not offer air-conditioned rooms and have few if any facilities or services. A 'Melati 2' rated hotel may have air conditioned rooms available and have a few facilities such as a restaurant but lack services such as room service or direct dial telephones in the room whereas a 'Melati 3' rated hotel will usually have air-conditioned rooms, restaurant as well as room service but may or not have direct dial telephone service or international satellite television.

In summary, for both star and melati rated hotels, room rates are quite indicative of the level of facilities, service and luxury one can expect. Therefore the old adage"you get what you pay for" really applies.