Australian Travelers Left Disappointed By ‘Money Making’ NYE Party In Bali

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An Australian traveler in Bali has taken to social media to complain about what was set to be one of Bali’s biggest New Year’s Eve events. Kieran Geraghty took to TikTok to express his frustration that the experience didn’t live up to what he and his friends were promised for their pricey ticket. 

Finns Beach Club is one of Bali’s biggest venues. Located in the heart of Canggu, the club hosts major artists and has always hosted big international artists for their New Year’s Eve events. The beach club held a huge New Year party with superstar DJ Diplo headlining the show this year. Tickets sold out by mid-December, and ticket holders invested more than most to be able to have a VIP experience to call in the New Year. 

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According to Geraghty, he and his friends had split the cost of a VIP Deluxe Bed Lounge package that totaled AUD 2,500; meaning each of the friends contributed around AUD 415 each. The package promised access to the luxurious daybed, table service, and a direct line to the bar. In his TikTok video, which has already gathered over 162,000 views, Geraghty slammed the venue for the high cost of drinks and ‘hour-long’ queues to get to the bar to be served.

Geraghty shared that staff at Finns refused to give them table service unless they spent at least AUD 350 on drinks, on top of what they’d already forked out for the VIP package. That AUD 350 would have only got them a single bottle of vodka. “All they care about is making money” Geraghty stated in his self-professed rant, calling the owners ‘dead set grubs’.

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@woahsierrawoah New Years Eve in Bali, VIP at @FINNS Beach Club, Seeing @Elderbrook, Hayden James, @Gorgon City, and @Diplo, fireworks at midnight to ring in the New Year AND my 28th birthday. Doesn’t get better than this 🥳✨ #bali #travel #explore #fyp #couple #birthday ♬ Funk Rave – Don´t Let Me Down 140 Bpm – kirtap

He didn’t hold back and made it clear that he wouldn’t be heading back any time soon. He noted that “Bali needs another beach club that can pull off the same size event”.

One person in the comments replied to say, “There’s plenty over other large beach clubs other than Finn’s and a lot cheaper”. Another wrote, “Couldn’t agree more. We got absolutely ripped when we went to Finn’s. Staff were amazing though!”.

@yaz.haddad HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!! What a way to kick off 2023 with @finnsbeachclub #nye #2023 #finns #finnsbeachclub ♬ We Found Luv x Better Off Alone – DAVO

In a follow-up interview with the Daily Mail Australia, Geraghty explained more about his experience. He shared, “the food we could only get a $170 package delivered to our bed. It only included two rolls of sushi, chicken wings, two pizzas, and flat bread and dip”.

He shared his sympathies with people who hadn’t paid for the VIP package who, in his view “couldn’t even see the stage. They were blocked off to one side of Finns”. 

Reviews of New Year’s Eve at Finns Beach Club has garnered mixed reviews online. It only takes a quick search on TikTok to find dozens of videos of party-goers who clearly had a really memorable evening.

One TikTok user posted a video on New year’s Day with the caption “New Years Eve in Bali, VIP at @FINNS Beach Club, Seeing @Elderbrook , Hayden James, @Gorgon City, and @Diplo , fireworks at midnight to ring in the New Year AND my 28th birthday. Doesn’t get better than this”.

On TripAdvisor, visitors have also called out the beach club for ‘the worst NYE VIP experience’. Another gave a one-star review and wrote, “NYE 2022 Never again to Finns. It’s the poorly organized party of the year. We had with 9 people VIP Corporate tickets 380 euros each. They could not handle the crowd, and the decoration and atmosphere were very pathetic. The next day we wanted to get our refund money back from our bracelet but this was also not possible!! thanks for ruining our NYE and start of 2023!” 

Finns Beach Club Management responded, “we were excited to have put together a stellar line up of international artists to celebrate NYE and are very sorry to hear that aspects of the event fell short of your expectations and left a lasting impression which negated the artist’s performances.

“The overall feedback we have received following the event has been very positive, so we are saddened to hear that this was not the case for you.”