One of the best places I’ve ever stayed!!
This trip was a bit of an everything trip for us, hubby’s milestone birthday, honeymoon and let’s escape life and take a break kind of trip.
First we were met by Putu, our kind and very knowledgeable driver who picked us up from the airport. He was easy to spot standing right at the front of the gates with a printed sign with our names on it and quickly provided us with ice cold drinks to cool us down on our trip to the resort.
The staff at Sanctoo were absolutely exceptional, warm and welcoming with great English skills and always offering to help in any way possible.
The Room:
We were in wonderful Villa 8 (garden villa)
What can I say; it was gorgeous. Lovely comfortable bed, huge bath tub and an amazing private pool.
You honestly felt like you were on your own private island.
The aircon was great, the room had a working safe and unlimited wifi with good strong connection. The resort also provided 4x bottles of water daily for drinking and teeth brushing etc.
We had breakfast included in our package and we will miss our mornings sitting amongst the greenery listening to the sounds of the river and enjoying the selection of bacon, eggs (your way), sausages, hash browns, spinach, mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, pancakes, nasi goreng (fried rice)and mie goreng (noodles) and not to mention the amazing fresh fruit and fruit juices. The staff will also make you hot drinks (which is bearable as the restaurant location gets a beautiful breeze and shade and has fans) hubby said the cappuccino was great and I enjoyed their fresh brewed ginger tea with honey.
Cannot fault the restaurant staff!
Room service:
Just do it!
There aren’t many places outside the resort to eat at unless you catch a cab into town. So we just worked our way through the room service menu. One evening we had a selection of 5 dishes that cost roughly $60 aud (including tax). The staff will bring it hot to your room and ask you where you’d like it to be set up (inside or outside by the pool)
I have food sensitivities and notified them prior to arrival and it seemed like every staff member was aware. Every person I order food or a beverage from was able to quote my villa number and food sensitivity and always notified me if something I was ordering had those ingredients in it and whether it could be substituted or not so I could make an informed decision. They even talked me through what I could and couldn’t eat from the breakfast buffet!
Side note: the resort offers free shuttle service into Ubud if you leave at 9am and return at 6pm it you want to leave at other times it’s approx $25 aud each way which is still reasonable.
The Day Spa:
LOVE! LOVE! LOVED it!
Nestled in a bungalow like setting beside the rushing waterfall. The most amazing sensory experience - no need for background music when you have be real deal right there.
The girls there were amazing and so professional. If you’re after a good firm massage then Ninik is your girl. She may be petite by my goodness are her hands strong; she worked her way through my shoulder knots like no ones ever done before!
We had unlimited access to Bali Zoo included which was also fabulous for kids and adults. Just grab your wrist band from the reception on your way over (the zoo entrance is right opposite the reception and if you lose or rip off your band they replace them no worries)
Overall we really couldn’t fault our stay at Sanctoo. From the security guards, to the front desk and restaurant staff everyone was amazing!
