Guest Reviews

Sanak Retreat Bali: "Peaceful & magical"

"Stayed as a family (kids 5, 9 & 11) for a long weekend (3 nights). Stayed in a two-story family villa that was spacious and cozy, with beautiful rice paddy views. Kids chased frogs at night with flashlights and splashed in the pool during the day. Playroom above the restaurant and the pétanque court in the back were great additions! Excellent food & service, superb massages - also for kids, which is rare and ours loved it! Did the walking tour in the rice paddies and nearby village, including a swim in the waterfalls - it was wonderful. Also did the trip to Danau Tambligan, which was interesting, and the Munduk waterfalls. The sunsets are amazing, and the peaceful surrounds make for a perfect R&R destination. We will be back! "

Misool Eco Resort: "Spectacular and Amazing vacation"

"Wow, how does one write a review about paradise. This place is truly one of the most beautiful places on earth with diving that surely rivals the best on earth. From A to Z, this place is top notch. We stayed in Water Cottage 1 right by the Dive Shop and loved the proximity to our daily dive ritual. The cottage itself is gorgeous, all made from salvaged local wood. The outdoor bathroom/shower is perfect for the setting, full of eco-friendly bath products. The veranda is amazing with lounge chairs, a bed and a hammock (over the lagoon), offering incredibly views of the lagoon and fish down below, plus stairs down to lagoon for easy access for swimming or snorkeling or just a dip to cool off. The cottage was cleaned and refreshed every morning during our first dive. The bed set up with the AC and mosquito netting is tastefully done and did in fact prevent mosquitos from getting in while keeping us cool and comfortable at night. The food was delicious from morning till night. Fresh bread, tasty homemade granola, egg dishes, smoothies, juices, salads, desserts, fish, chicken, pasta, etc. And I can't forget to mention the fresh baked fantastic cookies served every afternoon. The chef serves a wide variety of great food to keep the guests sustained and ready to spend their days diving or snorkeling. They also serve a wide variety of wine and some beer. The staff in the restaurant provided excellent service. As for the diving, well, it's impossible to really describe other than to say it is out of this world. Since returning I have decided the best way to describe it is like in the cartoons such as Finding Nemo or The Little Mermaid. The incredible variety of coral really is THAT colorful and gorgeous. The fish really are that big and stunning. Tons of schools of all sorts of fish - bump heads, snapper, giant trivially, and batfish. Plus sharks, turtles, eels, sea cucumbers, sea horses, starfish, sea worms, banner fish, clown fish and the list goes on. But the coup de grace of Misool diving is the manta ray. Massive and majestic creatures that are otherworldly. I could dive with them all day and never get bored. The organization of the diving is the best I have ever experienced. Extreme attention is paid to safety. I always felt in good hands thanks to all the staff including Calvin and Sabine, but especially our amazing and caring dive master James. We went diving with him for 8 days on the same boat with the same equipment master and speedboat driver. They were so kind and thoughtful, I wanted to take them home with me. There was something amazing to see on every single dive. The one down side about this place is that we had to leave. And I do believe that I am now forever spoiled. Misool Eco Resort is truly a 5 star destination."

Sanak Retreat Bali: "The absolute highlight of our Bali trip"

"Now this is not the ordinary 5 star luxury resort kind of thing, it is so much better. We had great expectations upfront reading all the positive reviews and honestly were still positively surprised. This place simply is beautiful. The view, the rice paddies, the pool, in fact the whole atmosphere is so relaxed and idyllic, that you can’t help getting in harmony with nature. We stayed for four nights in a two bedroom villa, and it was nice and spacious, with a beautiful view from both balconies. Interior is basic and you won’t find aircon and other modern facilities like television etc. But you won’t need it, as temperature is very pleasant at night and the layout of the villa makes it possible to get fresh air during the day. Only room for improvement is the relatively limited closet space not matching a two bedroom villa, but we just kept most of our luggage in the suitcase. Bathroom and toilet is very basic and especially the toilet a little dark, also hot water is on/off most times, but not a huge issue for us. The restaurant is really great with very good food and on top has an unobstructed view of the valley. Food is as mentioned really great and prices are very moderate despite the remote location. You are served free water everywhere, really a nice touch. Staying at the resort you will probably have most of your meals at the restaurant, and perhaps would like to see a slightly different menu for lunch to get some variation, but there are still lots of option on the menu to satisfy most guests. We used the spa almost every day, and it’s a really great spa experience they offer at Sanak. Definitely the best spa we experienced in Bali. The spa has a really beautiful reception area and treatment rooms, nice welcome and very professional service throughout the spa treatment. Maybe a mirror to use after the treatment could be the final touch towards perfection. The pool is beautiful and the view is fantastic, so you could easily spend hours here just enjoying the beautiful view. Not enough sunbeds though, so a little busy at times and people actually had to sit on the grass, but guess they don’t want to fill up the pool area with more sunbeds spoiling the otherwise exclusive settings. Maybe a few extra sunbeds as backup could be an idea. But who wants to stay at the pool all day anyway, when surrounded by such beautiful nature. They offer a lot of different tours of northern Bali, we visited Bedugul and Jatiluwih but our favorite was the village trek with a local and very informative guide, absolutely a highlight. If possible try not to miss the local kids practice dancing in front of the pool – really fantastic. We have praised the villas, the restaurant, the spa, the pool and the local guided tours, but probably the best thing about Sanak Retreat is their wonderful staff. They are all smiling, positive, helpful and definitely a huge part of the total Sanak experience. They are all living in the local village and there’s no doubt that they are very proud of working at and supporting Sanak retreat, this is probably what makes this place so unique. From the welcome to the departure we were treated like friends. We stayed many nice places around Bali but no doubt that Sanak was the absolute highlight of beautiful Bali."

Mie Cafe: "A lovely experience"

"We chose this restaurant for its proximity to the Beatocello concert at the children's hospital. (Saturday nights - an extraordinary event put on by Dr Beat Richner in support of the children's hospital which he founded.) The restaurant is stylishly cool and modern, with a little fish pond running alongside the outside patios (into which my fork unfortunately dived.) The food is delicious, and the chef came out to talk to the guests about his plans to develop the restaurant. a very enjoyable evening."

Rice & Zen Boutique Resort: "I loved it"

Beautiful place, peaceful environment, lovely people, spacious villa, very comfortable bed, perfectly clean, good food, free scooter to visit,... I do not have enough compliments. Thanks a lot Maya and Michael, we wish to come back.

Villa Song Saigon: "A fabulous oasis in this noisy city"

"Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City to be PC) is a large, noisy, chaotic city. It was a relief, therefore, to find our accommodation was away from the madness, right on the river and the general ambience of the hotel reflected its location. Fabulous food and cocktails, a lovely setting, a stunning pool, very friendly staff... all in all I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone travelling in Vietnam. Stayed November 2016, traveled with friends"

Tugu Lombok: "We were totally spoilt"

Our family of five (kids 19, 16, 9) spent 11 nights at Hotel Tugu in July and it was sensational. We picked Lombok because the weather is perfect at this time of the year, the water is like a bath and we wanted somewhere less commercial than Bali. We had two of the least expensive rooms and they were huge, one accommodated the three kids easily. We spent our days snorkelling (at high tide you can swim out directly in front of the resort to see lovely tropical fish and we saw a turtle once); paddling; reading; eating and drinking; and reconnecting as a family. A day trip around the Gili Islands is a must and the nearby Autore Pearl Farm does a great tour although you'll need LOTS of money to buy their pearls. Instead I bought cheapie freshwater pearls from Ali who sells them on the beach! As with all holidays its the people who set a place apart. The staff at Tugu couldn't have done more for us. Trips to chemists for cold medication, aranging tours, making delicious food that they will serve literally anywhere you like, bringing sun lounges to you when they see you laying on the sand, and a final night display of folded towel animals, the likes of which we've never seen. If you need a real break, Tugu comes highly recommended. If you do go, please consider Lombok's Forgotten Children's Foundation (just google for details). We took over a couple of bags of good quality children's clothes and I'm currently collecting pre-used laptops and phones to send over. It's an incredible grass roots charity making a huge difference and if you're lucky enough to stay at Tugu I'm sure you can also do something small to help when you visit Lombok.

Villa Idanna: "A tranquil place at the foot of Mount Agusng"

"I stayed at this villa for 3 days and it was awesome for someone who wants to have a quiet village experience. You wake up and saw the holy Mount Agung in front of the villa. There is no TV or other electronic media in the villa so you just enjoy the experience without disruption. The villa is served by 4 local staff from the area, in fact one staff lives in front of the villa. For the entire 3 days we were served with local Sidemen dishes and they were fantastic. During the day, a lot of tourists mostly expatriates were seen cycling or walking around the village. At the top of the hill, I went to visit ibu Dayu a friend of many celebrities like Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Walter Spies. Her house is also facing Mount Agung, we had lunch and enjoyed her company."

Satri House: "A gem of Laos"

My wife picked this hotel. I was very impressed with this choice. It was unbelievably comfortable. Staff were friendly and accommodating. Since we stayed more than a week here, we changed room twice to get different feel. Money was well spent.

Rachamankha: "Old City Oasis"

Traveling from the Chiang Mai Airport we encountered a buzz of traffic including autos, tuk-tuks and a swarm of scooters and small motorcycles. Crowded, bussling, narrow streets apperared to be the norm. Then our driver turned onto a side street and pulled into the calm and quiet of Rachamankha. The staff of the hotel and the restaurant where gracious and attentive. The grounds are gorgeous and peaceful. We spent a few quiet hours by the tranquil pool. Great experince.