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.”