The Hotel As a beach destination, Bali cannot fail you. Over the years we have returned and stayed in many locations across the island, from Kuta to Seminyak, from Ubud to Nusa Dua. And for a change, we decided to head over to Sanur to check out the Fairmont Sanur Bali property this spring. Only a three year old development, taking over the management from the Regent in 2014, Fairmont seeks to deliver its brand’s mission of “turning moments into memories for our guests” in this 120 all-suites and villa luxury resort.

Despite the limited rooms, the property sits on four hectares of land, with full facilities from a beachside pool, private beach, in-house spa, all-day restaurants and a 24-hour gym. While at it, the resort gives you the ultimate privacy and tranquillity you can seek for in a mass market brand, and yes, there’s a round-the-clock on-call butler service on duty as well.

The Room It can’t get any worse than this, the most basic room here is the Fairmont Suite, starting at 90sqm. The focus of the room is none other than the oversized bed itself. Laying in the middle of the room, with the shutters opening up to the spacious outdoor terrace and complete with views of the lush gardens, you are in a complete world of your own. The outdoor terrace has a day bed stretching across its width, with a readily stocked up mini-bar with complimentary drinks – this should be the way for all luxury hotels.

The decor of the room undertook the traditional Balinese look, yet keeping it basic and simple to de-clutter and provide the much needed zen vibes.

The room’s bath takes up almost one-third of the room size, with a bathtub, rain-shower, separate cubicles for the toilet seats and a twin vanity units.

My only issue with the room was the “No Disturb” signage the hotel provides. At Fairmont Bali, the sign uses a picture of a young boy depicting the “shhhhhh” hand sign. Well, it does give me the creeps – a feedback shared and agreed with another hotel guest.

The Facilities The best place to be at Fairmont Sanur is the beachside swimming pool. With more than enough sun beds and a view of the ocean front, there’s nowhere you should be but here. Nyala Beach Club & Grill sits right behind the swimming pool, and you can order your drinks of the day or bites to satisfy your hunger whenever you crave for it. The service here will make you feel right at home, with the service crew arranging your sun beds with fresh towels and a glass of much appreciated iced water once you stepped into the pool area. Be impressed.

Of course, we should all take some time off at the gym while holiday-ing. Not less when the gym is opened 24-7 and you probably will not have any excuse to skip a workout here. Spacious, well-equipped and located just below the swimming pool, there’s also free wifi-connection here if that’s your concern.

We heard the in-house spa is highly recommended, even though we didn’t  manage to try it during our stay here. One interesting fact though, the spa is located right underneath the centrepiece of the resort, a Balinese water feature.

The Restaurants Layang Layang Restaurant is the main dining restaurant of the hotel, with the daily breakfast served here as well. The daily breakfast comes with a buffet line, and an a la-carte selections of breakfast sets featuring the different breakfasts of the world. This include the local Balinese options, other Indonesian and Javanese selections, the typical Western eggs & sandwich sets, the Aussie-inspired breakfast like the ever-popular Eggs Benedict and even a Japanese option, featuring grilled salmon with Japanese rice and Miso soup.

Overall, the breakfast here is at best passable, which frankly disappoints a little. I would rather have a smaller selection and a better quality of food, something which Layang Layang needs to work on.

The Surroundings A resort stay is not complete without access to other chill-out spots. Just steps outside of the resort along the beach front along Jalan Setapak, you will have access to cafes including our favourite Lilla Pantai and a boutique massage establishment, The Nest Beachside Spa. Both are our top recommendations, merely minutes’ walk away from the resort.

And if you are looking for dining options outside of the resort, you can head out to the main road running across Sanur, Jalan Danau Tamblingan. Along the stretch, you will find many cafes, restaurants and bars, serving up any cuisine you might have craving for that evening. From the resort, you can take a taxi out, or just hop on one of the free shuttle bus service provided by Fairmont Sanur.

Eat. Pray. Love. Bali. We said it, Bali cannot fail you. And we have not been disappointed with our stay at Fairmont Sanur either. Not located close to any of the popular tourist spots and the famous beach bars, Sanur is not an area you should visit if this is your first trip to Bali. If you are like us though, after multiple trips back to Bali, all you seek will most likely be that chill-out, relaxing Balinese vibe you wished to soak yourself into and take your mind off the daily grind – we will strongly recommend Fairmont Sanur. Or perhaps if your stay here is for weeks, if not months, then a couple of nights to shut yourself out of the busy world of Kuta and the perpetually jammed roads of Seminyak, do head over to the Sanur region for that relatively peaceful respite.

Fairmont Sanur Bali
Jalan Kusuma Sari No. 8
Sanur Beach, Bali, Indonesia 80227
Tel: +62 361 3011 888

For more information, do check out the Fairmont Sanur Bali Website.

Ranted by The Rantee