Been back 2 weeks now and been trying to write this ever since! Firstly I must say how wonderful this forum has been, it was such a great help in preparing for our trip and I'm now totally addicted!!
My friend and I left our husbands and kids back in Oz and spent 10 absolutely wonderful days in Sanur! It was just so great I don't know where to start! Flew with AP from Perth, they were excellent except the meal wasn't too great. On the way back it was good though. Got through customs etc no problems, and then we were captivated by the sounds and smells of Bali! I had been once before, 18 years ago, and I tell you what - walking out of our hotel a little while later and emerging onto Jl Tamblingan, I felt like I was transported back in time to those younger days of freedom and adventure! 'Woohooo' I thought, 10 whole days to do what I like when I like, no-one to cook for, clean up after or nag to get ready for school! My friend and I had the same agendas in mind, which included shopping, getting pampered, sleeping, eating and reading by the pool, so we turned out to be entirely compatible travelling companions. Excellent!!
We stayed at the Besakih Beach Resort in Sanur, and found it really lovely - small and very friendly, nice room - nothing flash but everything you need, we had bungalow 230, around the middle of the property - nice breakfasts, lovely pool and just the best location. I'll try to put up some photos somewhere, the view across the pool to the beach is just stunning!
I have a friend whose dad lives in Sanur, so we caught up with him as my friend had given me some things to take over. We ended up spending quite a bit of time with him, and it was just great because apart from taking us to some really nice restaurants, and introducing us to ‘beer o'clock' - mostly at the Bonsai Café on the Sanur beach strip, highly recommended - he also drove us around, showing and telling us things we would otherwise not have got to see and learn about. He took us to a lady around the corner from his house who made up some clothes for me - I had 3 pairs of pants made from a pair of work pants I took, a denim dress for my 12 yo daughter (like the ones they have in Supre for about $60) and a kimono out of a lovely silky batik fabric - all for around $130. He and his wife took us to the Elephant Park up past Ubud, which was a great day, and to Jimbaran Bay for dinner at Sharkies, which was also excellent!
We took a couple of trips into Kuta for shopping, Mataharis was really good, bought a few things there, then walked up to the bomb site to the monument. Stopped at a few shops along the way - got a pair of really nice Versace jeans for 225,000 Rp; got 2 lovely cushion covers from Betty Bu for 130,000; went to Surfer Girl which is huge and has everything but no cheaper than here. We also went to the Surf Factory Outlet, which was also huge but not all that cheap, but right next door (not sure if it's part of the same outlet or not) I got 2 pairs of pants and a dress for my daughter for 220,000. After Kuta we really appreciated the quieter atmosphere of Sanur - Kuta is just too ‘in-your-face' for me! Hardy's in Sanur is pretty good for shopping. Of note, I got a miniature violin in a case, for my son who plays violin, for 75,000 which I thought was pretty good. I also got a wooden wall plaque for 60,000 (it's around 40cm sq) - I was a bit worried about getting it through customs but it was fine.
Good restaurants in Sanur: Made's Restaurant, just down from the Besakih on the same side (yummy avocado shrimp cocktails!); Benno's, just at the entrance of the Sanur beach markets; Bonsai Café, on the beach path. The Lazer Sports Bar is good for a Bintang and a game of pool - just watch your step if you're playing pool and go up to the bar, there's a drain which my friend didn't notice and ended up with a badly sprained ankle! Luckily this happened towards the end of our stay so we'd done most of the shopping and were happy to take it easy. She had to go to the hospital when we got back home though coz it was still so swollen and painful; they thought it was broken but it was torn ligaments; she's recovering well now.
Spas: we splurged and went to the Natural Spa in Sanur - a large place back off the road a bit on Jl Tamblingan. We had 3 1/2 hours of pampering - starting with the Jacuzzi, sauna and steam room, then full body massage (heaven, although a bit sore in places!), lulur scrub, yoghurt body mask, facial, flower bath then a hair cream bath to top it off! It was a bit pricey, 1.2 mil Rp for the 2 of us. That's about $90 each, so not too bad really if you consider the same treatment here would be around $250 probably. The day before we left I was talking to a guest at the hotel and she recommended the ‘Mandurah Spa', which is just down from the other one. We had actually noticed the sign when we first walked down that way, as we come from Mandurah (in WA). Anyway I went there for a final bit of pampering on our last day, had a massage and ‘mandi susu' - 1 1/2 hours for 100,000, great value and a really lovely place!! Next time I go to Bali I won't bother with the beach ladies, who were charging 50,000 for 1/2 hour and weren't that great - I'll go straight back to Mandurah Spa (also I'm not likely to forget the name!)
That's about it really, we bought lots of clothes and DVDs etc, the usual stuff. I felt like we spent a bit too much time shopping and not quite enough just lazing by the pool (I only got through 1 book!). Can't wait to go back now and take the family, the kids would absolutely love it!
Cheers for now, Gabes