My wife and I stayed here for our main honeymoon in November 2011. We wanted somewhere long haul, hot and luxurious without being a cliched honeymoon destination.

Sanur itself is typical of Bali, with plenty of bars, restaurants and shops selling fake designer gear (Paul Smith and Ralph Lauren being particularly popular brands to rip-off) and there was feel, in certain bars, of it being akin to an 'Aussie Benidorm'. Having said that, this was owing to the heavily tattooed and pierced Australians wearing football club vests (who incidentally were actually quite friendly) as opposed to drunken, maurading 18-30s.

The Pavilions therefore, was a quiet oasis in the middle of all this. As described in previous
reviews, just walk a few yards down the bamboo-lined driveway and all is calm and peaceful.
It is quite a large complex and we stayed in a private pool villa at the far end, approx five
minutes walk from the entrance which meant we were nicely secluded. The villa itself was two-storey and very spacious with all facilities included. Large living areas and bathrooms gave a
luxurious feel and the private pool was very welcome for a cooling dip.

The staff are very polite and friendly and the butler-service breakfast was delivered to the villa
on time and as ordered on a daily basis. Fresh flowers (beautiful Birds of Paradise) were in the
main rooms which added to the very pleasant ambience.

The main pool area is very pleasant and well appointed and the attendant brings you insulated
glasses of iced water as soon as you arrive. Sandwiches from the bar menu were nice and
reasonably priced for this type of hotel but we chose to eat out at local restaurants for our
main meals. Eating out was very cheap indeed (a delicious two course meal for two with a
local beer and a soft drink costs around £12 Sterling at one of the nicer little restaurants).

We only saw a handful of other couples the entire time we stayed so assumed that The
Pavilions was rather quiet. The only criticism we have is that the 'private beach' is in fact part
of a general beach with an area reserved for Pavilions guests. This beach was approx a
fifteen minute walk from the villas, although there is a free shuttle service organised from
reception and was actually quite disappointing so don't come here if your idea of a great
holiday is lying on a secluded, idyllic beach. If, however, you want to experience a different
culture whilst having good restaurants and entertainment in various bars available and an
incredibly relaxing villa to retreat to, then The Pavilions @ Sanur is well worth considering.

Ps- there are numerous local spas offering amazing treatments for a ridiculously cheap price, i.e. £6 Sterling for a ninety minute Balinese massage!

People fantastic. Arrival foot massage wonderful. Location centre for everything and set back from the town. Spa treatments wonderful slightly more expensive but relaxing surroundings. Breakfast delivered daily with a choice of food the night before , news paper divered and someone cleaning your place through the day. U do not need to lift a finger. Ask for a sun facing pool villa to get sun all day. Beach about 10 minute walk. Walk through hotels bear by and turn left to end of parade of hotels. Or use the free taxi from hotel and driver to get u there. Simple. We didn't eat at hotel restaurent as local places much cheaper but still it's nice to get room service every now and then with fresh cooked meals. Very nice.
Best restaurent near by turn right out of hotel accross road. Everyone has little flowers in their hair!! Very traditional food and good cocktails.
travel to the breeze restaurent about an hours drive away. Reception will book for u. Sun set dinner perfect. Not cheap but it was our honey moon. Wine about £60 a bottle standard red very nice but blow the budget on this night out we did and steak was amazing.
We would go back to pavilions tomorrow.

We stayed here for 5 nights in November - in summary the place is beautiful, VERY peaceful but if anything, perhaps a little too private and tucked away.

So lets start with negatives - food was moderate but expensive, I definitely thought they could do better here; The location is set 5 -10 mins from the beach amidst various shops (although the long drive puts a real distance between you and the commercial side of Sanur); there is only the one restaurant and the hours are a little limited.

Also for me, staying here felt a little too much like hiding. Its just SO private. Even breakfast is brough tot he villa. This is personal taste. If you really want this level of privacy, consider my review a five star. For me, I like a little bit of a buzz.

Another thing which is more weird than negative. They have a butler service but its not like you get in other hotels. The only time we saw it was when the 'butler' took us on a (excellent and good value) tour of the island and NOT when we first arrived with offers to unpack bags or iron, etc. This may have been offered but if so it was definitely blink-and-you'd-miss-it.

And now the positives, of which there are many. The room was immaculate, and everything was a good spec. The pool was nice and we never used the larger shared pool in BP. The service is perhaps the best bit - everyone is so incredibly NICE, especially the people on reception. It feels like the whole place is really willing you to have a great time. This is a hotel where I think they genuinely hate saying no. The service is friendly too - you dont have the stufffy pretensions of some of the large fiuve stars here. You'll find yourself really liking some of the staff because they are nice and down to earth and they put being pleasant above formality so so well.

So to wrap up, if you want to really zone out / get away from it all / hide away for a few days (honeymooners I'm talking to you....) this is an excellent, excellent place. But if you want a bit of a buzz or proximity to a beach you might want to look elsewhere although you still wouldnt go too wrong here.

A delightful boutique resort , just 24 villas , designed in a totally Balinese village style . Spacious highly individual villas with attentive smiling service . The appeal will be to those who value personality and genuine hospitality over extensive faclities . Set back from the main road at Sanur , yet you have numerous restaurant and bar options literally on your doorstep . All of the villas are pleasant and reflect a traditional design style - if your budget allows go for the even more romantic option of a private pool villa .
Note - At Sanur the coral is quite close to the shore which can limit water sports and swimming .
david@chiclocations.com