Sankara Suites and Villas

Bali was the second leg of our global honeymoon and our first-ever visit to Indonesia. If first impressions count, Sankara Suites & Villas — and especially its people — set the bar remarkably high.

Our experience began well before arrival. After booking earlier this year, the team stayed in close contact by email and WhatsApp and arranged a private airport transfer. We arrived in Denpasar from Dubai after a long journey from Istanbul, and while immigration was surprisingly quick, our luggage apparently decided it needed more time to contemplate life. Despite the delay, our driver waited patiently, communicated with us throughout, and never once made us feel rushed.

That became something of a theme in Bali: patience without pressure, service without pretence.

The property itself is beautiful, peaceful and immersed in the lush landscape that makes Ubud feel almost otherworldly. The food at Laddu Restaurant was consistently delicious. And, for anyone terrified by everything they have read online about “Bali belly,” our stomachs survived perfectly intact. Basic common sense goes a long way — although I would probably avoid drinking directly from a river virtually anywhere on Earth.

The highlight, however, was Nyoman.

Nyoman drove us for two full days, roughly seven hours each day, at an extremely reasonable cost. He took us through an extraordinary cross-section of Bali: local handmade textiles and clothing, a professional photoshoot dressed in traditional Balinese royal wedding attire, spectacular rice terraces, a beautiful temple, Tegenungan Waterfall, and a coffee shop where we sampled more coffees and teas than I could possibly name.

He was knowledgeable without lecturing, conversational without intruding, and endlessly patient. Always a warm smile, always willing to explain something about Balinese life, and somehow always too humble to even let us buy him a coffee.

Nyoman is hospitality personified.

Sankara should be proud to have him. His work ethic, disposition and genuine kindness stood out even among a team (with far too many to name individually) where warmth seems to be part of the culture. I suspect his future will be every bit as bright as his mind and heart.

More broadly, Bali gave us something we weren’t necessarily expecting: perspective.

The roads aren’t particularly wide. The buildings aren’t particularly tall. Scooters seemingly outnumber cars by a thousand to one. Yet there is an extraordinary rhythm to everything. Nature isn’t something pushed to the outskirts — it feels intertwined with daily life.

Bali’s spiritual and cultural diversity fascinated us, as did the warmth of people whose smiles often communicated more than perfect English ever could. Coming from Canada, the difference in wages and purchasing power was also humbling. At one convenience store, three Cokes, chips, instant noodles and a 1.5L bottle of water cost us less than the equivalent of CAD $9.

As I write this, fittingly, Nyoman is driving us from Sankara to the next chapter of our honeymoon in Nusa Dua.

We leave Ubud with full hearts, fuller camera rolls, and one certainty:

We would return to Sankara in a heartbeat.

Thank you for making our first taste of Bali so memorable — and Nyoman, if you’re reading this, matur suksma, my friend. 🇮🇩❤️

Excellent place Lovely staff amazing food excellent chef