Take me back to the Santai!

It’s hard to believe that I was almost thrilled to be back in Amsterdam after a few months with a lot of traveling and living out of a suitcase – well, out of a suitcase or two 😉 But as I am writing this final post from my recent trip to Bali, it’s pouring rain in Amsterdam and I can’t wait to get back to the Santai!

After a wonderfully relaxing stay at the Samata near Sanur, we were dropped off by the friendly driver at the Santai in Umalas, another resort managed by Lifestyle Retreats, the luxury hotel group. Every property it manages has its own unique vibe, which is one of the things I love about Lifestyle Retreats. At some of the bigger chains you can wake up in a room and wonder if you are in Frankfurt or San Francisco, which I always find such a shame.

The Santai is located in Umalas, which is a quiet town between the hustle and bustle of Seminyak and the up and coming beach town of Canggu. It is a fantastic location because I really enjoyed going by scooter for sunset drinks in Canggu, in 10 minutes, or for lunch on Oberoi in Seminyak, within 15 minutes!

The lobby of the Santai is beautifully designed and underlines the fact that this is a high end luxury resort, where everything is top notch to the last details. We stayed at a huge three bedroom villa, of which we only used one, but we thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the villa had its own lap pool across the entire length of the garden!

The bedroom and bathroom were also very spacious and as always I enjoyed the fact that it offered both an indoor and an outdoor shower and bath. Having an outside living room and kitchen is also a feature I always like, because somehow it highlights that you’re staying in a tropical destination. Even though a large part of a villa at the Samata is outside, privacy is always guaranteed.

This luxury, private pleasure of staying in a beautiful villa was especially obvious when we enjoyed a private cooking class in our own villa.The cook was a Balinese chef who taught us the basics of Balinese cuisine in a few hot, but super fun and delicious hours! He helped us to create an entire Balinese three course meal, which I enjoyed so much that I cooked it for my parents the day we came back from Bali.

I won’t lie to you and pretend I cooked my own food while staying at the Santai. Actually, its Gong restaurant serves delicious food and it was a treat to have their breakfast served every morning in our own villa.