We love the Four Seasons and stayed in several resorts of this brand in the past. We were excited to stay in FS Sayan as this is the Best hotel in the world 2018 according to Travel+Leisure. So our expectations were very, very high. We stayed in the resort from October 7 to October 12, 2019.
Entrance
The minute you go off the road into the alley of the hotel you arrive in a different world. Next to the small road is bamboo and then a gate with security and a dog. Cars are inspected and when the security says it’s clear you arrive in heaven. A long drive to the bridge and then you walk over the famous bridge. At the end of the bridge are stairs to go to the lobby or you can go straight ahead in the direction of the floating pont. WOW what an amazing entrance. If this continues I know why this is the best resort in the world.
Villa (#23)
We reserved a garden villa. The garden and the river villas have the same layout. They are 350 m2 (3.767 sq ft.). The river villas have a view to the Ayung river so you might see wild water rafters, while the garden villas are more private.
We had villa 23, this villa is located close to the main building. After a short walk through the rice fields we arrived at our villa. Entrance is on the roof of the villa. Stairs bring you down to the door of your home for the next couple of days.
When we opened the door we saw a large garden, a beautiful pool, a large outdoor area and a day bed next to the pool. We decided to go first into the room as we wanted to store our backpacks.
In the room was the bathroom, walkin closet and a door to the outdoor shower. The room itself is beautiful and good in size. We mainly lived outside so the outside area is more important.
Property
The property is stunning. The resort lays in the rice fields, next to the Ayung river in the jungle of Ubud. During the night you hear the sound of the jungle. We love this. In the main building the bar, fitness center, shops and rooms are located.
The garden is a well kept combination of garden and rice fields. We saw several farmers working in the rice fields. This gives an extra dimension to the stay.
As rice grows in the water I expected a lot of mosquitos. This was not the case during our stay. In the villa there is plenty of mosquito spray and incense. During the evening incense candles are lit.
In the resort you can do plenty of activities like: yoga in the yoga studio, fitness, spa (including sauna and steam room). But also taking the day activity white water rafting. We took several day trips and we also had quality time at the pool / private pool. The food is what you expect from a Four Seasons excellent.
Pool
The pool has two levels and plenty of sun beds. The pool overlooks the jungle and the Ayung River. Luckily not a lot of white water rafting companies go this far on the river. We noticed that white water rafting is very popular among tourists. Other hotels have more noice from the screaming tourists who pass the hotels.
Overall
The expectations were high because the resort was voted as Best hotel in the World in 2018. Staff is not the best staff we met. Check-in took a long time especially because there was some miscommunication. I had to show my reservation (on my phone), but I was not given the pasword for the Internet because I was not checked-in.
When we contacted the concierge we had to call several times because they did not pick up the phone.
We noticed that hotel needs in some areas some maintenance.
We loved our stay in this hotel, was it the best hotel / stay we ever stayed in: NO. Was it a great and comfortable stay and will we return if possible: Definitely YES. I think we had too much expectations. Do not get me wrong this is a very good hotel!!!!
