Mandala Mathika Subak

Sanctoo villas is beautiful accommodation and the people there are wonderful. We stayed for three nights in total and stayed in the “llama room”. I’m not sure what classification of room this is as it’s not actually what we booked. Word of caution. We booked a family suite and included the ages of the children in the booking (6 and 9) and were charged as such. When we arrived the suite has one bed and we were expected to sleep in one bed with the four of us. There was a sofa they offered to put a sheet onto at an extra charge but this wasn’t suitable. We paid to upgrade our room in the end but this would have been a real problem if that wasn’t available. Other than that, the zoo is great, the pool is lovely and the grounds are beautiful and well kept. The lemur apartments were a real treat. They are in the zoo so you are right in with exotic birds, lemurs and a wallaby. A real treat (be prepared for an 0600 wake up call though from the animals. This room specifically) The chef is awesome. The food was beautiful. Everything we ate was of high quality and there are a good few children’s options. The serving and reception staff are a credit to the hotel and our girls loved talking with them. It’s billed as a 5 star hotel and there are some minor bits that stop that. Can’t charge to room, they do a 3for2 beer offer, we ordered two but didn’t see the offer and they didn’t make us aware charging for 2 with no third. In room drinks average etc.

Beautiful location and room was nice BUT some of members of the staff were neither helpful nor nice. We arrived with a toddler early, so we went for lunch while waiting for the room to be ready but they didn’t make any effort to get us into the room before 2 pm sharp even though I told many times the baby needs a nap. For a 5 stars hotel in a very remote area, there is only one restaurant with a very little options. For example you can’t get a beef burger if you don’t eat pork as they prepare the patty with pork ahead of time. Also we were 3 people in the room including a toddler but they repeatedly put only 2 towels in the bathroom. Finally since it is remote, scheduling a drive in and out is mandatory. If you use the hotel service they charge you double price! Overall the place was beautiful but the service and restaurant options need serious improvement.