Tandjung Sari

Set on Sanur Beach behind a line of old shade trees, Tandjung Sari began in 1962 as four bungalows built for a Jakarta family's own visits to Bali. It has stayed in the Wawo-Runtu family since, expanding gradually into a cluster of stand-alone cottages rather than a single block. Local craftsmen built each one by hand, using thatch, timber, terracotta tile, and antique carved doors salvaged or sourced locally, so no two bungalows are quite alike. The sixteen Village Bungalows, among the earliest structures, keep thatched roofs over air-conditioned interiors. Two-storey units run to 50 m², with upper floors lit on three sides and terrazzo or timber-floored bathrooms below. Beachfront Bungalows, just two of them, sit closest to the sand behind a spiral staircase to a treetop veranda. Garden Seaview Bungalow 24, at 70 m², keeps its own walled garden and an ivory oval tub by the entry. Meals run from an open-air pavilion and a beachside deck, with a menu built on home cooking rather than a formal tasting format. A hotel-run foundation, established in 1987, still funds Balinese dance lessons for local children twice a week, with performances staged at the property twice a month. It is a small, low building on a wide plot. The airport is 16 km away, about 37 minutes by road.