Candi Beach Resort & Spa Bali — Hotel in Kecamatan Manggis

The Candi Beach Resort and Spa is a few hours drive north of Sanur on the East Coast of Bali. It is in an emerging area that has amazing ocean views, but in a fairly underdeveloped, rural region.

We booked into a Luxury Pool Villa and wow, what a great choice this was. The space was huge and modern, with tiled floors and giant King Bed facing our own private pool. Our seven year old son had the bay window bed to himsel, which was equally amazing too. And the bathroom was simply put, massive and long with both a giant jacuzzi bath and large shower the other end.

Our villa had its own long lap-pool which we used all the time; day and night! You could exit from the villas to the rear past our private pool and walk through the hotel gardens to the restaurants and bar and main swimming pool. We practically never used the front door, since all the action was to the rear.

The Candi Beach Resort is very much a place unto itself.....a sort of self-contained resort. The views are stunning over the waters to the distant island of Nusa Penida and Lombok beyond. Most of the facilities are really good, including the spa and staff. Great massages had by all. But a few things let this place down. As a seasoned travel expert with 35 years in the industry, including 20 years working as a professional cook, I did felt let down by things that could be controlled: the food. It was average at best.

In almost every venue the menus and meals were non-performing....except may be the Italian restaurant to the left. How badly can you screw up pasta and pizza. Even the nasi goreng...a basic, staple Indonesian dish, felt tasteless and insipid. It unfairly let down what was unquestionably a really great hotel with stunning rooms for the most part.

As they say in the music industry, you judge a band by its weakest member. And that was food.

My other mini gripe were the cocktails. They suffered from the same lack of professionalism. Basically alcohol poured over of ice and filled with fillers!

In my opinion The Candi Beach Resort & Spa needs a change of guard in the F&B department. Someone with vision and pride. Cost is not the issue. Training and results are. When something stops working and gets tired, mend it or change it.

Or lose. No more tiredness, just more happy customers.

The place is stunning and deserves visitors. The staff are amazing and friendly, so no faults there.

Finally, there is the issue of ocean water cleanliness and floating debris. It sucks.. That is not The Candi Beach Resort's fault. That is an endemic problem with the hotel of Bali, where waste is just washed into the ocean from up in the hills and downwards. It does not happen all the time, but it is worse in the rainy season.

From my side, I do see change, but not enough. Bali needs to embrace stricter waste management everywhere, because it hurts tourism to the island...and everywhere.

My final sentiments are this: The Candi Beach Resort & Spa is amazing. Great for a three day stay, may be mixed with a stop before in Sanur and a visit to Lombok or Nusa Penida after. If you want an amazing retreat and beautiful peace and quiet The Candi Beach Resort & Spa is amazing. I would go there again but I'm begging for more zing in the...

We have just come back from our honeymoon stay in Candi beach resort and spa and what a lovely stay we had! We were initially a little disappointed that the hotel couldn’t upgrade our room, as although it was called the deluxe garden bungalow, it was quite small. However, we don’t spend much time in hotel rooms and it was a last minute decision, so it was fine for what we needed - clean and a very comfortable bed! ||The hotel was spotlessly clean and had a tropical feel to it. The breakfast choice was delicious and there was a variety of choice. The food was very good, as were the cocktails, but I would also recommend eating in the Warung restaurants outside of the hotel, which are much cheaper and just as good, if not better! As quite quickly, the food and drinks can add up onto your room bill.||The staff in this hotel were nothing short of exceptional, their professionalism, politeness and dedication to go above and beyond to make sure we were happy and had everything we wanted and needed. A special mention to Iluh and Yoga who made our experience even more special. Yoga’s amazing cocktails and Iluh’s friendly conversation were highlights each day. ||We also used the spa for a couples experience package which included a massage each, body scrub and the flower bath. This was really special and unique and definitely a must if you are celebrating something or want a romantic experience! ||We also had a private dining experience which included 4 courses and a private chef. We chose to have ours on the pavilion overlooking the beach and sunset. The set up, views, service and food was nothing short of exceptional. A definite 5 star experience! ||There are plenty of experiences you can choose to get involved in and the hotel has an itinerary of daily activities that they offer e.g fruit tasting, walks, coconut climbing. The Balinese dancing was a lovely watch too. ||We are very happy that we booked to stay at this hotel for our honeymoon, as we couldn’t fault the variety of experiences offered, level of service or quality of food/ drinks here. The area is also quiet, not touristy, which made our experience feel more authentic. ||Opposite the hotel, there’s a rent a scooter place which we used to hire a moped for exploring the local area, and we would recommend using Bali Dreadlocks driver who we used to visit the North, Mount Batur and Ubud for day trips.||Overall, a fantastic experience at Candi dasa Resort and Spa. We wouldn’t hesitate to...

We have just come back from our honeymoon stay in Candi beach resort and spa and what a lovely stay we had! We were initially a little disappointed that the hotel couldn’t upgrade our room, as although it was called the deluxe garden bungalow, it was quite small. However, we don’t spend much time in hotel rooms and it was a last minute decision, so it was fine for what we needed - clean and a very comfortable bed!

The hotel was spotlessly clean and had a tropical feel to it. The breakfast choice was delicious and there was a variety of choice. The food was very good, as were the cocktails, but I would also recommend eating in the Warung restaurants outside of the hotel, which are much cheaper and just as good, if not better! As quite quickly, the food and drinks can add up onto your room bill.

The staff in this hotel were nothing short of exceptional, their professionalism, politeness and dedication to go above and beyond to make sure we were happy and had everything we wanted and needed. A special mention to Iluh and Yoga who made our experience even more special. Yoga’s amazing cocktails and Iluh’s friendly conversation were highlights each day.

We also used the spa for a couples experience package which included a massage each, body scrub and the flower bath. This was really special and unique and definitely a must if you are celebrating something or want a romantic experience!

We also had a private dining experience which included 4 courses and a private chef. We chose to have ours on the pavilion overlooking the beach and sunset. The set up, views, service and food was nothing short of exceptional. A definite 5 star experience!

There are plenty of experiences you can choose to get involved in and the hotel has an itinerary of daily activities that they offer e.g fruit tasting, walks, coconut climbing. The Balinese dancing was a lovely watch too.

We are very happy that we booked to stay at this hotel for our honeymoon, as we couldn’t fault the variety of experiences offered, level of service or quality of food/ drinks here. The area is also quiet, not touristy, which made our experience feel more authentic.

Opposite the hotel, there’s a rent a scooter place which we used to hire a moped for exploring the local area, and we would recommend using Bali Dreadlocks driver who we used to visit the North, Mount Batur and Ubud for day trips.

Overall, a fantastic experience at Candi dasa Resort and Spa. We wouldn’t hesitate to...