The Sanchaya

My wife and I have been staying in Singapore this past year, and wanted to take a 2-night break (M-W) in Bintan. I'm a Titanium-elite member with Bonvoy, but as I was browsing hotels, the Sanchaya caught my eye. It was rated very highly.  Obviously expensive, but it had the classic colonial look I was looking for. I booked the Junior Suite on the Amex website, which actually uses Expedia for the booking.  The prices on Amex and Expedia were the exact same. A couple days before my stay, I was looking at Sanchaya's own website, which shows the blueprints of the different room layouts. Found out that the Junior Suite was actually just one bedroom/sofa area + the bathroom, and so a bit restrictive, while the Sanchaya Suite had a separate sitting room and thus a much bigger overall size. My wife needed to get a bit of work done during this stay, using the phone, so I wanted the separate space. I emailed the staff that I was considering the upgrade and might upgrade during check-in. They said ok. We took the ferry from Singapore to the Bintan Ferry Terminal, where the check-in process starts.  When you arrive, there is some ferry terminal staff holding up signs that direct you to the Sanchaya line.  That's where they begin to process your visa, collect your passports, give you a buzzer, and process you and your baggage through security. When you exit the security check, on your left you'll see the Sanchaya lounge. The staff will ask for your buzzer and will manage collection of your passports for you. This is where they'll offer you water/coffee/tea while you wait. We waited maybe 15 minutes for the entire immigration process to complete. The Sanchaya's valet then took our bags onto the van, and we were off to the Sanchaya. It is a group shuttle managed by the Sanchaya but on this ride it was just my wife and I.  A bit hard to believe that on the full ferry ride over, my wife and I were the only Sanchaya guests checking in! The van ride took about 15 minutes. When we got to the Sanchaya, the GM Greg and a concierge were there to greet us.  Another staff came up to us as we stepped in, to offer a welcome drink (a kind of shot).  At that time, we were offered a 15-minute tour of the Sanchaya by Pipit.  A great tour.  Unless you are exhausted, this introductory tour is a must, to help you get acclimated.  Pipit was great. The Sanchaya Suite we got was lovely (we got room #3 on the second floor, I saw it sometimes denoted as #203). Upon entering, there's a small living room fit for 3-4 people to hang out a bit, and then a "long" hallway down to the bedroom, with a bathroom in the middle of the hallway. Outside the bedroom there is a sizable wraparound outdoor balcony with a large couch, coffee table, and then an additional dining table for 4.  The balcony, as is, would be large enough to host a 7-person party, all seated, with no problems whatsoever.  (I only say this to give a sense of the space; certainly, the hotel will come knocking if you try to have such a huge party!) There is what seems like some wear and tear here and there in the room. But it's not serious, and supposedly adds to the charm of the room. The room includes a complimentary mini-bar, which includes a few types of chips, soft drinks, juices, Bintang beer, coffee, tea, and water.  All that is replenished daily.  There's also a fairly large safe.  Two pairs of room slippers, two pairs of flip flops, and a beach bag are also complimentary. The facilities are remarkable. Very relaxing. There's a salon/library, a bar/games room, a meeting/videowatching room, and a gym, and bicycles, all open-access. There's also a bookable wine-cheese tasting (room), and bookable spa treatments. The beach area is very private and quite immaculate.  (The one thing that all prospective guests should be aware of is that this is, from top to bottom, a place with quite mature decor.  There's no Kids' Club here.  The youngest kid that we saw here at the resort was ~8 years old.  The average age of everybody else was around 40 years old, haha.) The pool is very big. Olympic-length, comfortably holding 3-4 lanes. There's no significant shade over the pool itself but there are nice sunbeds and shades over those.  Throughout our 46-hour stay here in mid-October, we saw not a single mosquito.  Not one.  Not during the day, not at night.  The hotel mentions that you should look out for sandflies while outdoors; however, perhaps because we didn't go out at night, we actually never saw even one during our stay! Our first day upon check-in, we ordered room service twice. We got the laksa and the wagyu burger for a late lunch. And then for supper we had one order of the spring rolls (3 medium sized ones). The following morning, breakfast was lovely. There's a buffet spread of breads, pastries/donuts, yogurt muesli, and laksa. And then free unlimited choice of food on their extensive a la carte menu. If you take breakfast early around 7am on a weekday, chances are high you'll have the entire dining room to yourselves. There is a bit of variation in the breakfast buffet spread, every day. Overall, there are only 30 rooms total at the Sanchaya, around 20+ buildings in total.  For that reason, I would not call this a hotel but rather an estate. There is a secured gate in order to enter the entire compound, and the staff at the secured gate has guest names and pictures printed out on paper (!) by the first morning after check-in, if not earlier. To walk the entire grounds of the Sanchaya's compound, including the beach and all the facilities, takes up to ~30 minutes. This is unmatched if you are looking for quiet sanctuary in Bintan.  It just doesn't make sense to try to compare this with the hotels in Bintan.  Even the other accommodation compounds in Bintan (i.e. Banyan Tree) seem to be a bit more 'campy', without the same kind of refinement.  You're never in line for anything here. Actually, we saw a total of 8-10 guests on our entire check-in day, mostly around the pool; and then until 10am on our two mornings, an average total of 2 guests (both during breakfast). If you are looking for understated elegance (think Ritz Carlton Reserve), ideal for introverts, the Sanchaya is for you.  From what I observed, the average age of guests at this Sanchaya tends to be quite old.  I think the typical guests are those in their mid-to-late 40's with teenage kids, or 60+ nearing or after retirement.  30's guests with young kids who still want some elegance may find Banyan Tree more their style. On our check-in day, we booked snorkeling via the Sanchaya staff, for the following day. Snorkeling wasn't very good; only small fish. Not a knock on Sanchaya, just be aware that Sanchaya's particular dive center's snorkeling excursion may require tempered expectations. After snorkeling, we had a late lunch at the poolside restaurant.  Across the 46 hours, we ate exclusively at the hotel, either at the two restaurants (Tasanee and The Dining Room) or via room service.  The food ranges from average to excellent.  My best experiences were the Mie Goreng at Tasanee, and the large avocado-spiked salad for breakfast in The Dining Room. The staff are very friendly and very well-trained.  Pipit, Deff, Yohan, Difki, Elma, Madon... I'm sure I'm missing a bunch of names.  Everybody was great.  Reassuring smiles everywhere.  Pro tip #1:  If you need a room that accommodates 2, and you need space, and you can afford it, get the Sanchaya Suite and don't think twice about it.  Shop around, but (as of Oct 2025) it appears you'll be able to get a nice F&B/Spa credit with the Sanchaya Suite if you book directly on their own website.  Aside from that credit, just about all the other perks listed on the Sanchaya Suite bonus deal appear to be available to all guests regardless of booking. Pro tip #2: In case you are staying in a Sanchaya Suite with a "publicly accessible" set of balcony doors, these may be unlocked when you check in. If you are uncomfortable with that, you can let the staff know and they will lock those for you.  We weren't really worried about theft, but it's probably good practice to always lock your bedroom's balcony doors anyways. Pro tip #3: The room service menu is a bit limited. If you ask, you can order food that is on the restaurant menus that is not on the room service menus; if it's not late night, it's generally no problem.  Your bill when you check out will then indicate it as the restaurant's food even though it was room service. Pro tip #4: If you get a strange-looking device as your TV remote, click the button at the bottom with the 'red dot' in order to turn the TV on and off. :-) VERDICT: In general, we were very happy with our stay.  Very relaxing overall.  The staff are great.  In my opinion, they were genuinely interested and charmed to serve the guests.  If you are looking for some privacy from your companion, for whatever reason, then the Sanchaya Suite is definitely the way to go.

The Sanchaya is one of the most beautiful and relaxing holiday destinations that we have ever experienced. The resort is pristine, the grounds are amazing, the pool and the beach are beautiful. All of this is only surpassed by the friendly, efficient and amazingly gorgeous team that meet your every need. The food is next level and the chef chats to you about your preferences and then makes sure that you enjoy every experience. Five nights in a beautiful suite - truly a holiday to remember. And only 50 mins on the ferry from Singapore - so easy to access. From the moment you get off the ferry and are greeted by one of the Sanchaya team, to the time they deliver you back at the end of your stay - every moment is organised and stress-free. We will definitely be back. Rosy and John Sullivan

I want to thank Greg and his team for the seamless customer experience for the stay. Thank you Budi for the great food your kitchen churn out.. The estates Yoga by the beach is another must try .

Exquisite retreat after a busy holiday in India and Singapore. There are so many wonderful things I could say, but what especially stood out to me was: 1. Just based on their staggering of guests, I felt like I had the hotel almost entirely to myself. 2. Incredible food. 3. Excellent service. They sort of keep an eye on you (in a very considerate but unobtrusive way) and make recommendations to enhance your day such as foods you might like based on what you have been ordering, fun activities, they will escort you to another table if they notice the sun is too bright, bring you sunscreen and picnic baskets if you sit by the pool, all without any prompting. I could go on and on. 4. The rooms smell like lemongrass and are very comfortable. I was sleeping 10 hrs/ night which is very unlike me!

Our stay at Sanchaya was wonderful from the moment we got off the ferry and were welcomed by the lounge staff to the moment we (sadly) said goodbye to them 12 days later. There are too many staff to single out all those who made our stay special - everybody was so friendly and helpful, and always willing to do extra to make our stay ​enjoyable. The complimentary activities around the estate were excellent, and the spa was very relaxing. We also did some tours away from Sanchaya which were great fun. The food was of an exceptional standard and there was a wide range of options. The locally inspired cocktails were very good too. We were completely relaxed within a few hours of arriving and remained so throughout our stay. The actual hotel is sensitively built with plenty of green space. We stayed in a lagoon villa and enjoyed watching the birds and other local wildlife who visited. Greg clearly has a wonderful team and we cannot recommend Sanchaya highly enough. To all at Sanchaya - thank you for making our stay so fabulous.