House hunting in Sanur


After I decided to camp down in Bali, the next decision was where and to look for a long-term room as accommodation.
Where was quickly decided, I quite liked the laidback ‘village’ vibe of Sanur. There are quite a lot of longer-term ‘expats’ here. There is a nice scene and a bit of ‘energy’ in the air as everybody seems to be starting a business, writing a book or working on a plan or the future. Furthermore there are a lot of dive shops in the area so a good place to get a feel for the local diving job market.

So next step was to find nice longer term accommodation. There are quite a few available, and various ways to find them.
Check websites like RentRoomBali, Bali Budget Housing and Facebook groups like Bali Expats and Sanur Community. Especially the Facebook groups gave me a lot of options. You can also ask friends already living here of course, or ask around in shops and laundry places. Finally drive around on a scooter and stop at places. Look for places advertising as ‘Guesthouse’, ‘Homestay’ or ‘Rumah Kos’.

Budget

The rough price range for a decent studio / one-bedrooms is from 1,5 mln to 4 mln (100 to 275 EUR) per month. As I had a friend visiting me I was initially interested in renting a 2-bedroom assuming that this would be cheaper on a per person basis. This turned out to be not the case, those seem to start at 7 mln and were hard to find. Probably as these houses are more common rented out on yearly basis.

Things to look out for

– First of all location. Most decently priced long-term rentals will be on the landward side of the Bypass (the big road running through Sanur). Also sometimes the land around the property is quite small, so when you’re sitting on your terrace you are looking at a blind wall close-by. Not very nice if you want to enjoy being outside.

Sanur room rent
– The room itself, is there a nice sitting area outside? Is there a kitchen or sink? Is this kitchen separated from the main room with a door? A buzzing fridge next to you bed can get quite annoying… Enough power outlets, and well placed? A small desk or table and chair to do some work?
– The utilities, is there warm water? TV? Is wifi provided? Is there an A/C. Normally it all is but check!
– How is the property, a little garden or green around? Swimming pool? A good gate or security guard? And always nice to get a feel for the other tenants, is it a nice bunch you want to live with? Is the owner or caretaker a friendly guy?
– Check what is included in the price. Usually you pay the electricity yourself (about 300.000 a month for a studio) and any gas if there is a gas cooker.

Some favorites

In no particular order, some of the favorites (per July 2016) I saw with some details. All prices are listed prices, it’s always worthwhile to haggle for a discount…
If you have any nice addition, please add in the comments or contact me!

Casa Rose

Nice rooms. Modern, quite high class furniture. Ground floor felt a bit cramped because proximity of wall. A bit isolated in location.
Hot water, wifi, TV.
Price; 2,5 mln excl electricity.

Website

Contact: +62 819 3610 2209
Jl. Sedap Malam, Gang Tunjung Biru

Pondok Gaya Studios

Nice complex, quite centrally located. Pool and garden. Seemed a nice ‘vibe’ with the guests. Big rooms, well equipped kitchen. Nice terraces in front of the apartments.
Hot water, wifi, TV.
Price: 3,7 -4,2 mln excl electricity.

Website
Contact: Dayu Widiani
Gang Merpati II.

Rama Kost

Really nice place for a very affordable rate. Nice new property and furniture. Sweetest couple ever running it. Stayed here for a few days but decided to spend slightly more for somewhat more space (and hot water).
Wifi, TV.
Price: 2 mln excl electricity
Contact: Made Wita, +62 812 3617 607
Jl. Sekuta 39.

Nosa Room

Never saw the inside of it as it was always full. Great budget choice but never got availability. Located on seaside of the Bypass, one of few budget options there. Only negative maybe a bit of a small complex seeing the number of apartments, felt a bit ‘closed in’. Friend stayed there and liked it, but got into argument over electricity bill in his last month there so beware.
Hot water, wifi, TV
Price: 1,5 mln excl electricity

Website
Contact: Dede Dharamawan, +62 856 3863 994 email_icon_email
Side street off Jl. Pungutan.

No name near beach

A place found through Facebook. Very different from everything else I’ve seen. Not as new and nice, but a certain bohemian vibe to it. If you are in to that you’ll love it. They had rooms from about 2,5 to 5,5 mln. The higher price was for a very romantic little wooden house, see the pictures. I couldn’t see the smaller rooms inside. Also a pool present. Seemed like a very nice little community. Close to sea but not a beach for swimming or tanning! Nice warungs around, and seemed a place where a lot of local come to hang out (in a good way).
Hot water, wifi (claimed, had no signal however), TV.
Price: 2,5 – 5,5 mln excl electricity
Contact: Donna
JL. Matahari Terbit Gang 22.

Sanur Bagus

Where I’ve settled down for now. Not the cheapest but a nice price/quality balance. Liked the big rooms, and nice separated little kitchen. Nice sitting terrace or balcony in front. Crowd of longer term divers, interns etc so a nice community vibe.
Hot water (good), wifi (good), TV (local only)
Price: 3 mln incl electricity

Website
Contact: Nyoman, +62 813 5398 8211 email_icon_email


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2 thoughts on “House hunting in Sanur

    • Menno Verschuur Post author

      Hi Adriana, you can click the little ‘envelope’ at contact details and this will give you the e-mail address of the landlord!
      I moved out about 1,5 year ago as I’m now living in the Caribbean, but it is a great place to stay!