Sundays Beach Club is based in Ungasan below the Ungasan Clifftop Resort and directly on the beach. It’s one of the most attractive locations for a beach club in Bali, but it’s also a long drive from much of the island.
Is it worth getting excited about getting a sun lounger on their VIP sundeck or would be better off under the coconut palms at one of the other beach clubs on the island? We went to find out and this is what we learned.
Introduction – Getting To Sundays Beach Club
If you want to visit Sundays Beach Club, you’ll need to drive to South Bali and the Bukit Peninsula. It’s in Ungasan and that can be a long drive in the Bali traffic.
However, it is easier to get into and out of this club compared to many other clubs in this area.
Where Is Sundays Beach Club? Jl. Pantai Sel. Gau Banjar Wijaya Kusuma, Ungasan, Kec. Kuta Sel., Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80362, Indonesia
Website: Sundays
Opening Hours: Open daily, every day except for Nyepi, from 7.30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
What’s Inside Sundays Beach Club?
Unlike most beach clubs, Sundays has no pool, so you can expect a variety of seating options, a restaurant and bar area and access to an attractive beach.
Our Review Breakdown For Sundays Beach Club
All of our beach club reviews follow the same process as for Bali Sundays Beach Club. We send out our team to visit the beach club in question.
They individually score the club from 1 (worst) to 5 (best) in 20 categories that we think define the overall experience.
Then, they vote on the final score we use in our reviews. This ensures that the review reflects the fairest experience of our team.
Once a review is published, we don’t revisit it for, at least, one year. Then, we visit the club again and see if things have changed for better or worse and amend the review as we see fit.
Pre-Club Advertising
Sundays Beach Club does better in this aspect than a lot of beach clubs in Bali do. They’re “Tik Tok” famous and you will be showered with ads for this beach club on that platform.
You will regularly find them on lists of beach clubs in Bali (though none as comprehensive as our best beach clubs in Bali list) and that helps to add to the buzz around Sundays Beach Club.
This is a good thing. Pre-club advertising leads to busier clubs and the best beach clubs in Bali invest significant amounts of money to ensure that you have a good time with other people around.
However, Sundays is still quite a way behind the big spenders on advertising too.
Location
Ungasan isn’t our favourite spot for a beach club in Bali. That’s because it’s a long drive from most of the island and while some of the best beaches in Bali are in this area, we’re always reluctant to brave the traffic to sit in a lounge chair by the ocean.
We recommend arriving early for your bookings at Sundays Beach Club and setting off much earlier than the distance suggests it will take.
We often find Ungasan to be a very frustrating place as it’s usually hard to get to the beach itself, but thanks to the lovely resort at the top of this cliff, where you can get a private beach bungalow with a private butler, you can easily get to Sundays Beach Club without climbing the cliff as there’s an elevator.
Booking Process & Seating Options
Sundays Beach Club has a lot of seating options. In fact, we’d go so far as to say it has a confusing amount of seating options.
There are seating options for walk-in guests, VIP experiences, and add-ons to those experiences and instead of the website offering a nice map showing how all these connect? You get a list of stuff with some clickable text links scattered throughout them.
It’s 2024 and this isn’t what we expect from beach clubs in Bali. If you want to be counted among the best beach clubs, you need to offer a simple and straightforward booking process.
Entry Fee
If you arrive before 6 p.m. and you want a non-VIP seat, you will be charged 800,000 IDR at the front door if you’re an adult and 400,000 IDR for every child between 5 and 11. Infants under 5 can get in for free, mind you.
To be fair to Sundays, some of this is converted into F&B credits, but only some of it. It works out that just walking in the door leaves adults 300,000 IDR per person poorer and children 150,000 IDR per child poorer.
This is lousy value for money. We are firm believers that you ought to be able to enter any beach club for free to see what you can get.
And while it does get better, a little, after 6 p.m. even then, you’re required to spend 500,000 IDR to enter as an adult and 250,000 IDR but this does, at least, all end up in F&B credit rather than disappearing into the ether.
Minimum Spend
The door fee means that not only are you paying a stiff entrance fee, but you are also committing to a minimum spend of, at least, 500,000 IDR per adult and 250,000 IDR per child.
If you want access to the VIP sundeck, then you’re going to need to spend more – 2.8 million IDR for 2 people for the basic twin bed (only 2 million of which gets turned into F&B credit!) and 3.5 million IDR for 2 people for a double bed (with only 2.8 million making it to F&B credit!).
If you really want to push the boat out they also have a cabana, a bungalow (this does include a private butler and some ice baths) or a beach house. But expect to see even more of your minimum spend disappear for these areas without being returned as F&B credit.
The house is 20 million IDR for up to 12 people, but only 14 million IDR gets turned into F&B credits!
This makes Sundays Beach Club one of the worst value-for-money offerings that we’ve encountered in Bali’s beach clubs scene.
Welcome And Security
The welcome at Sundays was friendly enough but it didn’t stand out in any way compared to other clubs, either.
They did carry out a security check and we thank them for that. We like to know we’re spending the entire day safe and sound and this helps to ensure our safety.
Inclusions
Your rather extortionate entrance fee does include the use of a towel but not much else. This is something that most beach clubs include in a minimum spend, mind you, they don’t charge for it.
We should note though that Sundays offers some basic watersports equipment as part of the fee for free too, such as snorkeling equipment (if you don’t have your own snorkel gear), paddle boards, etc. This is a decent value add if you like to get in the ocean water.
However, we have to single out Sundays Beach Club for a little praise here as their VIP offerings do come with a bunch of non-standard inclusions to help try and justify their huge price tag.
From a VIP welcome box to butler service to ice baths, there’s plenty of stuff included in the VIP tier here.
Service
We were very disappointed in Sundays Beach Club’s service. In fact, it was among the worst we’ve encountered on the island.
You are provided with a flag to wave for attention while you enjoy the food and drink and relax on your bed. But you won’t be relaxing very hard because you’ll need to wave that flag pretty vigorously to catch someone’s eye.
We also found that service in the restaurant was no better and we were often waiting for long periods of time for someone to take our order.
Entertainment
We were hoping that some of that huge door fee was being used for entertainment but during the day they just play piped music – which again is a bit of a disappointment when you look at the prices here.
There is some entertainment after sunset where you can enjoy live DJs, bonfires on the beach and even a live saxophonist!
Pool Quality
There’s no pool at Sundays Beach Club! It’s a great spot for swimming on the beach, mind you, with crystal clear water and a nice reef guarding the shoreline from excessive waves.
However, you might not want little ones to be playing about in the ocean. There are some nice pools at the Ungasan Clifftop Resort but they’re not open to guests of the beach club.
Menu/Drinks Pricing
Sundays Beach Club menu was, perhaps, unsurprisingly given the focus on cash extraction at this beach club, expensive compared to other beach clubs.
With their signature cocktails weighing in at 180,000 IDR (plus tax and service) and a basic pizza coming in at 200,000 IDR (again plus tax and service), you’re going to find it easy to get through the minimum spend here. Even the local favourites are very pricey, compared to other beach club venues.
Food And Drink Quality
On the bright side, we did think the food was very tasty and the portions were reasonably generous (we think we might have turned Karen and demanded a manager if they hadn’t been, given the prices).
We also thought that the drinks were strong enough and well-made but again, they should be given the price.
Sunset View
If you came to Bali to watch the amazing sunsets, you won’t get the best view from Sundays Beach Club because it’s south-facing.
The sky will change colour but you won’t get the chance to see the sun dip below the horizon and the water light up dramatically.
Music And Ambiance
We feel that they could provide live music all day long given the prices at Sundays Beach Club but the piped music was pleasant and inoffensive and when the live DJs do turn up, they’re pretty good.
The vibe at Sundays is pleasant enough, though we don’t think it’s particularly memorable for the price, either.
Payment Options
Sundays Beach Club will be happy to take payments in cash or by card. However, we need to point out that there’s no facility for QRIS payments, e-wallet payments or cryptocurrencies.
We feel like the best beach clubs in Bali should be embracing alternative payment methods in 2024.
Exit Process
Getting out of Sundays Beach Club is much less painful than at most beach clubs in Ungasan and you walk out of the club and then jump in the elevator to get back up the cliff.
Transportation
If you drive to Sundays Beach Club you can park at the Ungasan Clifftop Resort (for a fee) and that makes it easy to get your vehicle back.
However, if you came to Sundays Beach Club by Grab or Gojek, you may have to wait a long time to get a ride home.
If you leave the resort area, you will be set upon by the taxi mafia who will want extortionate fees to take you home, so you’re better off waiting.
Social Media Presence
Sundays Beach Club does have social media accounts but they’re so rarely updated, that you only have to scroll down once to find offers for 2023 on their Instagram feed.
We also don’t find the pictures are particularly representative of the overall beachc club experience. This is a gorgeous location and they really could do more when they sit on one of the best beaches in Bali.
Other/General Comments
We arrived early in the day at Sundays Beach Club and we were surprised by the fact that it was quite full, beach clubs in this part of Bali often aren’t.
They seated us on beanbags on the beach in exchange for our entrance fee. But within a few minutes they were nearly washed out to sea by the tide.
So, we were moved into the restaurant, instead. We don’t feel that 800K is a reasonable charge to sit in a chair in a restaurant. We also think it’s a cheek that you don’t find out where your seat is until after Sundays has your money.
Our Overall Opinion Of Sundays Beach Club
The attractive thatched rooftops of this beach club in Bali don’t mask the problems that come from Sundays Beach Club’s non-stop focus on emptying your wallet.
While we can see how you might be tempted to spend a special day here, the entrance fee, the expensive food and drink, etc. could be better spent on a much better time at FINNS our favourite beach club in Bali.
There are quite a few beach clubs in Bali that we think are better than Sundays and you can find them here. You might also want to check out Klive Beach Club and Oneeighty both of which are quite close to Sundays.
FAQs
Can You Swim At Sundays Beach Club?
Yes, but you can only swim in the ocean. Sundays Beach Club does not have a pool.
What Can You Do At Sundays Beach Club?
You can snorkel, swim, use the paddle boards, etc. in the ocean. You can eat, drink and be merry and relax on the sun loungers, beanbags or by the bar.
Is Sundays Beach Club A Family-Friendly Venue?
Yes, children are allowed inside Sundays Beach Club all day long as long as they are with their parents. There are some beach toys in the sand for them too.
Who Owns Sundays Beach Club?
Steve Cain who is also the owner of the Ungasan Clifftop Resort.
Final Thoughts On Sundays Beach Club Review
Sundays Beach Club is a place with so much promise but it’s let down by an attitude of trying to extract as much money as possible from their guests while offering little in return for that money.
While we didn’t have a bad time at this beach club, we can’t see ourselves hurrying to return to Sundays Beach Club, either, it’s just not value for money.
