Sakala Beach Club is part of the Sakala Resort Bali in Tanjung Benoa. This area is famous for its water sports and is right next door to the family resort town of Nusa Dua.
It has white sand beaches but very few beach clubs. So, we sent out our team to find out if it was worth travelling to this spot on the Bukit Peninsula and this is what they learned.
Introduction – Getting To Sakala Beach Club
Getting to Tanjung Benoia is straightforward and if you’re coming from Denpasar Airport, it’s not that long a drive, however, from the rest of the island – the traffic is a problem. Allow a couple of hours if you’re coming from the other beach towns in the busier parts of the day.
There is parking at this club as it’s part of a resort set up. You will also have no problem with Grab or Gojek drop-offs.
Where Is Sakala Beach Club? Jl. Pratama No.95, Tj. Benoa, Kec. Kuta Sel., Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia
Website: Sakala Beach Club
Opening Hours: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
What’s Inside Sakala Beach Club?
There is a large infinity pool with a swim-up bar, a pool bar and a restaurant serving delicious food at Sakala Beach Club. This isn’t the biggest beach club in Bali but there are a couple of seating areas too.
Our Review Breakdown For Sakala Beach Club
We try to review every beach club using the same set of standards. This ensures that we treat the Sakala Beach Club in the same way as we treat bigger clubs like FINNS or Potato Head.
It also means that you as a reader can expect consistency from our review process.
The team visits a club (not always together or even on the same day) and they make notes and grade the place from 1 (worst) to 5 (best) in a series of 20 different criteria (as listed below).
At a later date, they meet to discuss their experience and vote on the final score in each category.
Finally, someone writes up the review based on these discussions and once a review is live, it remains in place for, at least, one year until we revisit the beach club in question and make any amendments as needed.
Pre-Club Advertising
We’re big believers in pre-club advertising because it ensures that there are other people around the infinity pool with you and that helps to improve the overall experience of a beach club.
Unfortunately, the Sakala Beach Club isn’t advertising much (if at all) and we only discovered its existence when we started researching for this website project.
That means it can be a little empty inside at times and it seems an odd choice because there are more than enough people in Tanjung Benoa to frequent this beach club.
Location
Tanjung Benoa isn’t the most popular beach town in Bali, but it is quite busy and it makes sense for Sakala Beach Club to look to this family resort town for the majority of its customer base.
However, it’s quite a drive from much of the rest of the island, not in terms of distance, but through the Bali traffic and you may find that it takes 2 hours or more to get there from Canggu or Seminyak.
Once you arrive, however, Tanjung Benoa Beach is a very pleasant spot to enjoy a pool bar and some views of the ocean.
You will also find that the resort has ample parking if you drive yourself and that if you come by Grab or Gojek, you can get to the entrance of Sakala Beach Club easily enough.
Booking Process & Seating Options
Makin a reservation at the Sakala Beach Club is possible, but you will need to call or email the resort and then go back and forth over the seating arrangements.
We find it really annoying in the age of automated booking engines or booking services like Chope that a beach club doesn’t provide a simple online booking service.
Reservations are all but essential at smaller clubs like Sakala Beach Club and make that process as painless as possible is important.
Entry Fee
Sakala Beach Club has a strange mix of entrance fees and minimum spend. If you are an adult, you will have to pay 290,000 IDR to enter the club but this does include a cocktail, a 100,000 IDR food and beverage voucher, the Wii-Fi password and a towel.
Similarly, children under 12 will have to pay 170,000 IDR but this includes a glass of juice or a mocktail, as well as a 75,000 IDR food and beverage credit.
We confess, we don’t like entrance fees at beach clubs and we think everyone should be able to walk in and buy some cold drinks and delicious food wiithout having to commit to anything.
However, if you do charge people to get in, a bunch of inclusions will make them feel better about the outlay.
Minimum Spend
We’ve touched on the minimum spend and entrance fee combination above but we just wanted to add that anywhere charging these kinds of fees, realy ought to have a booking facility online.
That way, you can pay the fee before you go to the club, and be 100% certain that they will actually have your reservation by their infinity pool waiting for you when you arrive.
Otherwise, we find that places are very intolerant of late arrivals and you can get there 20 minutes late (easily done in Bali traffic) to find you’ve lost your seats to somebody who has just walked in.
Welcome And Security
You will recieve a warm welcome when you enter the Sakala Beach Club (and the resort itself).
However, we have to note that there was no bag check when we visited and we prefer beach clubs to take security seriously.
Inclusions
As we’ve already mentioned, there are different inclusions for adults and children based around the different entrance fees.
These include a food and beverage credit, a drink, a towel and Wi-Fi access as well as access to the pool area, pool bar, etc.
Most of these inclusions are quite standard for a beach club in Bali when charging an entrance fee.
However, there is no option at the Sakala Beach Club for any kind of VIP or premier service with more inclusions for a small increase in payments.
Service
The Sakala Beach Club is a great example of what Balinese hospitality should be like.
The staff is friendly, welcoming and attentive. They take your orders quickly and it’s always easy to catch their eye.
The performance might not be quite as polished as it is at the biggest beach clubs or 5-star hotels but it is very good.
Entertainment
The Sakala Beach Club isn’t the kind of place that you go to for entertainment and there’s nothing on offer here except for some piped music.
That’s OK, not every beach club is about stimulating interest, some, like this one, are for relaxing and whiling the day away by the pool.
Pool Quality
The infinity pool here is excellent and you will find that it’s more than big enough to swim in unless the Sakala Beach Club is absolutely packed out.
It has a nice swim-up bar and a pool bar area too. You certainly won’t need to stray too far from the water to enjoy a nice cold drink in the Bali sun.
Menu/Drinks Pricing
The food prices are, of course, higher than you’d find at your local warung but for Tanjung Benoa resorts, they’re on the lower side.
We found that the menu had plenty of options and they were all reasonably priced.
The drinks are more of a premium but still not unreasonable. The Sakal Beach Club feels like a decent value for money in this corner of the island.
Food And Drink Quality
We found the food to be tasty and the portion sizes to be reasonably generous at the Sakala Beach Club.
There’s a good mix of different cuisines on the menu, so you won’t be bored with it.
We also though the Sakala Beach Club made a good cocktail with enough alcohol and presented nicely for Instagram viewing.
Sunset View
The Sakala Beach Club is on the wrong side of the island for a fabulous sunset view and you will find that it’s a better place for sunrise.
There is a little change in the light in the sky, of course, as the sun bids farewell to the Earth for the day but you won’t be able to see it drop below the horizon.
For that, you will need to head to Canggu, Seminyak, Kuta, Legian, Jimbaran or Uluwatu.
Music And Ambiance
The piped music at Sakala Beach Club is inoffensive enough and it won’t interfere with your relaxation.
That’s fine by us, sometimes we just want to chill by the sea too.
Payment Options
You can pay by cash or card in the Sakala Beach Club but as with many clubs here in Bali, we didn’t see any options for E-wallet or QRIS payments.
Exit Process
The Sakala Beach Club is a fairly small resort beach club and it’s very easy to get out – you just wander back the way that you came in, to the resort entrance.
You will be wished a warm farewell by the hotel staff as you leave.
Transportation
If you drove to the resort, you can leave Sakala Beach Club easily enough on your own vehicle.
However, this part of Bali is not as well served as places like Seminyak and Kuta by Grab and Gojek and you may need to wait a while for a ride to pick you up.
You won’t, however, be hassled by the taxi mafia while you remain on the resort’s grounds.
Social Media Presence
There is a social media presence for Sakala Beach Club but it’s pretty minimal and seems to have fallen into the trap of showcasing an empty venue (something we really don’t understand).
It’s been about 3 months since they last updated their Instagram too and frankly, it’s not that representative of the experience you have at this club.
Other/General Comments
This is exactly the sort of beach club we’d expect at a smaller Balinese resort in the more upmarket resort area of Tanjung Benoa.
It’s perfect for spending a lazy day by the pool and we really like the layout of the place which looks cool in your Instagram feed.
Our Overall Opinion Of Sakala Beach Club
Sakala Beach Club is not going to rival the big beach clubs of the more popular resort towns but it’s a pleasant spot to spend a day by the sea.
Tanjung Benoa’s a great place for learning water sports, and this is the kind of place we’d be happy to retire to after a day of parasailing or kiteboarding.
Sakala Beach Club has got relaxed vibes, a great pool and lovely views of the ocean.
FAQs
Can You Swim At Sakala Beach Club?
Yes, you can swim at Sakala Beach Club. There’s an infinity pool with it’s own swim-up bar.
The pool is quite large and there’s more than enough room for swimming unless the pool is super crowded.
On our visit, we found that the area was kept clean and the water was clear and clean looking too.
What Can You Do At Sakala Beach Club?
Sakala Beach Club is a place to swim, relax, eat and drink. It’s not the biggest place in Bali and it’s definitely not a party spot, but you can enjoy relaxin on luxurious sun loungers with a pool and a wonderful view of the beach and ocean.
Is Sakala Beach Club A Family-Friendly Venue?
Yes, the Sakala Beach Club is a family-friendly venue. The Sakala Beach Resort also has a kids club for children aged 5 to 12 (children under 5 may use the facility but must be accompanied by a parent) which is accessible for an additional fee.
Who Owns Sakala Beach Club?
The Sakala Beach Club is part of the Sakala Resort Bali and this is a locally owned hotel. However, the exact ownership is not in the public domain.
Final Thoughts On Sakala Beach Club
Sakala Beach Club is one of the better hotel beach club offerings in Bali and if you’re in Tanjung Benoa, it’s definitely worth checking out.
However, it’s not a place for parties and the sunset isn’t anywhere near as good as it is in Canggu or Seminyak.
Families with children may appreciate how easy it is to relax by the pool here while enjoying food and drink and soaking up some of the Bali sun.
