$35 a night in Sanur | Duyung Homestay review

Address: Jl. Duyung No.27, Sanur, Denpasar Selatan, Kota Denpasar, Bali 80228, Indonesia

We’re here to give you a no-frills look at what it’s like to stay in a place in Bali that only costs you around $35 Australian a night. We’re talking about the Duyung Homestay in Sanur Bali. We chose this because we wanted to see what you get at the real budget places to stay in Bali. This is the sort of place that we really like staying, little places that are not overcrowded.

The Duyung Homestay, located on Ji Duyung, it is inconspicuous, hidden behind a small door and only noticeable by the sign out the front. Once you walk in, you will see the small check-in desk, there may or may not be staff there. If not, a quick ring of the bell will alert the staff to your arrival. Near the front desk is an area where you will find some books you can borrow to read and fridge selling soft drinks and beers.

What is our room like at Duyung Homestay?

Our room was small but tidy. I believe there is a family room that can also be booked. The room has a little fridge, desk area, TV, bed, bathroom shower and air conditioning, which is most important.

We could not fault the bed, it was comfortable and the pillows were pretty good. You need to watch your shins though as it is one of those types of beds that has a wooden platform around it. The room is cooled by an air conditioner up on the wall, which we found did a pretty good job, to be honest with you.

We have stayed at more expensive Sanur hotels that have had warmer rooms. When you walk in out of the heat, it’s actually a really nice relief and the cool air hits you perfectly to chill you down a bit. You’ve got to remember to keep the bathroom door shut. Otherwise your room does become a little bit hot because warm air sneaks in through the open ventilation in there.

The small fridge worked pretty well. If you wanted something really cold, you would have to leave it in here for like a few hours or probably overnight.

The bathroom was a good size; it one of those open-type bathrooms with shower, basin and toilet all in one. In saying that, there’s not really anything to put your bathroom bag on. There’s no space for your soap. I like to use my own soap and bottle of shampoo in shower, even though there is soap, bodywash and shampoo supplied.

We ended up keeping our bathroom bag on the bench near the TV. The shower pressure has been really good, but if you’ve got any dexterity problems in your fingers, you might find those taps a little bit hard to use.

The bathroom toilet has tiles that aren’t actually slippery which is great but be careful once you come out of the shower and back into the room as the room tiles can be slippery and there’s no grab rails.

There is mold, If mold upsets you or annoys you in any way, this room at Homestay Duyung is not for you. The room is serviced daily, you get your bed made and fresh towels each day. What you have to remember at straight up is that you are staying in a place that is $30 to $35 a night.

Outside all the rooms here at the Duyung Homestay, you have a small patio-like area with a couple of chairs and a little table in between. It’s a nice place to sit in the evening and have a cold Bintang. The homestay also provides a little rack to hang out your pool towels or your wet clothes.

Breakfast came included with room booking. The homestay has a little kitchen, breakfast area located near the front gate. When we checked in we got a little card that says you can get free toast and coffee each morning for your breakfast here. We did not take up the breakfast as there are so many good places nearby to eat breakfast in Sanur. We actually went to Andaz for breakfast which is nearby, simply one the best breakfasts in Sanur.

Is there a pool at the Duyung Homestay?

The pool here is only a small pool, maybe 5 to 6 meters long at the most, with a couple of pool lounge chairs on one side and umbrellas to shade you from that Bali sun.

We actually spent quite a bit of time in the pool on one of the days we stayed. We were the only ones using it, so we grabbed some cold beers and enjoyed the water during the hottest part of the day.

Is the Do Young Homestay accessible for people with mobility issues and wheel chairs? I would say no. There’s a slight little ramp that’s actually pretty steep to get into reception, a couple of steps to get into your room and the same for the pool area and getting into the pool, So probably not so easy for some.

Book a stay at Duyung Homestay

The hotel or homestay has only about nine or ten rooms, so it’s been pretty quiet at night. It is close to the road, so you can hear the occasional motorbike zipping up and down the road during the day.

But not overnight, like nothing, no vehicle or anything woke us up overnight. No. So it’s not loud. You might hear a gecko outside at some stage making his noise, but other than that, the rooms have been perfectly quiet.

The other guests seemed pretty friendly. The guys at reception were fantastic. Everyone said hello, even other guests. So, I probably noticed two things that I’m the picky wife, and I understand that.

So just to sum it all up, we’ve stayed here for three nights at De Young Homestead. Would I come back and stay here again? Yes, without any hassle at all. The Sanur beach is 200 meters that way, Jalan Danau Tamblingan, which is the main street in Sanur, where you find your shops, your restaurants, your takeaways, your convenience stores, is about 150 meters away. So I don’t know if you’d find too many places this cheap in this sort of prime position that has easy beach access and easy street access.

You have to remember a couple of things with what we’ve said about the mold and a couple of other things is this place is between $30 and $35 a night, so you can’t expect five-star luxury for $30.

If you can overlook those issues that we’ve picked out, then it’s a bargain. You know, $30 Australian, $20 US, 15 pounds. It’s unheard of to find rooms like this. The only problem you may find is actually being able to get a room here because there’s not that many rooms available.

I booked this room about eight months in advance, as I said. So if you really want to stay here on a budget, I suggest you book as soon as you can, because with nine or 10 rooms, that’s going to be booked out most of the time.

Duyung Homestay is a thumbs up from us, that’s for sure. I quite enjoyed it and we will come back here and stay again. Like I said, I like the location. I like the price, the swimming pool’s nice, the guys who run the place are nice. Rooms are as good as you’re going to get for $30 – $35 (prices will vary that just what we paid). So it’s a real winner for us.