The Sanchaya - A Padel Getaway
When you get an opportunity to stay at a world-class hotel like The Sanchaya, you take it - especially since they offer “bottomless” Padel for their guests.
My wife and I were lucky enough to spend two nights there recently, and I wanted to share our experience for anyone looking for a luxury Padel getaway that is so easy to reach from Singapore.
Tucked away on Bintan Island, just 50 minutes by ferry, The Sanchaya offers incredible experience after incredible experience... after incredible experience. It is no wonder they were recently awarded two Michelin Keys. To put this achievement into perspective, Singapore, with all its glamour and opulence, has 7 hotels that have been awarded Michelin Keys, with the Raffles Hotel taking the top spot with a mind-blowing three keys, and the other six on the list receiving one each.
I first heard of the hotel after they added Padel courts in 2024. A few close friends had visited, and I was sold given their overwhelmingly positive feedback (Oli and Chloe, here’s looking at you 😊). It only made sense for us to reach out and experience it for ourselves. I took a chance and connected with Ricky (Head of Sales & Marketing) to see if they needed any Padel-related help, and it turns out - they did!
During our exchanges - I mentioned my site, how I got into Padel, that I played often, and that I had a passion for traveling to different countries to try out their courts. I also mentioned that I completed my PadelMBA Coaching Certification in Bangkok earlier in the year. This led to an agreement that I could run an intro to Padel/beginners training session for some of the staff so they could fill in if guests wanted to play and didn’t have other partners. This worked for me, as I could test some of the techniques I learned during my course!
So, after booking our trip, we packed our (Padel) bags, my brand new trolley, and loads of balls that I had been keeping for an occasion just like this!
The ferry to Bintan leaves from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal and offers quite a few travel slots. We decided to book the last ferry on Friday after work and the last return ferry on Sunday to maximize our time there (more on this later).
Once we docked in Bintan, we were immediately greeted by someone from The Sanchaya who kindly expedited us through immigration (no long queues for us!). We were then led to the private Sanchaya Lounge, where we were offered snacks and drinks, and had our luggage collected while our visas were sorted.
Not 10 minutes later, our private transfer arrived and whisked us away to the estate. As this was my first trip to Bintan, I took it all in and was surprised at how developed it is (at least on the side we were on). There were new roads, clean surroundings, and beautiful resort after beautiful resort. Our driver was super friendly and made sure to point out areas of interest easily accessible by the free bicycles you could rent at the hotel.
Turning into the estate, we immediately saw what we came for: two majestic green Padel courts greeting us on our left. If that didn’t confirm our excitement, there was a White Lotus-style greeting with the General Manager and about five staff members waiting at the entrance for us.
After introducing ourselves, we were taken on a short tour of the main house and were genuinely wowed by how beautifully decorated it was. It features a colonial style with its very own library, cocktail lounge, main dining room, wine cellar, pool, a quaint croquet setup on the lawn, and, of course, the beach right on our doorstep!
As it was getting dark and we were getting hungry, we were shown to our suite, which was, in a word, ENORMOUS.
Everywhere we looked, there were cute little touches, like a welcome dessert and a handwritten note on the bed. We were also introduced to Mr Morris - their quirky black and white striped mascot and the face of a charity run by The Sanchaya! He is in every room and also available for purchase in two different sizes at the hotel gift shop.
After quickly freshening up, we were invited to “Sunset Hour,” which takes place in the bar and offers one hour of free-flow drinks for guests. There, we met Ron (the Sommelier) and Bimo (the Head Bartender), who introduced us to their locally distilled gins - two of those, please!
With a red wine in hand, we headed off to dinner. Although I won’t go into every meal we had, I can say that the food was fantastic. What really stood out is that the hotel offers diverse cuisines to suit anyone's taste. Personally, I found the menu quite overwhelming, but overall, I was really impressed with the portion sizes, the quality of ingredients, and the plating. The standout dish for me was the beef cheek rendang.
We turned in early, as we were looking forward to the coaching session in the morning. After getting ready for bed, we hopped into what my wife and I agreed is the most comfortable bed we have ever slept in. (And YES, we researched the bed and sheets so we could get the exact setup for our house!)
After a scenic breakfast overlooking the beach, we headed down to the Padel courts and were once again greeted with smiling faces. This time from Sepo, Devi, and Aizle, who all work at The Sanchaya and were keen and ready to get some Padel coaching.
The courts themselves are of the highest quality, situated away from the main house so as not to disturb other guests, and surrounded by palm trees and blue skies. The surface looked new, was lightly sanded, and overall, I was really impressed with the quality on both days we played.
We started with some Padel basics and worked our way up to gameplay at the end. After more than two hours, we were all exhausted, so we decided to call it a day. However, we agreed to return at the same time the next day for some more advanced drills. It was great to be able to take long breaks throughout our sessions to rest, and I realized we could’ve spent the whole day playing without anyone kicking us off the court. The pure definition of bottomless Padel!
Needless to say, Jess and I were ready for our post-Padel beers, so we made a dash to the poolside bar to begin our relaxing afternoon. We ate lunch, had a swim, went to the beach, and of course - what’s a getaway without an afternoon nap? The rest of the night was spent enjoying more cocktails at Sunset Hour and indulging once again at dinner. When we returned to our room that night, we received a letter from the hotel about our check-out time, which they kindly extended from midday to 5:00 PM. This was such a nice touch given we had booked the last ferry back to Singapore on Sunday. We didn’t have to worry about luggage or showering, and we pre-planned to squeeze in another nap in our incredible bed!
Believe it or not, on day two, we were met with even more excitement by the staff, as they wanted to test what they had learned the day before and put it into practice. After a quick warm-up, we began working on overheads, practiced lobs, and even some por cuatros (tap outs) - which I learned quickly was a favorite for everyone, as we did these for a good 30 minutes! We then squeezed in a mini-match before calling it a day.
As we did the day before, we grabbed drinks on the beach, enjoyed lunch, relaxed poolside, and had a nap. Before we knew it, our shuttle awaited to take us back to the ferry and home to Singapore. Although we were sad to be leaving, it genuinely felt like we had a really good break without the hassle of spending hours traveling to an incredible destination.
A massive THANK YOU to The Sanchaya for a truly unforgettable experience and to everyone we met who made our stay so special!
Promo: Mention "PLAY PADEL SG" when booking for some amazing perks: Stay 2 nights and get a complimentary "Sunset Hour" for 2 people worth S$80 with their world class mixologists OR 3 nights and get a complementary 60 minute Spa treatment for 2 people worth S$320.