Happy Customers

“I can just turn up and teach’’

Emily wanted somewhere close to Ubud without being in it, surrounded by trees, with enough on site to fill a schedule and still leave people time to rest. What she describes as the difference is not the setting but what she stopped having to carry: “I don’t have to worry about whether food’s going to be ready on time, if the studio is going to be ready. Everything is always done and I can just turn up and teach and lead the best version of the retreat as I can.” She says the shala is the thing photographs do not do justice to, and that her group did not need music in the evenings because the jungle supplies it.

EMILY - RETREAT LEADER

“I can actually enjoy my own retreat’’

Amrita was hosting for the first time, and she is direct about the fear that comes with that: “Because it’s the first one, still nervous because I don’t know what to expect. I don’t know if it’s going to sell out. But it did.” She had gone back and forth over venues before choosing, and puts the decision down to the rooms, the food and the reviews. By the end she describes having no stress at all, and guests already asking whether she will host here again.

AMRITA - FIRST-TIME RETREAT LEADER

“It’s the best of both worlds’’

Ruth has run retreats in Australia and looked at several places in Bali before choosing. She wanted her guests to have a high-end experience that still felt like the real thing. What she returns to is the comparison, which is the part worth reading twice: “We’ve hosted a few retreats at different venues and things can always go wrong, but here we’ve just been really well looked after. The communication has been very thorough, which makes a massive difference for a retreat host, to not have to worry about those extra little things.” She mentions the welcome ceremony, and that her guests were speechless walking into the shala.

RUTH - AUSTRALIA

“It was a bit of a no-brainer for me’’

Amy found us through a retreat wellness group and booked without visiting, which is the situation most organisers are actually in. She describes how that was made safe: “Having a WhatsApp chat and being able to go through things, ask all the questions, was really good because I hadn’t come and seen the venue yet... being able to jump on a video chat and have you walk around the venue and show us the space really put my mind at rest.” She brought a group of twenty and still found quiet corners she had not been to by the end of the week.

AMY - RETREAT LEADER

“You can trust the website and you can trust the people’’

Sarah had been here once already and came back, bringing a group for whom Bali was entirely new. She is unusually blunt about what worries a retreat leader before arrival: “Sometimes leading retreats can be a bit worrying... the websites on the internet can be quite misleading sometimes. But your website is honest and true. It is that beautiful. It really is.” She singles out the opening ceremony, the massages, and that when her group needed a doctor it was handled quickly.

SARAH - UNITED KINGDOM

“You’ve made my job really easy’’

Diana runs retreats and trainings for the Welsh Academy of Yoga, so she arrives with a list of things a venue usually gets wrong. “I didn’t even have to think about setting up the equipment. It was all taken care of.” She describes the shala as properly equipped for teaching rather than only for practice: a projector, a microphone, a full sound system, and the mats, blocks, props and blankets a training needs. The arrival massage, she says, briefly made her forget she was there to host.

DIANA - WELSH ACADEMY OF YOGA

“I’m so glad I chose Basundari to host my first retreat’’

Misaki looked at other options in Bali and came to stay here herself before committing, to see whether the place suited the people she would be bringing. Her first retreat was the one she ran here, and she is clear about what made that possible: “It made me feel very supported and confident hosting a retreat here. It’s my first time and a lot of things are uncertain... there’s always someone being there for me. I didn’t really expect this, so I’m really thankful for that.” She talks about the food at length, and about the care she could taste behind it.

MISAKI - RETREAT ORGANISER

“We don’t feel like a customer. We feel like part of the family’’

Sofia and Lily hosted together and describe the same thing from two directions: the practical help that let them lead instead of manage. Printing, notebooks, and looking after their participants when something was needed. They were planning the next one before this one had finished: “I’m already planning for next year. I wanted to go for October but it’s booked, so I will go here next year.” They also make the point that the pictures undersold it rather than oversold it, which is not the usual direction.

SOFIA AND LILY - RETREAT ORGANISERS

“It was almost instant’’

Ilze came to see the venue in February before bringing a group later in the year, on the recommendation of a friend who had hosted here. What she praises is the thing that is hardest to photograph: “Even before we came here the whole communication was so professional and we didn’t have to wait for responses. It was almost instant.” She led with two others, and says that even the leaders felt looked after, which is the part organisers rarely get. She also notes the food changes country every day.

ILZE - RETREAT LEADER

“I just knew that it has to be here’’

Kasia looked at many venues in and around Ubud before choosing, and was back for a second retreat when this was filmed. “You can just do your thing as a facilitator and you are very well supported. This is my second retreat in Basundari and I just feel like at home.” She mentions the small additions that were not there the first time, the welcome massage and the afternoon snacks, as the kind of detail that makes a return visit feel different rather than repeated.

KASIA - RETREAT LEADER

“Everything has exceeded my expectations’’

Candy stayed here as a holiday guest a year before she booked, and looked around while she was here. “I felt so deeply cared for even from day dot, and I felt like all of the details were really laid out and organised. That made me feel really comfortable to run a retreat here, knowing that you do this every day.” She had read that the food was good and still describes it as the thing that surprised her group most, along with the trips arranged around the programme.

CANDY - RETREAT LEADER

“I fell in love straight away’’

Michelle was comparing several venues when she came up during a family holiday to have a look. “I walked down to the yoga shala and I felt the energy and I was like, yes, I’m booking in.” She describes her students being happy with their individual rooms, each with a different character, and says her group were asking to book the following year before this one had ended.

MICHELLE - RETREAT LEADER

“You cannot get a better experience’’

Ruth runs retreats internationally, which makes her comparison worth more than most: “We host retreats all over the world, and the depth of cultural knowledge and generosity here in Bali is really embodied by the Basundari staff.” She describes needs being met that she had not thought to name, and says her participants report a layer of care they have not found elsewhere. Asked what would make it better, she says a month instead of a week.

RUTH - RETREAT LEADER

“It’s been absolutely seamless’’

Sarah brought a group whose interests are spiritual and ecological, and chose on that basis: “We looked at you guys as being a really beautiful eco retreat place for us to stay. Our group is a very spiritual group, so we found that this beautiful surrounding, the buildings, the yoga shala, everything was perfect for our clients.” What she picks out afterwards is small: the statues, the daily offerings, the detail of the place rather than its scale.

SARAH - RETREAT LEADER

“There’s like a bubble around here’’

Jeanne found us through social media and got in touch to see whether it was a fit. “It was really fluid. The conversation was good, fast. So immediately I knew that it was going to be a good experience.” Her group stayed two weeks, which she says made sleeping well the thing that mattered most. She is also the one organiser who asked us for something: more meat and fish for an active group, which we have recorded rather than smoothed over.

JEANNE - RETREAT LEADER

Ready to host your retreat? Let the excitement begin!

Basundari is the perfect setting to host your retreat. Whether you specialize in yoga, meditation, mindfulness, breathwork, wellness, dance, arts, leadership, massage, fitness, pilates, inspiration, healing, or personal development, Basundari is designed to support all types of retreats. Reach out to us, and we'll ensure your needs are met.

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