Of course, there are fantastic high-end beach resorts with swimming pools and attached dive centers in Moalboal, Philippines. Sisters Inn doesn’t have any of that. What it does have is a very nice Dutch owner, lovely and very accommodating staff and good sized rooms with hot and cold shower at a very reasonable price. Check latest prices.

Prices at Hotel Sisters Inn Moalboal

The first night we spend in a fan room for 750 pesos, because a/c was not available. The fan room was good and cool enough at night, but because Jace still naps in the afternoon, we moved to an aircon room the next day. For the room with airconditioning and a nice balcony we paid 1000 pesos a night. Actually, we were out diving and the staff moved our stuff for us to our new room. Great service.

Location of Sisters Inn: close but not too close

The hotel isn’t on the sea-front, but only about 8-10 mins walk to the area where the restaurants are (Panagsama). You can also walk to the main road (about 3 minutes) and catch a tricycle to the other side of Panagsama from there for about 20 pesos. It’s not far away from the action, but just far enough to not be bothered by it at night. Moalboal city center is only a short tricycle ride away and will cost you about 50 pesos. You can rent a motorbike at the hotel for only 350 pesos a day. That’s one of the cheapest we’ve seen so far, and they are good and pretty new bikes.

Great flexibility and service

What we really liked about Sisters Inn was that they were very flexible. A mattress on the floor to put Jace’s travel bed on was no problem whatsoever. They didn’t charge us extra for it. Twice we wanted to stay another night, no problem. Leave our stuff in the fridge? No problem. Refill our water bottle from the big tank? No problem and we didn’t even have to pay for it.

Nice communal area to relax

We did feel that at 195 pesos the breakfast was a little bit overpriced, but it was a nice breakfast and we didn’t pay for our drinking water, so that kinda evened it out. A cup of tea was only 20 pesos, so we often went out for dinner and then had a tea back at the hotel. There’s a nice communal area where you can sit and relax and talk to the other guests if you feel like it. The staff loved to play with Jace and usually kept him entertained the whole time we were downstairs with him.

Pretty good wifi for the Philippines

If you’re in the aircon room with the balcony upstairs, like we were, you sometimes have a really weak wifi signal in the room (only on our laptop, not on our phones). More often you don’t have a connection at all. But in the communal area it’s usually pretty good, except when someone is watching an online movie or downloading a big file. Don’t expect high speed internet, but for the area it really isn’t bad.

Booking a room at Sisters Inn Moalboal

We tried to book a room through the Sisters Inn website, but although we received an automated email confirmation that they had received our request and would respond to it, somehow our request never made it through and we ended up having to call them. If you want to be sure of a room, give them a call or book a room at Sisters Inn through Booking.com.

All in all we would definitely recommend Sisters Inn if you’re planning a trip to Moalboal!

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They were also looking for a way too to get from Ella to the Southern coast and we ended up sharing a meal and then sharing a private car to Unawatuna the next day. Sometimes when you meet someone there’s an instant click. We had this with Basti and Jenny. So we decided to not only share a car, but also share a house with them. We initially booked for only 2 nights, but then extended that with another 4. It was nice having a home base for a few days and having someone around to talk to instead of just the two of us (well.. three, since Jace recently started talking quite a bit). It was both inspiring and frustrating to see how much time they spend on their blog. I really wished I had more time for ours. They did give us a few good tips. Thanks guys!

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We’re loving Indonesia, but Makassar was a huge disappointment, so we were ready for a good experience again. And Sendowan Baru and its Dutch owners Lut and Frank came through for us. From the first warm welcome to the moment they helped us carry our luggage to the street to find a taxi when we left, we felt really at home there.

Sendowan Baru, North-Sulawewesi, Indonesia

Sendowan Baru is a property near Amurang that was built in 1995 by a Dutch guy. He intended for two families to live there, which shows in the design. At some point, he sold the property and now Frank and his brother Paul from The Netherlands own the place, together with their wives Lut and Lisette. They started renting out rooms in 2012, at very reasonable prices. Overall we found it really good value for money and the included breakfast, while basic, was a big plus. It’s a great alternative for an impersonal hotel. Frank and Paul are both part Indonesian, with ancestors from this area of Sulawesi.

Check out the latest prices for Sendowan Baru >>

Luxury rooms at Sendowan Baru

At first we inquired about the cottage that is set apart from the main house, at the front of the garden. But since that was already booked for the dates we wanted, Lut suggested the luxury rooms to us. These consisted of a huge living room, private bathroom, and a bedroom. Perfect for us. The property is huge, with lots of space for Jace to run around, a nice garden and a big swimming pool. Coming from a nondescript hotel in busy Makassar, this lovely guesthouse in Amurang, North-Sulawesi was the perfect place for us to unwind after the hassles of the big city. We even celebrated Jace’s second birthday there.

Relaxed time at Sendowan Baru

We actually didn’t leave the property very often. The property is huge and you can easily fill your days swimming, sun bathing, reading a book, playing football, feeding the fish or just relaxing. There’s a beach right outside the gate and with the swimming pool, two hammocks and an open air living room with three comfortable rocking chairs there is more than enough space to chill. The pool has a shallow kiddie area, so our little one could play in the water by himself.

Excursions

Amurang is the closest city to this lovely pension. We went there two times, once for dinner on the second night and once during the day. To get to Amurang you take one of the little blue buses, called mikrolets. There’s no official bus stop, they just stop to pick you up when you wait at the side of the road. Very convenient. A one way trip to Amurang is IDR 4.000. At night the village is pretty much deserted and it wasn’t easy to find a place to eat. On our visit during the day we stopped at a local market but left when people started touching Jace again, so it was a very brief visit. The owners of Sendowan Baru provide a great selection of guide books and information about excursions in the area. We just found the place to relaxing, we didn’t go out much.

You don’t have to go out for food

The Indonesian couple Lydia and Alfrett take care of the property. They are incredibly nice people and very competent. Lydia even speaks Dutch, so that was easy for Jace too. It took him a day or so to warm up to her (I think it was weird for him to have someone so obviously Indonesian speak Dutch to him instead of English), but after a while he constantly looked for her in the kitchen. Haha, food really was the way to his little heart Lydia is a great cook and lunch and dinner are offered for 35k and 50k respectively. Since we didn’t have to pay for Jace, it was a pretty good deal for us. We also got take away lunch a few times from the warung next door for 45k for two people, which was both cheap and tasty.

We even stayed longer…

We booked for three nights, but ended up adding another three. All three of us had a cold from the aircon in Makassar and we needed to be fit before going to Bunaken for diving, but also because we felt at home and liked the peace and quiet at Sendowan Baru so much. After a suggestion from Lut and some online research we decided that before going to Bunaken we would make a trip to Tangkoko National Park to stay there for a few days. So that was our next destination after Sendowan Baru.

How to get to Amurang

Sendowan Baru is located in North Sulawesi, about 2 hours from Sam Ratulangi Manado International Airport. Since it was the day before Jace’s birthday and we just wanted some peace and quiet, we chose to take a private car to get from the airport to the guesthouse. The owners arranged the car for us. At 500k it was quite expensive, but also the easiest way to get there. There is also a bus from Manado to Amurang. At 35k per person, it’s a much cheaper option. Then from Amurang you take one of the blue mikrolets to get to Sendowan Baru. The downside is that the bus on the route Manado Airport – Amurang only goes 2 times a day, so the timing has to be right. According to this bus schedule (in Indonesian) the bus from Manado Airport to Amurang leaves at 07:00 and 15:00.

Sendowan Baru: our verdict

I don’t think I need to repeat that we had a really good time at Sendowan Baru. The owners are lovely, and so are the caretakers. The Indonesian couple Lydia and Alfrett take very good care of the guests. Sendowan Baru is a great place to relax and recharge. You can visit places in the area, but you don’t have to. You can easily spend your days relaxing at the pool. We would go to Sendowan Baru again in a heart beat. If you’re going to North-Sulawesi, we can definitely recommend a stay at Sendowan Baru. You won’t regret it!

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We started off on the wrong foot with Nusa Lembongan. As you can read in our review of Shipwrecks Beach Resort (spoiler: don’t stay there!) we didn’t have such a great first night. So right away we looked for a new place to stay. We looked up Taos House and since we were in a bit of a hurry to find a new accommodation we called them. They actually picked up the phone (big improvement!). After telling us they only had a room for two nights instead of the four we wanted, they apparently made some arrangements because a few minutes later they texted us we could stay the 4 nights we needed. Great service!

Getting to Taos House Nusa Lembongan

If you’re thinking of going to Nusa Lembongan, read our post about the cheapest way to get there from Bali. Since we were on Nusa Lembongan already, the owner of Taos House agreed to pick us up free of charge. Free harbor pick up is included if you stay at Taos House. So when you arrive by ferry, the Taos House staff can pick you up, or, depending on your ticket, you get dropped off by the boat crew. After our pick up in the morning, we arrived at their lovely hotel in the Mushroom Bay area. The owners (the father, his son and his daughter) were very nice and we were welcomed with fresh orange juice while we waited for our room to be cleaned. Taos House was a bit more expensive than the place we’d previously selected, but a hundred times better.

The amenities at Taos House

Taos House has a really nice garden in front of the rooms and a lovely swimming pool to cool down on the hot days. Jace really loved the place too. Partly because of the pool, but also because there were two little kids and a four-week-old puppy for him to play with. The staff gave us great information about what to do and where to go. The rooms were comfy and clean, and we appreciated the mosquito nets over the bed. The rooms are located in bungalow type buildings, each with their own terrace.

Location of Taos House

Taos House is located in the Mushroom Bay area. It’s not on the beach, which we initially wanted. But you can easily walk to Mushroom beach. We rented a motorbike, which is a great option to get around the island.

Food at Taos House

Breakfast at Taos House was included, which for us as budget travelers is always a good thing. It wasn’t a huge breakfast, but well made and enough for us to start the day. The restaurant also serves lunch and dinner. Taos House is a lovely family owned accommodation, it’s not a large hotel, so food options are limited.

Conclusion

Pros:
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• friendly staff
• owned and operated by a local family
• big swimming pool
• nice garden with good atmosphere
• decent breakfast
• clean and good sized room

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Cons:
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• the hot shower didn’t work very well (the staff did their best to fix it and finally managed to on day 3)
• not on the beach
• a bit above our budget

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Check the price and availability of Taos House on Booking.com >>

Check out more places to stay on Nusa Lembongan

Booking.com

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Somehow the owner of the accommodation we booked thought that Shipwrecks Beach Resort sounded more fancy then the original name of Shipwrecks Surf Retreat (which was already quite pretentious) so this is what he called the place on booking.com. Obviously he forgot to update everyone that he changed the name though, so no one knew of a place called Shipwrecks Beach Resort. The guy who arranged the drop offs from the boat didn’t know, no one in the streets in the Shipwreck Beach area knew… On top of that they didn’t pick up the phone at the number that booking.com send us. All in all it took us a good 1,5 hours to find the place from Tropica Shipwreck where we were mistakenly dropped off. Even though it was only about 5 minutes away.

So already in a pretty foul mood and with a little one who was seriously tired, we were shown our room. Since Jace really needed to sleep we didn’t want to argue, but what a dump. The only good thing about it was that it was quite spacious, but the paint came of the bedroom wall which looked extremely dirty, the bathroom didn’t look too clean either, there was no mosquito net, the shower had no water pressure, everything felt damp…

We later found out that there were actually rooms that were a bit nicer, but sometimes you just don’t feel the love for a place. Especially since it wasn’t a cheap room either, it was advertised on booking.com for €32,- per night. We actually felt a bit uncomfortable and started our search for a new place to stay as soon as we got there. And we weren’t the only ones. A German couple that we met there also decided to leave much earlier than the two weeks they’d originally booked to stay.

The one thing this accommodation did have was a great location, it was right on a nice sandy beach. And in the end we ended up paying only IDR400.000 (about €27,-) for the one night we stayed there. The owner was very flexible when we told him we only wanted to stay the one night.

Weirdly enough this place got a pretty good score on booking.com. If you do end up going there, don’t stay in the first room on the right when you enter the premises, take one that’s more in the back.

So, to sum it up:

Pros:

• great location on a sandy beach
• good size room
• small but very nice banana pancake for breakfast

Cons:

• room felt damp
• no water pressure
• no mosquito net
• paint comes of the walls
• personnel hardly speaks any English
• not a great atmosphere

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