On just the third day of our stay, my wife announced that she thought the staff at the The Sanchaya were the very best resort staff she had experienced *ever*, globally. Full stop.
Now, that’s seriously high praise, given she could easily make comparisons to the staff at resorts ranging from Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, Twin Farms in Vermont, the Hualalai Four Seasons in Hawaii, or even Il San Pietro in Positano.
While each of these other places has its advantages, for sure, I think she’s correct in her assessment, and I can specify why: to a person, literally from Nawa the front office manager, to Juan the Sommelier, Jesu the bartender, or Nara or Maria as waitstaff in the restaurant (many other names could go here), and extending to the staff that reset our room or the gardeners constantly preening the property, each individual combined an inviting and personal warmth with an admirable attention to service details. Super impressive.
Here are two examples. Wherever we go, my wife has the (somewhat annoying to me!) habit, as soon as she sits downs for a meal, of requesting some lemmon juice and ice cubes, so she can add them to her water in her own desired proportions. I’ve seen many and varied responses to this request, but The Senchaya nailed it. Not only did the first waitperson at lunch swiftly and happily bring the lemmon juice and an small ice bucket, and then ensured she had enough of each as we lingered after our meal, but when we arrived for dinner that night (and for each meal thereafter), the staff delightfully remembered her request and delivered it to our table unrequested and without mention.
On another day, she noticed that there was an empty, covered platform in the garden area outside the spa that would make a terrific, private, and serene place to sit during the day, and mentioned this suggestion to the general manager. Next day, they’ve moved two recliners to the platform and invited her to spend the day there herself, and even said “thank you” for the suggestion and hoped they could offer it to other guests over time. Maybe these two examples seem basic, but my point is they haven’t just nailed the basics, they provide detailed service with style and ease.
While I’m on the topic of the spa, a quick shout-out to and recommendation of Syali, one of their massage therapists. That was a truly top-notch deep tissue massage, I could have been back at the Esalen Institute.
To finish up, I understand the general manager, Greg Williams, has been there now for less than a year, but clearly is doing something right from a leadership perspective. One of the staff commented that there’s been an emphasis on treating each other like a family, and as they do that, it’s even easier for them to be happy and inviting for the guests. Whatever it is, it’s working.
