BALI REFRESHER

Bali Refresher - Luxury Travel Magazine

Bali Refresher

By: Ron McFarland, Issue 39 – Winter 2009

(St Regis Bali Resort, Karma Kandara, Alila Villas, Anantara, Ayana Resort & Spa, Club Med Bali and Conrad Bali - Bali)

BALI IS AWASH WITH NEW LUXURY PROPERTIES AND ITS NOW LESS EXPENSIVE THAN EVER TO VISIT.

Beautiful beaches, a balmy climate and hospitable locals – it’s not hard to see why Bali has always been such a popular holiday destination for Australians and New Zealanders. After the turmoil and uncertainty of the last few years, holidaymakers are returning to the island in droves, and recent investment means there’s even more accommodation to choose from. Here are five of the best.

The St Regis Bali Resort

There are very few things that can lure me out of bed at 6am while I’m on holiday but swimming in the warm waters of a deserted lagoon while the sun rises is one of them. I start each day at the new St Regis Bali Resort in Nusa Dua by getting up at dawn and taking a dip in the property’s huge freshwater lagoon before retiring to a lounger on the beach to watch locals handfish in the ocean shallows. Everything is still and fresh and the only sound is the muted roar of the surf breaking on the reef at sea. It’d be difficult to imagine a more perfect start to a day.

The folks behind the St Regis appear to have patented perfection. Days drift by in an idyllic haze of gourmet meals, pool-side cocktails and soothing spa treatments. Accommodation in both the property’s 41 one- and twobedroom standalone villas and 79 suites is effortlessly stylish with plantation-style, dark wood furniture offset by ornate chandeliers and gilt-edged mirrors. Your butler is only a phone call away to take care of trivialities such as packing and unpacking and should you need more dedicated assistance you can pay extra to have him on call 24 hours a day.

Villas have their own plunge pool and thatched pavilion and many back onto a second enormous palm-fringed lagoon. The food in both the property’s fine-dining restaurant, Kayuputi, and its more relaxed bistro-style dining room, Boneka, is fresh, imaginative and delicious. Breakfast is particularly indulgent with staff supplying a steady stream of tempting treats such as a tempura oysters and espresso smoothies.

Given it’s only been open a few months, the St Regis Bali was refreshingly free of the teething problems that often plague properties when they first throw open their doors. Staff were attentive and enthusiastic, even at 6am.

Karma Kandara

First impressions can be deceiving. Unlike the grand sweeping driveways and glitzy receptions of many high-end resorts, Karma Kandara reveals its charms slowly. After turning off the main road and bumping our way along four kilometres of dusty dirt track, we arrive at a small, underwhelming reception area with a single desk and a handful of chairs.

Smiling staff relieve us of our luggage and we follow themthrough a network of meandering Mediterranean-style limestone alleyways. Now this is more like it. Bougainvilleas and frangipani spill over the walls in a colourful riot of purples, reds and whites, and doors are painted in bright yellows and blues.

We round one last corner and suddenly it’s clear what all the fuss is about. Clinging to the edge of a cliff is a stunning, white-walled, open-air restaurant and a tear-shaped infinity pool with panoramic views over the Indian Ocean. Far below is one of the best beaches in Bali and a cable car system for ferrying guests up and down. You’d be hard pressed to picture a more stunning setting for a resort.

Karma Kandara’s range of 46 spacious one- to fourbedroom villas all have their own private deck and plunge pool and many enjoy ocean views. It’s easy to see why the resort has proved so popular wit families and groups of friends – the villas provide a self-contained sanctuary and a fully-equipped kitchen for self-catering.

Staying here involves stumbling from one superlative-sapping moment to the next: a heavenly Balinese massage in the spa with the shutters thrown wide open to let in the sound of the sea; watching the sunset with a daiquiri from the beachside bar; feasting on Italian-influenced cuisine among warm breezes in the onsite restaurant, di Mare. Getting here might not be easy but leaving is even harder.

Alila Villas Uluwatu

From Karma Kandara it’s only a short drive along the coast to Alila Villas Uluwatu – another new property with a similarly stunning cliff-top locale. At the time of writing the finishing touches were being put to this prestigious development of 84 one-, two- and three-bedroom villas with private pools and pavilions which has just opened in June. It’s an ambitious project given the high-end competition already here. Right next door is the uber-swish Bulgari resort, which also offers villa accommodation and breathtaking views.

So how is Alila different? Well, for a start it’s hoping to be the first hotel in Bali to get the highest level of certification for environmentally sustainable design. The property has been built using locally sourced materials and includes a raft of environmentally friendly measures such as water recycling, salt-water pools and volcanic rock roofs for improved insulation.

Not that any of this will detract from the luxury experience. If you arrive by plane, you’ll be personally escorted through immigration and arrive to find your favourite delicacy waiting in your villa. During your stay you can choose between three levels of butler service, ranging from private to indulgent, and a bewildering six different types of pillow to sleep on.

In addition to the usual high-end resort facilities, the property will also offer a range of local cultural experiences known as Alila Journeys. Whether it’s a jewellery-making class with a renowned local artist or a session on stone sculpture, the idea is to allow guests to immerse themselves in the local culture and leave with more than just pictures by the pool.

With its impressive design ethos and bespoke cultural offerings, Alila should be a worthy addition to this spectacular stretch of coastline.

Anantara Seminyak Resort & Spa

If being stranded on a cliff top miles away from the nearest shop is your idea of holiday hell, then Anantara in Seminyak is an infinitely more tempting option.

The newest member of a hotel group that has luxury resorts in Thailand and the Maldives, Anantara occupies an enviable beachfront position and is walking distance from the chic boutiques and high-class restaurants of Seminyak.

Accommodation comprises 59 stylishly decorated suites with free-flowing living spaces, floor-to-ceiling windows and large balconies with terrazzo tubs and ocean views.

Like Alila, Anantara has gone the extra mile with its activity options to provide guests with a wide range of memorable Balinese experiences. Surfers, hikers and thrill-seekers are all catered for with a plethora of activities that include white-water rafting, elephant rides, kite flying and guided walks.

Irrespective of whether you’ve had a punishing day with the surf board or the credit card, the property’s spa has an impressive array of tension-relieving treatments. It’s also one of the few spas I’ve come across that has iPod docks so you can choose the music you’d like to listen to.

Rapidly gaining a reputation as a destination in its own right is Anantara’s rooftop bar, Sunset on Seminyak, or SOS. Divided into four zones, SOS morphs from an informal bar and dining area by day into a stylish nightspot once the sun goes down. Particularly impressive is the Wine Room with its resident wine guru and the Dining Bar’s delicious selection of Indonesian and Japanese-inspired cuisine.

Of course, this is all assuming you actually make it out of your suite. Once you’re ensconced in your silk-lined daybed and presented with a picture-postcard view of a Seminyak sunset, there’s a good chance you won’t want to go anywhere.

Ayana Resort and Spa

Rebranding an award-winning hotel is a risky business. In its previous incarnation as a Ritz-Carlton, this impressive cliff-top property in Jimbaran Bay won more than 60 awards including Best Hotel in Bali four years in a row. As of 1 April this year, it was reborn as Ayana, and its new management team are aiming the bar even higher.

Villa accommodation is the direction in which almost all of Bali’s high-end properties are now heading and Ayana is no exception. Complementing its standard and club rooms are 78 villas, each set in a traditional Balinese compound with a garden, pool and personalised butler service. For the ultimate indulgence, there is also the Ayana villa, a three-bedroom palatial residence set among 3000 square metres of landscaped tropical gardens. Not only does it have its own private driveway, gym, spa and 105 square metre infinity pool, but there’s even a wedding gazebo for the ultimate cliff-top nuptials.

Where Ayana differs from the other resorts described here is in scale. Capable of accommodating more than 700 guests, it has 5 swimming pools, 3 tennis courts and a staggering 12 bars and restaurants. Dining venues range from H20, a poolside cafe for light snacks, to Pesta Lobster on the Pier, where couples can enjoy a romantic butler-served dinner on the resort’s private pier.

Ayana also boasts the only Thermes Marins spa in south-east Asia, which in turn has the world’s largest seawater therapy pool. Of its 40 treatment rooms, the plum spot is Spa on the Rocks – a cabin on a rocky outcrop where guests can receive treatments overlooking the ocean.

For anyone looking for a high-end resort experience, Ayana is hard to fault, and a range of enhancements, including a spectacular new bar at the base of the cliff due to open later this year, should ensure it continues its award-winning legacy.

Club Med Bali

Set on the south east coast of Bali, Club Med Bali on Nusa Dua reopened in December last year after a 5 million Euro upgrade that also extended the resort’s facilities.

Designed by French designer, Mark Hertrich, the 393-room resort contains a blend of modern and traditional Balinese architecture.

Club Med Bali is child-friendly and offers an all-inclusive package that includes airfares and taxes, transfers, activities, childcare and food and drinks, in order to simplify the holiday planning process.

There is a range of cultural activities and excursions available at Club Med Bali, including Bahasa Indonesian lessons and traditional dance and cooking classes. Guests can also take one- or two-day tours to local villages, explore underwater life on cruises, or ride elephants through the tropical park.

Conrad Bali

The Conrad Bali has recently launched 55 palatial suites, each measuring at least 110 square metres, one of several changes to the resort. The resort now offers guests their own Personal Assistant to plan their activities.

Before arrival, guests can customise their holiday by pre-selecting any favourite music, aromas or drinks on the resort’s holiday planning website, as well as planning activities beforehand.

Accommodation is spread over three wings, with a majority of the 313 rooms and suites overlooking the Indian Ocean. Room design is contemporary with traditional Balinese elements.

The resort also has floodlit tennis courts, a kids club and a Jiwa Spa. When it comes to fine dining, there are now four restaurants serving either contemporary island cuisine with panoramic views of the Indian Ocean, a romantic meal, Japanese cuisine, or Asian specialties on the beach. There are also two bars.

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