Bali
Indonesia


The Experience

Of the many upscale massive resorts located on Bali's touristy south side, this tasteful property, located along a seaside cliff, feels the most intimate and family-oriented. Thanks to its beautifully fragrant and blooming gardens, a convoy of golf carts at one's beck and call and about 900 employees, all of whom seem to know your name, the property manages to avoid an overwhelming effect despite its size. And the impressive Balinese-inspired design -- carved stone fountains, lily ponds and low, open-air public buildings -- gives the resort a healthy sense of place.

The Rooms

Although the standard rooms and suites are luxuriously outfitted with marble floors and Balinese-style furnishings and fabrics, they're fairly generic -- you could be in any Ritz-Carlton in the world. Upgrades get you an ocean view, which alone make them worth springing for. The new private villas, however, with their modern and theatrical take on Balinese design -- minimalist black and beige bedroom with an enormous platform bed surrounded by flowing white curtains -- are far more dramatic. Besides their own VIP lobby and concierge area, they also boast an enormous bathroom with rain shower and sunken marble tub and a private garden with plunge pool.

The Service

The staff is consistently polite but authentically curious and kind; it's impossible to leave without thinking you've made friends. Guests are never alone -- there's always someone on hand to show you where you need to go or bring you a drink or towel.

The Highlights

From the award-winning enormous spa complex and its underlit therapy pool maze lined with fountains to the 18-hole putting course, tennis courts and serene, usually uncrowded private beach, every guest can carve out a spot here. That's also true in the restaurants. The property is home to 13 different venues, from the Martini Club and its designer all-glass bar to the open-air Padi restaurant, which highlights signature Thai dishes such as Ped Pak Chi: confit of duck with coriander seeds, kaffir lime and chili. Or make dinner a private affair for two out on the jetty, as the sky performs its nightly ritual of morphing into a Balinese ocher.

-- Gisella Williams

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