Luxury escapes in Bali: from flashy villas to hilltop hideaways

Only a five-minute drive from the bustling heart of downtown Ubud, Uma By Como Ubud is set amid coconut palms, banyan trees and fragrant frangipanis. Resembling a traditional Indonesian village, the 46 rooms, suites and villas offer views across the lush valley and Oos river. Take a snooze on the daybed in your private conservatory, or book into a Pool Suite to admire the tropical gardens from your own sundeck and plunge pool.

Follow the winding wooden walkways past Koi-filled ponds to the spa for an exfoliating scrub, massage or nourishing bath. Guided treks maze through rice paddies, or you can sign up for morning yoga, white-water rafting or a village biking tour. You’ll tuck into creamy chicken satay beneath a dining pavilion when you get back.

Hotel W Bali – Seminyak is an adult’s playground filled with sleek rooms and vibrant social hangouts. Boasting four terraced swimming pools inspired by Bali’s rice paddies, you can spend your days soaking up the sunshine as you gaze over the crystal-clear ocean. Stretch out on a double day bed and order refreshing drinks or a foot massage.

The star treatment continues in your room, with 350-thread-count cotton sheets and deluxe toiletries for your sun-kissed skin. Accents of green and gold spice up the rooms, complementing the natural landscape. The aptly-named Marvelous Suite comes with ocean views and a private balcony, while the Marvelous Pool Villa has its own sundeck and plunge pool.

Created by celeb architect Soo K. Chan, Hotel Soori is between the Indian Ocean and Mount Batukaru. With a focus on environmental and cultural sustainability, the resort was built using local materials and sources its food from nearby farms.

Each of the hotel’s 48 villas has its own pool and views over the mountains, green rice paddies or the volcanic black sand beach. You can choose from one-bedroom villas with outdoor pavilions to savour that sea breeze, or book a residence or estate for room to sprawl out. Whatever your pick, you’ll want to leave time for a four-hand massage at the spa, or visit the Soori Vitality treatment suite for a herbal steam bath and Vichy shower.

Hotel Padma Resort Legian is set within nearly seven hectares of tropical gardens containing water features and art installations. Combining Balinese culture with modern comforts, you’ll find rooms and suites decorated with teak furniture and outdoor living spaces that highlight the natural surrounds. Choose a Lagoon Access Room and you’ll be able to step straight into the shimmering pool.

Wolly Kids Club has an outdoor adventure playground for little ones and a Games Centre with PlayStation and air hockey for children over the age of six. While the kids are busy, parents can grab a coffee and cake at The Deli, or save up room for dinner at DONBIU, where the whole family can watch nightly cultural and music performances

Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan overlooks a river and rice terraces from its hilltop home. After a 10-minute drive from Ubud, your entrance will be via a suspension sky-bridge above the lush jungle before arriving at the rooftop pond.

By day, lounge beside the two-level pool under the shade of coconut trees, or book a plant-based feast at Sokasi Cooking School in the resort’s own veg and herb garden. Have a go at anti-gravity or laughing yoga, or you can drop by the spa for a ylang-ylang water mask before being cocooned in a banana leaf wrap. To get the heart rate up, you can go rafting on Class III rapids through jungle and gorges.

Hotel Tugu is the brainchild of collector Anhar Setjadibrata, who decided to sprinkle his collection of Indonesian art and cultural antiquities throughout his hotels. Find rooms filled with so many sculptures, antiques and artefacts, the place almost feels like a museum. Thatched teak suites are dotted around the grounds, along with lush tropical gardens and lily ponds.

At the spa, block off an afternoon for a five-hour Royal Javanese Palatial Pampering session. You’ll experience Javanese massage and a spice rub on antique massage beds – and if you visit during the full moon, you can add a purification ceremony to the experience.

Set within nearly 11 hectares of tropical gardens, Meliá Bali is an oasis of calm in the centre of Nusa Dua. Just a five-minute walk from the area’s main attractions – like the Bali Collection open-air shopping mall – you’ll be close to all the action but still able to retreat to your private haven.

The Kids Club has outdoor areas where little holidaymakers can bounce on a trampoline, play in a sandpit or get stuck into activities like kite-making and crab-catching. Parents, meanwhile, can lounge by the lagoon-shaped pool or treat themselves to a Balinese massage in a gazebo by the beach.

Komune Hotel is on the absolute shorefront on Bali’s wild east coast. Once a spot for surfers, the resort now offers an escape for all travellers seeking the chance to rejuvenate and get back to nature. Stay in a beachfront pool suite by the Lombok Strait, and you can check the surf breaks directly from your private pool or daybed. Bring a group of friends to a beachside villa and you can spread out around your own pavilion and pool.

Drop the kids at the outdoor beachfront cinema while you steal away for dinner. You can feast on traditional favourites like Nasi Goreng under the stars, or grab a quick cheese jaffle at Surfers Warung. There’s a first-class gym for when you need to work off the indulgence, or you can stretch out sore muscles at a daily yoga class – or just get a massage.