Indonesia
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Days 1–4 · 4 nights
Jungle, rice terraces, and the Ayung River. Bali's bamboo and teak projects sit around Ubud, from the Hardys' gladaks to Bensley's tented camp.
Photo: Courtesy of Capella Ubud
Architect: Bill Bensley · 2018
Bill Bensley designed the camp of 22 tents on about 9 acres of rainforest and rice fields. It opened in 2018. Following a minimal-intervention approach, no trees were cut, and the tent positions were set on site with bamboo mock-ups.
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Photo: Expedia
2022
Pool villas and suites with open indoor-outdoor layouts and built-in four-poster beds made from local wood. Carved Balinese villa doors and sculptures draw on the story of Rama and Shinta.
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Photo: Courtesy of Bambu Indah
Founders: John & Cynthia Hardy; IBUKU (Nests) · since 2005
From 2005, John and Cynthia Hardy set antique Javanese teak bridal houses (gladaks) on a jungle ridge above the Ayung. Bamboo houses by the river followed from 2016, and in 2024 the bamboo Nests by Elora Hardy's studio IBUKU.
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Days 5–6 · 2 nights
North of Ubud it gets quieter: jungle along the Ayung and balés without walls.
Architect: Gede Kresna; Dharmali Kusumadi (Banyan Tree) · 2022
Sixteen balés built on a "no walls, no doors" idea, opened in 2022. Local architect Gede Kresna researched the building traditions of the area, and Banyan Tree's head of architecture Dharmali Kusumadi designed the balés. Reclaimed ulin ironwood is among the materials.
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Days 7–8 · 2 nights
Beach, beach clubs, and OMA's first hotel in Bali.
Photo: Courtesy of Desa Potato Head
Architect: OMA (David Gianotten) · 2020
OMA's first hotel in Bali: a raised square volume above a public plaza that leads to the beach, with a public roof garden on top. Local craftspeople textured the concrete walls by hand and wove ceiling panels from recycled plastic bottles.
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Seminyak → Uluwatu / Bukit · about 55 min · Car · Normal daytime traffic via the Bali Mandara toll road; up to 1.5 h at rush hour or sunset.
Days 9–12 · 3 nights
Dry savanna and limestone cliffs above the Indian Ocean. It feels nothing like the rest of the island.
Photo: Expedia
Architect: WOHA · 2009
WOHA did the master plan, architecture, interiors, and furniture, completed in 2009. Instead of steep pavilion roofs, WOHA took its cue from the farmers' limestone terraces. The flat roofs of volcanic pumice insulate and carry ferns and succulents.
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Photo: Mahi-Mahi Bingin Villas
Four villas and suites in Bingin village, designed by a Swiss architect. Two suites sit inside a traditional Indonesian joglo, converted into a honeymoon suite. There is also a villa with arched doors and the Beach Shack right on the Bingin cliff.
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