At Urban List, we think if there’s one place in the world that honestly does not come in at less than the hype, it’s Bali.
The island is straddled with innovative clifftop venues bearing glass pools and private cinemas and sustainably-focused creative villages you can actually stay in (privy to hosting Boiler Room).
Read on for the best hotels in Bali to book this year.
Villa Adi
Jl. Raya Amed, Bunutan, Kec. Abang, Kabupaten Karangasem
Image credit: Villa Adi | Website
Villa Adi is conveniently located in one of the main hubs of Bali’s north east fishing town of Amed. As you come through town look for Adi Shop on the street front (which sells a comprehensive number of gourmet produce and western food). Behind it is a lovely tropical garden wherein lies with an array of eleven villas, six of them with private pools. The villas are well-built and well-equipped with sturdy furniture, air-con, clean linen and a daily cleaning service. The garden villa, for example, has a big open-air kitchen with a fridge-freezer, cooking equipment including a smoothie mixer, and outdoor settees, hammocks and hanging seats perfect for chilling on. Adi restaurant, with its grass ceiling and wood columns is conveniently located here too and caters to both Indonesian and Western tastes. Don’t miss the fresh-caught mahi mahi fish grilled on open flame.
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Soori Bali
Banjar Dukuh Desa Kelating, Kerambitan, Kelating, Kec. Tabanan
Image credit: Soori Bali | Website
Majestic Batukaru volcano and Tabanan’s green rice fields feature on Soori Bali’s northern edge, and black-sandy Pantai Kelating beach and the Indian Ocean demark its southern border. This luxury resort is all the richer for its positioning in an almost perfect Balinese landscape. Designed by owner-architect Soo K. Chan, the property’s 48 villas all have private swimming pools that take advantage of either mountain or sea views. The rooms are spacious, and stylishly monochrome combining dark wood finishes and pristine white linens with Balinese artefacts.
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Soulshine
Jl. Ambarwati No.1, Ubud, Kecamatan Ubud
Image credit: Soulshine | Website
It helps that American hip hop musician Michael Franti (along with his wife and business partner Sara Agah Franti), owns Soulshine, an Ubud resort that somewhat magically combines wellness and healing with music and good times. Soulshine opened a decade ago but has recently been made over and extended. The original 16 suites, in typical Balinese styling, ensure the traditionalists keep coming back. The 17 contemporary suites invite a new era of musically inclined guests.
The new ‘panorama’ suites, for example, have a king bed, bathroom and balcony but they’re also equipped with Marley record players, Marshall speakers and a bespoke vinyl collection. John and Yoko, and Prince, peer down from wall frames, and there’s an acoustic guitar for guests to strum.
The resort also has two yoga shalas, Bali cultural experience itineraries, a wellness spa and three swimming pools featuring novelty waterslide, swings and diving platform.
The Stay Human restaurant serves Balinese and Western dishes, and the open-air Togetherness lounge and bar is often the place for an impromptu performance by Franti himself. Book a week-long retreat, check-in overnight, or come for the day.
Pura Djuma Beach Resort
Pekutatan Kec. Pekutatan, Kabupaten
Image credit: Pura Djuma Resort | Website
Bali expats wanting to escape the touristy southern coastline know to head further west where concrete is replaced by coconut palms and the real Bali emerges. In the midst of it is Pura Djuma Resort on a big plot of oceanfront with manicured lawn, tropical garden and quintessential island paradise villas. Kids will appreciate a pool with a slide and jumping platform, and parents a spa that offers heavenly outdoor massages. The resort overlooks a flat rock reef, which is fun to explore at low tide as the sun goes down. There’s also a small wave fit for bodyboarding and a shuttle to access Medewi surf hub, a 10-minute drive from the resort.
Munduk Cabins
Jalan Pura Puseh, 81152 Munduk
Image credit: Munduk Cabins | Instagram
Get ready to immerse in something different: a mountainous jungle landscape where the chilly air invites all kinds of cooler clime luxuries. Munduk Cabins is a boutique retreat in the eponymously named hilltop town of Munduk in North Bali. It has six well-built cabins, which are beautifully crafted and styled in the Indonesian architectural tradition, with teak wood walls and pitched rooflines. They overlook the leafy jungle surrounds and beyond to the west coast of Bali, where, on a clear blue day, the volcano tops of Java mingle with the clouds.
The swimming pool—small but sophisticated with recliners around its edge, is one of the best places to take in the views. After a cool-down, warm up in the hot tub or get wrapped in a blanket and sit around the fire pit where marshmallows are served.
COMO Uma Canggu
Echo Beach, Jl. Pantai Batu Mejan, Canggu
Image credit: COMO Uma Canggu | Website
For the ultimate laidback vibes, treat yourself to this mesmerising luxury hotel in Bali. Located on the south coast, this hotel’s jam is less about the beach club scene—though the drinks, pools and ocean views will not disappoint—and more about making little moments for yourself. Cue the onsite yoga rooms, pilates studios, dedicated Jungle Sports studio and let’s not forget the COMO Shambhala Retreat home to the best massage you’ll ever have.
In terms of the actual accommodation, brace yourself for 107 rooms and suites that ooze seclusion and 12 duplex COMO Penthouses, each with its own private pool. For views of the lagoon pool or Echo Beach, you’ll want to opt for a suite or penthouse and trust us when we say it’s worth the splurge.
The included breakfast is the perfect combination of buffet and a la carte with tropical fruit, pastries, fresh juices, cereals, yoghurt, chia pudding and more available to grab as you please, while hot breakfasts and barista coffee are available to order so everything is fresh as can be when you eat it.
Mulia
Kawasan Sawangan, Jl. Raya, Nusa Dua
Image credit: Mulia | Website
Situated along a secluded 1km stretch of serene beachfront, Mulia is a true jewel of Bali’s Nusa Dua region. Luxury is at the forefront of this serene property across its three accommodation options—first up are the Mulia villas, each with its own 40sqm hydrotherapy lap pool, day beds and private terrace. Meanwhile, Mulia Resort comprises of suites up to 140sqm, each with breezy balconies overlooking the white-sand beach; or opt for a room in The Mulia, the property’s opulent hotel that provides a lesson in luxury with a personalised butler service and jacuzzi.
Across Mulia’s stretching grounds are nine award-winning restaurants, bars and lounges, exploring local and intercontinental cuisines, pools which encapsulate the truest sense of breathtaking, and a focus on wellness and relaxation. Yoga, one of Bali’s largest gyms and a spa menu you could indulge in for as long as your annual leave allows for.
Potato Head Studios
Jl. Petitenget No.51B, Seminyak
Image credit: Potato Head Studios | Website
Potato Head Studios is basically the beating heart of Desa Potato Head’s creative and eco village, simultaneously made up of Potato Head Suites and the ever-iconic beach club on the immaculate shoreline of Petitenget Beach. As the latest installment at Desa Potato Head, the studios have been designed in partnership with David Gianotten at OMA—responsible for the Off-White flagship in Paris and The Reefline, an underwater public sculpture park, snorkel trail and artificial reef located just off Miami Beach. If that should tell you anything about the design-scape of Potato Head Studios, it should be that no detail has been left unturned. Of the 168 rooms, you’ll find a mix of oceanfront studios with expansive windows and courtyard rooms if you’re vibing for more privacy.
Each room has been fitted out with furnishings inspired by renowned designer Max Lamb, think recycled plastic desk accessories, volcanic glassware and bamboo chairs—and while you might be impressed with the focus on sustainability already, we’ve hardly scratched the surface. Guests also receive a zero-waste kit (filled with a reusable water bottle, RPET tote bag and bamboo cutlery), refillable essentials like sunscreen and sanitiser and fully biodegradable slippers and cotton robes to flaunt too. Around this the grounds are privy to not only Potato Head’s carbon-neutral mission (which we love) but a music studio, gallery, spa, sustainability workshops, library and co-working space and six different restaurants. Dare we mention the daily top-up of cookies and chocolates you get in your room too? Absolutely living.
Meliá
Jl. Kw. Nusa Dua Resort Itdc Lot 1, Jl. Nusa Dua
Image credit: Meliá | Website
Meliá in Nusa Dua truly sets a new standard for resort-style getaways. The five-star beachside locale ticks off all the boxes one could want, where you’ll find the essentials and plenty, plenty more: get started in one of the several pools dotted across the sprawling oasis before meandering into YHI Spa for the likes of a Balinese massage, reflexology treatments, or luxury pedicures and manicures. There are several restaurants on-site that you should explore to their fullest, though for a true Balinese dining experience you can’t go past Lotus, a heritage-style pavilion with a thatched alang-alang roof. Work your way through the Pan-Asian menu and if you’re there on the right evening, enjoy a traditional Balinese dance while you dine, too.
There’s plenty to see and do around the Nusa Dua area, but once you arrive at Meliá you won’t feel the need to leave. Those who really want to lean into the locale can tap into The Level, a premium service giving guests access to a private pool, exclusive dining areas, discounts on YHI spa treatments and a private beach—it’s a true VIP experience. There are plenty of room options, all stunning and fit out with the essential modern sensibilities in their own right, but the lagoon room which comes as part of The Level experience should be top priority. Direct access to Meiiá’s lagoon is a real drawcard, though the private terrace overlooking the calm and pristine pool says it all, really.
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W Bali
Jl. Petitenget, Kerobokan, Seminyak
Image credit: W Bali | Website
This five-star hotel is pretty much everything you could ask for and then some more. The hotel-equivalent of an adult theme park, W Bali throws a whole heap of everything your way and you basically get to choose what you’re keen to get around. There’s a 24-hour spa and gym, Woobar Bali is where you sling a few martinis to watch the sun go down, Starfish Bloo offers up a Sunday brunch with oysters, toasties, smoked pork ribs and even a sushi station and then W Lounge is your go-to for neon pink lights and chill post-dinner drinks.
The Edge Bali
Jalan Pura Goa Lempeh Banjar Dinas Kangin Pecatu, Uluwatu
Image credit: The Edge Bali | Website
We mean, if there’s a hotel in Bali you’ve seen on your Instagram feed, it’s been this one. The Edge Bali is a clifftop stay that will probably bring tears to your eyes, that’s how absolutely stunning it is. There’s only eight rooms so you can expect to be forking out a few payslips for this one but we mean, who can put a price on plunge pools, a 24-hour butler service, private gardens, endless views of the Indian Ocean, a bowling alley, karaoke room and rooftop tennis? It’s disgustingly perfect. On the food and beverage side of things, you’re also spoilt for choice too (how unfortunate)—One Eighty is a day club with a glass-bottom sky pool; The Cliff Bar is a cocktail haven with a equally frightening and fantastic glass floor; The Club Bar is a sophisticated nook to sip on fancy bottles of wine; and finally, The Cave is a 22-seat subterranean restaurant located in an ancient cave. Ridiculous.
Andaz Bali
Jl. Danau Tamblingan No.89A, Sanur
Image credit: Andaz Bali | Website
While ocean views are nice and all, sometimes the best stays feel a little more lush and hidden. Take Andaz Bali for example, quite literally modeled after a Balinese village to bring you all the wholesome and comforting vibes. The rooms here are spread around small clusters of courtyards and sprawl out onto private lagoons decorated with tropical vines. One of our favourite places to hit here has to be the dedicated deli and bakery which serves up cakes, homemade ice creams, freshly brewed coffees (with beans carefully sourced from local Indonesian producers) and Korean shaved ice Bingsu. The Fisherman’s Club is also a win for daily beachfront feasting with fresh seafood grilled on coconut husks.
Buahan: A Banyan Tree Escape
Jl, Buahan Kaja, Kec. Payangan
Image credit: Buahan: A Banyan Tree Escape | Website
We mean, it’s an adults-only hotel—what could be better than that? While Buahan: A Banyan Tree Escape might not be the kind of Bali hotel for any old getaway, it’s definitely a place worth shacking up at least once in your life. Tucked into glorious jungle next to the small Buahan village, this hotel boasts something called ‘the naked experience’ but before your mind heads straight into the gutter, it means something slightly different. Instead, the hotel sports a no-walls and no-doors design which makes it feel like you’re really staying in the treetops. As well as this, you’ll have a myriad of activities right at your fingertips which includes moon and aerial silk yoga, guided hikes, foraging sessions and heritage cooking classes.
Alila
Desa, Melinggih Kelod, Payangan
Image credit: Alila | Website
Find Alila about 15 minutes outside of Ubud and when you do, thank us for directing you to heaven on earth. This rainforest hotel in Bali is set high above the Ayung River and has been laid out as a Balinese hillside village complete with its very own community centre and pedestrian lanes. The rooms here are decked out with king beds and day beds, valley views and open air bathtubs and showers—the scenes are endless. You can also get around a VW retro safari which traverses the Ubud villages, soak up some reflexology at the Rainforest SPA and load up on crispy suckling pig and locally inspired cocktails a the weekly Spice Market which goes hard from 7pm every Wednesday.
InterContinental Bali
Uluwatu St No.45, Jimbaran
Image credit: InterContinental Bali | Website
Set along the picturesque Jimbaran Bay, just a 40-minute drive from vibrant Seminyak and 90 minutes from the cultural haven of Ubud, The InterContinental Bali stands as a sprawling haven for those seeking the epitome of resort-style indulgence. Boasting an array of six pools, extensive gardens, and a variety of dining options, this sanctuary promises an unforgettable escape.
However, for those who do wish to venture out and explore the local area, there’s plenty of dining options close by to enjoy. You can also take advantage of the hotel’s close location to Jimbaran Beach or visit the area’s famed fish markets.
Hotel Indigo
Jl. Camplung Tanduk No.10, Seminyak
Image credit: Hotel Indigo | Website
Situated right in the heart of Seminyak, Hotel Indigo Bali Seminyak Beach is the perfect haven for travellers craving a seamless blend of convenience and indulgence. Boasting a coveted location at the epicentre of bars, restaurants, shopping, and sightseeing, this beachside retreat ensures that every desire is within arm’s reach. However, the moment you step inside, a transformative experience awaits, courtesy of its expansive central gardens and pools.
The hotel’s oversized rooms are designed to cater to everyone, from couples seeking intimacy to families in pursuit of shared moments. Revel in spa-inspired bathrooms, luxuriate on day beds, and sink into plush bedding. Depending on your room choice, the private outdoor space of either a patio or balcony awaits, offering a sanctuary to unwind amidst the tropical ambiance.
Bulgari Resort
Banjar Dinas Kangin Jalan Goa Lempeh Jalan Raya, Uluwatu
Image credit: Bulgari Resort | Website
Perched on the secluded southern coast of Bali, this haven maximises its tropical setting, located atop a 160-metre cliff, offering sweeping vistas of the beach and ocean below. Indulgence takes various forms here, with a range of options from luxurious hotel-style rooms to private villas on offer.
Beyond the comfort of your room, the resort beckons with a tempting array of on-site offerings, including restaurants, pools, a rejuvenating spa, and state-of-the-art fitness facilities. The Bulgari experience extends beyond relaxation, offering a spectrum of activities and day excursions. From helicopter flights to holistic activities and curated personal shopping trips, every desire is effortlessly fulfilled by the hotel’s dedicated Leisure Concierge.
Capella Ubud
Jl. Raya Dalem, Banjar Triwangsa Desa Keliki, Kecamatan Tegallalang, Ubud
Image credit: Capella Ubud | Website
Hidden deep in the Balinese jungle, the Capella Ubud is the ultimate retreat for those looking to escape from it all. Offering an unparalleled experience, guests will find solace in 22 one-bedroom luxury tents, accessed via a suspension bridge that seamlessly connects to the hotel’s communal spaces. Far from ordinary, the “tents” are lavishly decorated, boasting an eclectic mix of furnishings, including grand four-poster beds.
The hotel also features a gym, tented spa and shared pool area, however guests can also take advantage of their own private deck and salt-water plunge pools located directly off their rooms.
Hoshinoya Bali
Br. Pengembungan, Desa Pejeng Kangin, Ubud
Image credit: Hoshinoya Bali | Website
Marking the debut of Hoshinoya beyond the borders of Japan, this hotel introduces its distinctive design ethos to the laidback landscapes of Bali. Tucked away from the well-trodden paths, the hotel exudes a tranquil and rejuvenating atmosphere—a welcome departure from the more bustling tourist hubs on the island. The hotel’s 30 villas are set alongside a meandering, canal-like pool, offering a sanctuary for private relaxation or leisurely exploration alongside fellow guests.
The hotel’s intimate scale ensures that the attentive staff are readily at your service, catering to every need, from indulgent in-room dining experiences to traditional tea services.
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Image credit: Potato Head
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