Amandari

Amandari is set on the edge of the Ayung River Gorge, on ground the Balinese consider sacred, above terraced rice paddies outside Ubud. Opened in 1989 as architect Peter Muller's answer to Bali's beach-bound tourism, it was built as a village: stone gateways, andesite walkways and high paras-stone walls, all raised by local carvers. Thirty-one suites and one three-bedroom villa sit among gardens linked by pebble paths that echo the curve of the paddies below. Pool Suites run to 263 square metres with a plunge pool of 30 to 40 square metres; Valley and Village Suites, each around 220 square metres, open onto private gardens. The freestanding Ayung and Asmara Suites add teak and marble accents and their own pools. It is a quiet, garden-set stay. The three-bedroom villa spans 1,500 square metres across five pavilions with a two-tier pool and two staff on call. The open-air restaurant looks over the pool to the valley, where gamelan players perform each evening as a dusk chorus of birds sets in. Guests can mark the full moon with a Balinese feast, or watch Amandari's own temple hold its three-day Odalan ceremony each year. A spa, gym, tennis court and steam room round out the grounds, all set into a fold of the valley rather than above it.