Bali’s charms impinge in earnest the moment you leave the one-street towns, bar strips and plasticky souvenir joints, and turn either inwards towards the green-draped valleys and terraced rice fields, or head towards the coast.
The newly opened Alila Seminyak takes its cues from its perfect beachfront location a short walk from Seminyak town’s hippy slash hipster collection of smart restaurants, art galleries, itsy local spas, and surf-shops.
As a group, Alila flies its eco-friendly flag high, eschewing air-conditioning for sea-breezes and natural ventilation. Brief in hand, architect Gaurang Khemka and his team at Singapore firm URBNarc have created a secret garden amidst the hustle and bustle of Seminyak, laying out the resort’s 240 rooms around a sequence of naturally shaded public spaces that are dominated by four swimming pools, one of which literally sits atop the entire length of the restaurant. The low-slung green-roofed four-storey buildings are clad in vertical green walls, and landscaped terraces courtesy of Gaurang, alongwith Chang huai-yan and Lee Berlin of the deliciously named Singapore-based outfit, Salad Dressing.
For our money, the best rooms in the house front the ocean, the floor to ceiling glass doors sliding open to uninterrupted views of white-foamed surf. Less sedentary types may enjoy a spin around town in the resort’s vintage Volkswagon Kombi, but between a lomi-lomi treatment in the fragrant, mood-lit spa, beach yoga, and a chilled cocktail from the beach bar, why would you?
ADDRESS
Jalan Taman Ganesha No. 5
Petitenget
Kerobokan Kelod
Bali
-
Rétromobile revisits some of the icons of car design, along with their modern descendantsWe tour the halls of Rétromobile Paris 2025 and take in remastered automotive classics, futuristic record-breakers and mighty monographs
-
Designer Danny Kaplan’s Manhattan showroom is also his apartment: the live-work space reimaginedDanny Kaplan’s Manhattan apartment is an extension of his new showroom, itself laid out like a home; he invites us in, including a first look at his private quarters
-
Ulla Johnson’s collaboration with artist Julie Hamisky on the A/W 2025 runway is blooming lovelyUlla Johnson and French artist Julie Hamisky have created 12 new jewellery pieces for the designer's A/W 2025 runway
-
The new hotels you’ll want to stay at in 2025Where to stay in 2025? Let six of the most-read-about hotel openings of the past 12 months inspire your escape – from a tiny Tokyo bolthole to a Tanzanian safari retreat
-
Flit to the Indonesian island of Flores and its new luxury resortTa’aktana Labuan Bajo melds an eco-conscious philosophy with local cultural influences
-
Tour Cap Karoso’s timeless villas on a lesser-known Indonesian islandDescribed as a ‘modern traveller’s refuge’, Cap Karoso introduces a host of new villas on the idyllic island of Sumba
-
Tour Bambu Indah, a Balinese hideaway akin to the Garden of EdenBambu Indah resort offers undiscovered antique charm amongst an otherworldly jungle context
-
Surrender to these six swim-perfect outdoor hotel poolsDiscover the best outdoor hotel pools, from Amankila’s aquatic triptych by Ed Tuttle to Nicolas Party’s swimmable artwork at Le Sirenuse
-
Potato Head Bali sets the tone with a new immersive nightclub spacePotato Head Bali has collaborated with architecture studio OMA and DJ Harvey to open Klymax Discotheque
-
Villa One at the One & Only Palmilla — Los Cabos, Mexico -
Martim — Wroclaw, Poland
