Amandari Hotel

Ubud, Bali

The 'Island of the Gods' is evocative at the best of times, but a visit to Ubud’s Amandari – one of the first luxury hotels to perch itself over the now-saturated stretch of Ayung River – is to journey to an atmospheric haven of Elysian proportions. It’s utterly tranquil, beautiful and, at times, genuinely moving.

The peaceful resort, said to sit on sacred ground, replicates a traditional Balinese village and cascades through frangipani trees, rice paddies and rainforest down to the valley below. Local artisans handcrafted the large stone walls of its entrance pavilion as well as the 7th-century shrines and labyrinthine walkways. Tennis courts, an open-air bar and spa complete the look.

Alang-alang (thatched-roof) villas and suites are styled as a Balinese compound with private walled tropical gardens and open sides; many have their own pools. Luxurious interiors feature coconut and teak wood and day beds, and printed silks characterise the lofty bamboo rooms. Sunken baths allow you to salute the morning sun to the sound of cockerels, which, while seemingly incongruous, will become synonymous with your stay. During the day you’ll see smartly turned-out staff toting towering basketfuls of bunga sedap malam – a night-blooming tuberose – to guestrooms and the heady scent fills the air of an evening.

Lounge poolside come afternoon to a soundtrack of the hypnotic hollow ting of gamelan as children from nearby village Kedewatan arrive in colourful sarongs for their daily dance class, which takes place in a shaded open-fronted pavilion surrounded by lily ponds. If you have kids, they’re welcome to join in, which makes for an incredibly memorable daily activity. Later, their mothers arrive with afternoon tea – sweet coconut cakes and thicker-than-mud coffee made from local beans – which is served from a bale (drum tower) by the infinity pool. The superb on-site restaurant’s paddock-to-plate ethos uses local, organic ingredients harvested by villagers or purchased at the morning market in Ubud. The crisp baba guling (slow-roasted suckling pig) is hard to beat.

Suites from £500.