As winter slowly emerges, we’re already planning our escape to warmer climes – think drawn-out sunsets over the ocean (an anomaly if you’re coming from Australia’s east coast), cocktail in hand as a tropical breeze gently rustles the palm leaves above. It’s lucky, then, that one of Bali’s most lauded (and expansive) luxury resorts has a new indoor-outdoor hotel that beckons with just the right pace of laidback luxury that’s needed for a short break to recharge the batteries.

AYANA Segara Bali opened at the end of 2022, offering a contemporary twist to AYANA’s classic brand of Balinese hospitality. The 205-room hotel is nestled in the sprawling 90-hectare AYANA estate overlooking Jimbaran Bay, where the Indian Ocean charges up against the black cliffs of Bali’s ‘sunset coast’. Surrounded by lush tropical gardens where monkeys swing between mango trees and sculptural red blooms of ginger plants bob in the warm air, AYANA Segara is the fourth addition to AYANA’s impressive quiver of luxe accommodation, joining AYANA Resort Bali, AYANA Villas Bali and RIMBA by AYANA Bali. 

While located on the same private property, Segara offers a looser kind of luxury to her older siblings, albeit with all the drawcards of Balinese hospitality the AYANA brand is known for. After a short six-hour flight from Sydney, followed by a comfy airport transfer in an air-conditioned van with scented towels and cool water proffered by our friendly driver, we’re immediately transported to another world. 

The indoor-outdoor lobby at Segara is distinctly Indonesian, with polished stone, intricate wood carvings, tropical plants and a traditional kamasan painting on the ceiling. A smiling host greets us with their hands held in prayer gesture at their heart, then places a perfumed frangipani wreath around our necks before we check into our spacious Ocean View room. We immediately kick off our shoes and change into the patterned robes hanging in the large walk-in wardrobe, eye off the oversized bath for later, then fling open the floor-to-ceiling glass doors to our balcony and bathe in the pink light of the setting sun over the Indian Ocean with a cold Bintang in hand. Holiday mode activated.

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AYANA’s philosophy is to connect guests to the Balinese culture and land, while offering a huge breadth of flavours and experiences with a luxury polish. That means we could be filling our plates with traditional Indonesian breakfast of nasi goreng (fried rice) and sambal at Segara’s Karang buffet overlooking the swimming pool in the morning, before a spa treatment followed by a casual lunch of woodfired pizza, doughy focaccia and an Italian Job cocktail on the clifftop gardens at Sami Sami Italian restaurant. Sunset is best caught at Rock Bar, sipping a perfectly made negroni as the sun drips into the glassy ocean and live DJ beats signal nightfall, before meandering along the rocks to Kisik seafood restaurant, where the catch of the day is cooked over coals. We kick off our shoes to feel the sand in our toes as we dine on chargrilled prawns, squid and local fish to the soundtrack of crashing waves.

Designed so you can do as much or as little as you like, AYANA feels like a village in its own right. Follow the curving road that snakes a path through the jungle gardens (you may spot the owner out on their morning walk) or take the resort tram to Kubu Beach for a salty dip and a fresh coconut water served straight from the young coconut shell, before a pampering session at Spa on the Rocks, where the order of the day is the Balinese massage with 360-degree views of the sparkling blue Indian Ocean. 

The resort has 15 swimming pools, two of them at Segara, so please don’t forget to pack your cossies. Head to the Segara rooftop pool, which has epic views across the property out to Jimbaran Bay and beyond, then towel off and enjoy a cocktail at Luna Rooftop Bar. All that relaxing is bound to make you peckish, so snack on contemporary dishes made using local ingredients from the AYANA Farm – think tapas bites of ceviche doused in sweet lime juice and the Indonesian favourite of jagung bakar chargrilled corn.

Yes, the resort even has its own organic farm to service its 26 dining venus. If you’re keen to learn the story of the food on your plate, the farm is open to guests, so you can explore the vegetable beds, greenhouse and fruit tree orchard to learn about sustainable organic farming and local produce. If you really want to roll up your sleeves, book in for the Farm to Kitchen Experience, where an AYANA chef takes you on a tour of the farm. You’ll harvest whatever is in season – from limes and beans to baby eggplant, mint and tomatoes – then enjoy a farm-to-table lunch based on the fresh produce you’ve picked. 

Of course, if holidays mean you don’t want to be in the kitchen, you can still feast on AYANA’s organic produce at any of the bars and restaurants on the property. Perhaps West Java-style lamb satay with pickled tomato sauce and fermented sambal oncom with rice cake at Karang; or rock lobster with gado gado (Indonesian salad of cabbage, steamed vegetables, potato and tofu with peanut sauce) at Kisik? The beauty of staying at AYANA is that whatever hotel you choose to check into in the property, you’ll have full access to the dining options and facilities across the lush jungle compound.

For more information or to book, visit ayana.com

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