The heritage brand has made its debut in Bali with an all-villa escape in the beachside village of Jimbaran. With just 32 private pool villas tiered among 23 hectares of hillside nature, it’s one of Raffles most intimate hotels. There a plenty of nods to the culture, including a giant batik print behind the bed, and a wellness program rooted in Balinese spirituality, with yoga, chakra healings, numerology readings and cave meditations led by local practitioners.

This design-wellness hybrid in Uluwatu has some of the most unique digs on the island and offers SOMA breathwork, Qi Gong classes, an infrared sauna, plus an ice bath and hot pool carved deep into the ground. Sleep in one of just 10 traditional gladaks (century-old traditional wooden Javanese homes transported here and reassembled), which have been hand-picked and refreshed with high-end copper or Belgian Blue Stone baths, luxe bed linen, Bose sound and Indonesian artifacts.

Given there are no walls or doors here, it’s little wonder that this new jungle resort in Ubud comprises just 16 private pool bales. Bali’s newest open-air hotel is ‘naked’ in the sense that sheer drapes and a roof are all that separates you from the mountains and rainforest beyond. Each pool bale is designed with reclaimed wood, features an oversized copper bathtub and is fitted with supplies to make your own negroni nightcap when a soak beckons.

Location, style and practicality come together in perfect hipster harmony at this boutique villa hotel off Canggu’s Jalan Nelayan. As the name might suggest, the vibe leans to Palm Springs, with pastel blue or candy pink striped outdoor poolside lounges, pool floaties on request and cactus gardens. The two-bedroom villas come with everything you might need for a self-contained stay, including matte gold cutlery, complimentary Bintangs, snacks and milk, and Samsung Frame TVs.

The iconic Indonesian brand recently opened its semi-psychedelic new wellness experience on the first floor of its Seminyak hotel. As well as a futuristic co-working space with padded ceilings that’s open to the public, they offer ice bath therapy and breath work. But the jewel is Sistrum, a state-of-the-art sound-healing and audio visual experience developed in collaboration with Ubud’s Pyramids of Chi that feels like a journey to another dimension.

The experimental team behind Ubud’s award-winning Locavore (and now closed The Night Rooster) are stirring things up in Canggu with this new Berawa craft cocktail bar. The concept includes an onsite distillery, where they team make their own concoctions, and is true to their sustainable-forward philosophy of using local Indonesian ingredients to make food the drinks. Expect an artsy setting, innovative creations, such as fermented cocktails with nutmeg, fruit banana and rice, natural wines and small plates of chicken katsu sandos.

A Seminyak institution for over 20 years, this revamped Moroccan-inspired spa has moved into a new location on Jalan Lebak Sari off Jalan Petitenget. With its riad-style tiled courtyard, central pool, pink arches and halls, and colourful treatment rooms, the oft-grammed spa retains all of its original character. The treatment menu has also been given a face lift with new ways to unwind, including a rose gua sha facial, magnesium massage and a deep-cleansing ‘back facial’.

There’s usually one place that everyone is talking about when you visit Bali. And right now, this is it. As fiery as the sunsets it presides over, this modern Canggu diner is as a collaboration between hospo heavyweights Tai Buddha (The Lawn, Single Fin, Times Beach Warung) and Adam McAsey (Sisterfield’s, Bossman, Bikini). Everything here is finished with fire, whether it’s the grilled oysters or ash-baked beetroot with stracciacella. Sit at the bar and watch as chefs work in an aromatic riot of smoke, fire and embers.

It’s no surprise that Indonesia’s first natural wine bar has popped up in the wellness mecca of Canggu. A partnership between the teams behind Motel Mexicola, Da Maria, Uni and Luigi’s, this Berawa concept champions organic winemakers from all over the world, with sommelier Nicolas Lento hand-picking a 70-strong list of natural drops that complement executive chef Lorenzo Depeteris’ bistro-inspired small plates and seasonal snacks, such as fresh tagliatelle tossed through sambal and coriander pangrattato.

Kuta hasn’t always been synonymous with style, but that was before the birth in 2020 of this beachfront beauty. Marking Ovolo’s arrival in Indonesia, the hotel is set in the heart of the action (of which, there is still very little while Bali’s main tourist throngs begin to revive), but it’s slick rooftop pool, the island’s highest, gives the impression you’re world’s away. Modern design, tech and colourful accents are offset with retro tunes and local touches, such as vintage photos of Bali and complimentary jamu.

Designed by Ibuku, the architecture studio behind Ubud’s sustainable all-bamboo Green Village, this new beach club on Jalan Batu Belig is a refreshing departure from the Med-inspired iterations that line the coastline here. More Bali than Ibiza, this newcomer on the border of Seminyak and Canggu features wave-like bamboo structures with traditional alang-alang roofs, central pools and Balinese parasols, creating an aesthetic that is truly local. The cuisine, however, will have your tastebuds travelling through the Mediterranean, Japan and Scandinavia.

There are few things that define Bali more than sitting at a locally owned warung on the beach and watching people surf all day. Sadly, this month those lining Berawa Beach were demolished to make way for modern developments. This one next to The Lawn on Batu Bolong is a slightly more polished concept, albeit with an ultra laidback atmosphere. Co-owned by the crew behind Single Fin, The Lawn and now Skool Kitchen, it’s all about surf, sunsets, bean bags, cocktails and café-style brekkies.

With its oversized windows, high ceilings and vintage-style fringed chandeliers, the dining room at this three-storey space in Canggu is as grand as the chefs’ combined talent. Colombian-born Andres Becerra and German Rincon have worked in some of the best restaurants in the world, including Melbourne’s Movida Aqui and Michelin-starred Els Casals. Here, they impart their finesse on diners with creations that span Latin America, Europe and the Middle East, such as mahi mahi tarama and pork tomahawk with tamarind glaze.

So popular is Puglia with travellers, it was only time before ‘cucina povera tradition’ made its way to Bali. Helmed by chef Maurizio Bombini, who learned his craft at his parent’s restaurant in southern Italy, this Petitenget fine-diner is all white and light timber and the dishes are like edible sunshine. Feast on Italian bites such as carbonara ravioli with jamon iberico, mascarpone, pecorino and egg espuma or Atlantic cod fish with artichoke, fava bean, kalamata olive and tomato.

A sexy open-air space that sits in that Canggu sweet spot between laidback and not, this new Japanese diner already has a cult following. The cocktails are not too sweet (think creations such Off To Tokyo featuring sesame oil washed gin with cucumber, celery, wasabi) and the sushi and yakitori is worthy of a return visit. Don’t stop at the tuna truffle maki rolls, the tsukune (pork meat ball) with soy and marinated egg yolk deserves to be devoured, too.