The Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay: Island of the Gods
On an island that is beautiful almost beyond belief, The Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay is a worthy nominee for a Luxist Readers' Choice Award for Best Beachside Hotel.
A tropical haven with a relaxed pace, The Four Seasons offers guests expansive and elegant private Balinese villas, featuring separate sleeping, bathing and living pavilions and beautiful views from private plunge pools.
The hotel offers an abundance of activities from which to choose. At its breathtaking beach, the hotel offers complimentary water-sports equipment including Hobie cats, windsurfers, ocean kayaks, boogie boards, snorkelling equipment and Aqua shoes. The infinity-edge main pool seems to blend with the beautiful bay beyond. Water from the pool cascades over a 7-metre (23-foot) waterfall into the free-form soaking pool below. Hot and cold whirlpools are located nearby. The Hotel offers four-wheel-drive tours that depart every morning. The eight-hour excursion takes guests to see spectacular scenaries at traditional villages.
The spa at the hotel is not to be missed, either. Treatments incorporate essences of plants, aromas of healing flowers, elements from the ocean and Balinese and Indonesian herbs and spices---all blended from traditional recipes into modern-day beauty rituals. Eight luxurious treatment rooms are part of the 10,760-square-foot (1,000-square-meter) facility. Three spa suites feature double massage beds, a Swiss shower and wet and dry body treatment areas; the suites open onto a garden courtyard with a large soaking tub and cascading rinse shower.
To introduce guests to Bali's fascinating culture, the Resort offers several educational activities for a fee. There's a Balinese cuisine cooking lesson where guests accompany Resort chefs to the market to select the freshest local seafoods, vegetables and fruits. Guests will then learn to prepare traditional island dishes at the Resort's cooking school. Another class is offered at the resort's beach-front gazebos, where resort massage therapists share the secrets of Balinese massage, which includes the age-old techniques of thumb rolling and kneading that locals have practiced for generations. Afterwards, guests learn to make local crafts and artifacts as reminders of their stay. Advance reservations are required.
Bali is a perfect place to explore. The Balinese people, most of them Hindu, are renowned for their spiritual approach to life. Bali is famous for its culture---there are no fewer than 583 languages and dialects spoken in the archipelagopa. It is also known for its artistic traditions, including dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking and music. There is an abundance of exotic Balinese culture near the hotel such as the cliff-top Uluwatu Temple, Bali Bird Park and Reptile Park, the stone-carving village of Batubulan, Celuk, known for its gold and silver jewellery, and Mas, home to Bali's most prominent woodcarvers.
For more information about reservations, visit the hotel's website, or contact the hotel at its toll-free number: (800) 819-5053.
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