bali

Bali Resort Offers $88,000 Buy Out Package

A Bali resort will return to its roots private retreat for the right customer. Bali Confidential is a buy-out package that caters to a single party of up to 50 for a three-night, four-day retreat at the Chedi Club Tanah Gajah. The package includes having the 20-villa estate to yourself with all meals, spa treatments, yoga classes and more. It's all the luxury of a resort but with perfect, unspoiled tranquility. A butler attends to all guest needs and can offer tours and arrange for special events. The estate was built in the early 1980s as a private retreat and the name Tanah Gajah (Elephant Realm) is a reference to a nearby Hindu temple. The property includes an amphitheater than hosts a private performance of the famed Kecak Dance.

The package costs $88,000 but Stefan Noll, General Manager of The Chedi Club Tanah Gajah, explains that when you break down the math, per person, per night you are looking at $587. This is as he puts it, "Not cheap, but compared to other resorts in our league on the island, we're all of a sudden quite affordable." The hotel expects Bali Confidential to attract travelers planning reunions, destination weddings or corporate retreats.

For more information on Bali Confidential, visit The Chedi Club Tanah Gajah's 'Promotions' page on www.GHMhotels.com or e-mail pr@ghmhotels.com.

Gallery: The Chedi Club Tanah Gajah

Tags: bali, chedi club tanah gajah, ghm hotels

Four New W Hotels Set to Open Starting in December

by Ann Brenoff (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

File this under: You can never have too much of a good thing.

Four new W Hotels are debuting beginning this December. The new W's are in Austin, Texas; Taipei; Koh Samui Thailand; and a W Retreat and Spa in Bali. All are built-from-the-ground new facilities and all feature high-end resort-style amenities including cutting-edge restaurants and bars. Room rates vary by location and season, but are approximately $300 a night. The rollout plan begins in December and ends in February.

The W Austin, acknowledging the city's unofficial slogan of "Keep Austin Weird," captures the city's local flavor -- although hardly in a weird way. The 251-room hotel, with a rooftop pool and bar is surrounded by the city's hippest night spots and restaurants just steps from Sixth Street and the Warehouse District.

Tags: austin, bali, hotel opening, koh samui, new hotels, starwood, starwood hotels, tapei, w hotels

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Ultra Modern Resort Captures the Soul of Old Bali

by Nikhil Hutheesing (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

As a winter chill hits much of the country, the Alila Villas Soori resort in Bali could be just what you need to extend summer a little. The resort, a newcomer to Bali, is located far from the crowded tourist zone of Kuta and Seminyak, where many franchise hotels are located.

Its designer and owner, Soo Chan, a renowned architect based in Singapore, opted to build this new, five star resort in the Tabanan Regency, one of Bali's most beautiful areas, on the remote southwest coast of the island.

Alila Villas Soori, located near the island's famous Tanah Lot Temple and the acclaimed Nirwana Golf Course, is stunning. The resort, which has a ten bedroom residence with its own spa, gym and helicopter landing pad, is ideal for intimate weddings. While Chan says his resort aims to capture the "soul of old Bali" it offers 46 ultra modern villas surrounded by volcanic mountains, rice fields and black sand beaches.

Gallery: Alila Villas Soori: Bali Luxury Villas

Tags: Alila Villas Soori, Awards-main, Bali, bali resorts, Indonesia, Luxist-Awards, Soo Chan

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Angela Lindvall's John Hardy Ad Campaign

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Charity, Green

Model Angela Lindvall appears in John Hardy's new Fall 2010 ads but it's more than just an ad placement. Lindvall is an eco-minded activist who worked with John Hardy creative director Guy Bedarida to create her own jewelry collection. The line, called Hijau ("green" in Indonesian), is a new interpretation of the bamboo theme with cuffs, earrings and bangles made from recycled and sustainable silver embellished with black sapphire and white topaz. Ten percent of the proceeds go to Forest Ethics, an organization that protects wildlife and forests in North America. There is also a charm bracelet made from a woven cotton organic cotton cord with a sterling silver bamboo charm accented with a small green tsavorite gem. All of the proceeds from this $95 bracelet go to Forest Ethics. The video above shows some behind the scenes details of Lindvall's Bali visit and her photoshoot for the new ad campaign.

Tags: angela lindvall, bali, forest ethics, indonesia, john hardy

The Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay: Island of the Gods

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

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.

Gallery: Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay

Tags: awards-main, Bali, Best Beach Hotel, Best Beachside Hotel, Four Seasons Resort, Four Seasons Resort Bali, Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay, luxist-awards

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Experience Eat, Pray, Love With The Real Balinese Medicine Man

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

"Eat, Pray, Love" is the new "Sex and the City" at least when it comes to hotel packages. But the Four Seasons has one advantage that others don't, contact with the actual medicine man who inspired Elizabeth Gilbert in the book and also appears in the movie. Available now through December 2011, the Bali, Pray, Love package features a consultation by the Balinese medicine man who inspired it all: Ketut Liyer. Guests will enjoy several days in Bali at both Four Seasons Resorts and receive an incentive to continue their travels: one-day of complimentary, personal concierge service in Florence, Milan, or Mumbai.

The package for two includes two nights by the ocean at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay and two nights in the green valley of Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan, a personal consultation with Ketut Liyer and a visit to his home, a private Balinese cooking class at the Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay Cooking School, a 90-minute couple's Balinese massage to relax and rejuvenate the body and a special welcome amenity featuring the Love Compendium, a guide to the top ten most romantic on-island experiences prepared by the resorts' dedicated "Love Concierge."

Should you be ready to continue on with your journey, Four Seasons will connect you with a "guru" in either Milan, Florence or Mumbai who will provide one day of personal concierge service with services that can include visiting some of Milan's famous churches, tasting Florence's gastronomic delights including a scoop of gelato in Piazzale Michelangelo or wandering through the Chor Bazaar (Mumbai's Thieves Market) with an in-the-know local. Rates start at $3,000 for the package for accommodations including a one-bedroom, ocean-view villa based on double occupancy. Package is available until December 20, 2011 subject to availability. To book, contact the Resorts directly at +62 (361) 701010 or visit: www.fourseasons.com.

Tags: bali, eat, elizabeth gilbert, julia roberts bio fuel, ketut liyer, love

TripAdvisor's Top Ten Hotel Pools

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

If your thoughts are already vacation-centered let me help you on your way. Travel site TripAdvisor has created a list of the top ten most amazing hotel pools from around the world as ranked by TripAdvisor editors and travelers. What makes a pool a top ranker? The view is a major factor, an infinity edge is a help, basically the pool has to transport the lucky swimmer into another world.

The top spot went to the Hotel Caruso Ravello in Ravello, Italy shown above. The hotel is situated on top of the mountains on the Amalfi coast. The 11th century palace has a heated infinity pool that offers timeless views.

Tags: atlantis, bahamas, bali, banyan tree, best hotel pools, Blue Lagoon, golden nugget, hotel pools, Iceland, las vegas, oman, santorini, seychelles, six senses, thailand, the library, turkey

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Famous Chef's Nephew Cooks Fine Food In Paradise

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

Often talent run in families. In French cuisine, Sebastien Robuchon, nephew of Joël Robuchon, continues the tradition of spreading fine French food to the world, he recently finished up his first year running the kitchens at Pantai Lima Estate, Bali. Sebastien Robuchon spent his apprenticeship working at his uncle's side. Robuchon specializes in French cooking and "cuisine actuelle", as well as contemporary Asian fusion. During his first year at Pantai Lima, Robuchon created, inter alia, "tarte au chocolat", the famous chocolate tart that is now his signature dish, mushroom cappuccino and also his own version of the Nasi Goreng, a famous Indonesian dish.

Pantai Lima is an estate of super luxury villas built right on the Bali beachfront at Pererenan, a small community a short drive north of Seminyak. There are five different luxury villas each with its own style and own gardens and pools. Rates start at $1,500 a night with a two-night minimum.

Tags: bali, fine dining, joel robuchon, pantai lima, pantai lima estate, sebastien robuchon

Eat, Pray, Love Tour in Bali

by Deb West (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Elizabeth Gilbert wrote a memoir in 2006 titled Eat, Pray Love: One Woman's Search for Everything across Italy, India and Indonesia which became a national bestseller. The book takes the reader along the author's personal quest for equilibrium after a messy divorce and other life snafus. Really it focuses on one woman's question "What am I doing with my life?" Her journey's final stop is in Bali where she starts to find her center and balance. Her search is partially about finding love with an appropriate man but really more significantly learning how to know, love and appreciate herself.

Soon to be a major motion picture staring Julia Roberts the story so captivated readers that it was one of only two books to be on the New York Times Paperback Bestseller list every week of 2008. For those of you who made New Year's resolutions to really examine their life Spirit Quest Tours has organized an amazing spiritual journey to Bali based on the book. The trip will take place in May 2010 and can accommodate thirty-five travelers departing from either New York or Los Angeles. It is a good compromise for those who are not writers and can't leave their desk jobs for a year to travel the world and find themselves.

While the tour has been inspired by the book there are some key differences. First, the tour organizers don't guarantee that you will find love on the vacation and they do not make you stay in little cottages. They do promise that all participants will be pleased to stay in four star accommodations, eco-friendly and with spas, rather than the little cottages enjoyed by the author. The tour does include a visit with Ketut Liyer, an authentic Balinese shaman, who advised Elizabeth Gilbert during her four month stay in Bali. Guests will also have the opportunity to visit local temples, time for yoga and meditation, shopping for items made by local artisans and traditional Balinese dance ceremonies including the Kecak dance. To view the exact itinerary click here.

Will the trip change your life? Who knows, but it does sound like a nice vacation and that seems to be something that is on the top of many to do lists!

Tags: bali, balinese, Eat Pray Love, EatPrayLove, Elizaeth Gilbert, ElizaethGilbert, julia roberts, JuliaRoberts, Love, vacation

The World's Coolest New Bar

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spirits

The world's coolest new bar has just opened at the ultra-luxe Ayana Resort & Spa in Bali. To get to the Rock Bar, towering 46 feet above the crashing waves, you have to take a special lift that traverses the face of a dramatic craggy seaside cliff. There are uninterrupted, 360-degree views on all sides in a setting any Bond villain would love. Designed by Yasuhiro Koichi of Japan's Design Studio SPIN, it's an enviable feat of engineering, architecture and mixology. Designed to ensure maximum seclusion for every guest, the Ayana's 78 free-standing, cliff-top luxury villas are set in traditional Balinese compounds with private pools surrounded by tropical gardens.

[via Duncan Quinn]

Tags: architecture, Ayana Resort Spa, AyanaResortSpa, Bali, bar, cocktails, Japan, ocean, resort

The Green School, Charity of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Charity of the Day

A while back I mentioned that jeweler John Hardy had opened a eco-friendly hotel in Bali. But John and Cynthia Hardy are doing more for the area they love so much. They have created the Green School in Bali, Indonesia, a visionary new international school. The school, which is set to open in September, will have 80-100 students in the first year, teaching preschool and kindergarten through Year 8. The small classes will have a western-trained teacher, an Indonesian teacher and a teacher who is a recent college graduate participating in their New Teacher training program. The idea behind the school is to create a new model for 21st century learning with low student to teacher ratios, collaborative education, and a focus, not just on the fundamental basics but on the environment in Bali. The goal of the school is to empower children with information on all aspects of the world and how to make it a better place including information on everything from organic gardening to website design. The school is also being built of eco-friendly bamboo.

The school, which has a 20-acre campus, will also include the Learning Village, which is where handicrafts and various small enterprises, including an organic chocolate factory will provide entrepreneurial earning components for the students. The Learning Village is scheduled to be up and running next year.

The school is looking for help with scholarships,as well as help with the development of exchange programs with schools around the world. The school is also offering three-month internships to anyone who wants to help develop this unique place.

[via Fair Jewelry]

Source

Tags: bali, green school, indonesia, john hardy, JohnHardy

The Coolest Restaurants in the World

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Dining, Books

Photo courtesy of teNeues; cover image courtesy Tugu Hotels & Exotic Spas

We've written before about German publisher teNeues's amazing Luxury series; you should know that their Cool series is equally impressive. The latest title in the line, Cool Restaurants: Top of the World, features over 100 incredible eateries scattered around the globe. teNeues selects only the best of the best for their "Top of the World" titles, such as Bale Sutra, the restaurant located in a majestic 300-year-old Kang Xi period temple at the exotic Hotel Tugu in Bali, pictured here on the cover. While New York City has the highest concentration of cool restaurants in any urban locale, and the U.S.A. the most for a single country, Europe has many more continent-wise. Dubai is putting itself on the culinary design map as well, with an admirable showing of four restaurants included in the book - as many as the UK. See the gallery for a tour of some standouts.

Gallery: The World's Coolest Restaurants

Tags: Bali, Coffee table books, CoffeeTableBooks, Cool restaurants, CoolRestaurants, Dubai, Restaurants, teNeues

Anantara Seminyak Opens in Bali

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The latest exotic Anantara resort has opened. The Anantara Resort Seminyak is located on the beautiful island of Bali in the Indian Ocean. The resort has 59 large suites with Balinese-inspired decor, floor-to-ceiling glass doors and windows. Enjoy the ocean views from terrazzo hydro tubs from your own private balcony. Other features include dark Indonesian wooden floors, oversized built-in beds covered with 300 thread-count linen, a double-sized Hansgrohe 'rainmaker' shower, BOSE DVD player, a surround-sound system, 42 inch LCD TV, 80GB iPod with docking station, Wi-Fi internet and espresso machine.

The Anantara Penthouse suite has two bedrooms, a lounge, library, kitchen, bar and dining area in an open-plan style. Outdoors, it features a concept pool with glass roof, spacious sundeck with Weber BBQ area, loungers, daybeds and a Jacuzzi. This lavish suite comes with the service of a butler who can arrange spa treatments, private yoga and meditation sessions and prepare sunset cocktails prior to a
lobster BBQ on the private deck.

The resort includes several entertainment and dining destinations: Sunset On Six (SOS) is the rooftop bar and the resort's bistro-style café next to the infinity-edge pool, PAON, is where to head for afternoon tea or a light lunch. The signature Thai restaurant, Wild Orchid, also showcases a line of customized tableware that was specially created, inspired by materials like local Balinese stoneware and Japanese bone china. In the rooftop Wine Room, wine tastings are hosted by a resident Wine Guru. There are three pools overlooking the Indian ocean and the resort has its own Surf school and a spa.

The resort just opened last month and is offering an open special through June 30 of this year with rates starting at $270.

Gallery: Anantara Seminyak

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Tags: bali, indian ocean, resort

Jewelry Designer John Hardy Is In The Hotel Business

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Bali-based jeweler John Hardy may have recently sold his popular jewelry line but that doesn't mean he's just going to give up the cause of showing people the wonders of Bali. He has opened a small hotel Bambu Indah ("beautiful bamboo") which has just four guest cottages: Afrika, Padi, Kuning and Kuno. Each one is different and is made of teak timbers. The cottages also have air-conditioning and are furnished with antiques and luxury accessories designed and collected by John Hardy. The houses are located in fields of heritage Bali rice and are shaded by fruit trees and coconut palms. The rustic retreat also has a swimming pool lined with stones. There is a small restaurant that serves home-cooked meals that feature the organic food raised on the property. Other houses on the property offer a place to do yoga or get a massage. The resort's intimate setting and lack of big-hotel amenities takes a special type of guest. According to W Magazine's September issue, the hotel which opened this month, will have a screening process in place to help make sure that the guests who come to the hotel are ready for this particular experience.

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Tags: bali, bamu indah, hotel, john hardy, JohnHardy

John Hardy Palu Cuff

by Sandy Maple (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

Master silversmith John Hardy must be inspired by the beautiful surroundings of his design studio in Bali. There, his jewelry designs are made reality by expert craftsmen, many of them descendants of the artisans who made jewelry for the royal courts of Bali. This striking bracelet is made from 22k yellow gold, hammered and curved into an elegant cuff. Using ancient Balinese techniques, sterling silver is hand-carved into a chain pattern, trimming the edges of the cuff. It's a beautiful take on a classic design that goes with everything and never goes out of style. $1995.

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Tags: bali, balinese, bracelet, cuff, designer jewerly, DesignerJewerly, fine jewelry, FineJewelry, gold, hammered gold, HammeredGold, jewerly, john hardy, JohnHardy, luxe jewerly, LuxeJewerly, luxury jewerly, LuxuryJewerly, palu cuff, PaluCuff, silversmith, sterling silver, SterlingSilver, yellow gold, YellowGold