Balinese Modern
Three private villas offer a relaxed alternative to hotels.
June 1, 2007
When the fabled Aman hotels opened on Bali nearly 20 years ago, the company elevated resort architecture and design to new international heights. Bali, which sits at the nexus of a booming Asia and Australia tourist trade, has a thriving villa rental industry that sprang up to compete with the hotels, and the best rental villas are excellent examples of modern tropical design.Kate Moss flew her family and friends recently to an exclusive villa overlooking the ocean in the resort of Bukit, where the model planned a Balinese-style ceremony inspired by the 1990 Hindu-Balinese wedding of Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall. As Moss no doubt realized, the advantages of staying in a villa instead of a hotel are many, not the least of which are complete privacy and security.
One of the leaders in Bali’s villa rental program is Elite
Havens, which handles a portfolio of private properties, acting as an agent
between individual villa owners and people who arrive in Bali looking for a
special place to stay. “The serenity that comes from staying in a spacious
luxury villa located within a local neighborhood—whether on the beach or looking
out onto terraced rice fields—comes as a result of not being located in some
high-profile tourist enclave,” says Elite Havens director of development
Ian Macaulay. “The dedicated security teams that accompany these private
residences put any fears of personal safety completely to rest.”
Villa Atas
Ombak, one of the residences represented by Elite Havens, means “Villa of the
Waves” and is defined by open-air pavilions. Situated on a quiet beach and
fronted by its own bale and swimming pool, the villa includes a main pavilion
with three bedrooms as well as a second guest pavilion with two bedrooms and an
indoor-outdoor bathroom. The compound rents for $2,000 a night in high
season.
Istana, also represented by Elite Havens, is a fully staffed
five-bedroom compound lavishly furnished in Aman style with modern natural
materials and has a 90-foot-long swimming pool overlooking the ocean. The famous
Uluwatu surfing beach is only 10 minutes away, and the Four Seasons and
Ritz-Carlton are just a short drive in the chauffeured car that is part of the
rental ($2,000 a night in peak season, which is during the month of August and
from the Christmas holidays through the New Year).
Photographer Rio Helmi
rents out his own romantic home, Rumah Rio, for $530 per night during high
season. One of Southeast Asia’s busiest photographers, Helmi is constantly away
on assignment. He once co-owned a successful restaurant in Ubud, and his
three-bedroom house is in the same neighborhood. The main building has an open
living room and staff kitchen, which overlooks a swimming pool in the middle of
a landscaped garden. It has the feel of a small resort, but just down the road
within walking distance are the restaurants, cultural attractions and shops that
have made Ubud so popular.