In a sea of Bali hotels, Umana Bali, LXR Hotels & Resorts in Uluwatu stands out for delivering on the blissed-out beach break, but also for providing a cultural offering.
Usually you have to head inland, to the spiritual and cultural hub of Ubud (or perhaps to neighbouring Sumba) for such things, but this is a beach hotel with a soul, offering everything from blessings in bat-filled temple caves and excursions, to local fruit markets, arak tastings by the pool bar and cooking classes in private homes.
The Vibe
While the cultural offering at the clifftop Umana is a step above neighbouring hotels, Umana is, at its essence, a beach resort with a glamorous pool. You’ll see more than one honeymooning couple, as well as young families, using Umana as an elegant fly-and-flop base (the impressive kids’ club is a big plus).
Style-wise: It’s all indoor-outdoor living, with reflection pools, sculptural frangipani trees, and a theatrical lobby that’s at once contemporary and thoughtful with subtle Balinese influences. For example, the blown-glass chandelier is a design nod to the traditional legong fan dance, and overhead wooden lattice work resembles looms used by the indigenous Bali Aga people for weaving double-ikat textiles called gringsing.
The Villas
Umana’s 72 villas – available in one-, two-, or three-bed configurations – are spacious enough to get lost in. All come with open-air Balinese balés with pillow-strewn daybeds and palatial private infinity pools that disappear into the horizon with a wave-shaped infinity edge. Decor is vaguely aqueous with pops of blues plus coffee-table books and cane furniture. Generous polished-stone bathrooms feature epic soaking tubs and patchouli-scented toiletries.
The Food + Drink
Umana does not shy away from local cuisine. While there’s always something to satisfy a Western palette, the Southeast Asian gastronomy is yet another way the hotel embraces culture. There are two restaurants: Commune is the spot for all-day dining with à la carte and a buffet breakfast, plus a full lunch and dinner menu. Don’t miss the stir-fried rice nasi goreng (one of Indonesia’s national dishes) or the traditional Rijsttafel feast, a collection of small dishes served with fluffy white rice.
With a glass roof evoking I. M. Pei’s Louvre Pyramid, dinner-only Oliverra is the signature restaurant. An elegant whitewashed affair with floaty curtains and saffron sunset views, this chic spot wouldn’t look out of place in Mykonos.
On the menu is high-end Mediterranean fare like fire-licked barramundi with glistening mandarin confit and house-made tortellini, over-stuffed with lobster. Many ingredients are sourced locally, save for a few notable luxuries like the Kiwami wagyu and Hokkaido scallops. Casual dishes like lumpia sayur (vegetable spring rolls) and crisped fried squid can be ordered at the Pad Pool Bar. The lobby café, Mer Lounge, is used for Balinese wine tastings, quick snacks, and silky single-origin espressos. In-villa dining options include a private barbeque.
The Spa
Umana’s Lohma Spa is a true escape with an outdoor pool; light-filled gym; hot and cold plunge pools; and eight treatment rooms (treatments can also be conducted in-villa). Try the signature Indonesian Lohma Massage, with specially blended oil and energy-infused gemstones. Some treatments use natural remedies like aloe vera, avocado butter, and helichrysum extract, while others use the Swedish skincare line Kerstin Florian or Isun, based out of Colorado.
The Little Extras
Umana will spoil you: thermoses of hot herbal teas are left at turndown; villas come with sandals woven from pandan and mendong fibres and knitted bags for use during your stay; and bathrooms are outfitted with fragrant incense and tea lights. There are plenty of social-media-ready moments too, like floating breakfasts (more cute than practical) and fresh coconuts personalised with your name awaiting your arrival.
The To-Do List
One of Bali’s key spiritual hubs, Uluwatu Temple is probably the area’s most famous site, but it’s not possible to enter. Instead, visitors can attend a dance performance, which takes place in the temple complex. As temple visits are paramount to understanding Balinese Hinduism, go to a small and local temple instead, like Pura Dalem Guha Watu Pageh, set in a bat-filled cave carved into the cliffs above the waves. Before visiting the temple, guests will be dressed in a sash and sarong, to be worn as a sign of respect, and taught how to arrange fire-bright marigolds and frilly bougainvillaea petals in a palm-leaf basket to bring to the temple as an offering. (Note: it’s not possible to enter temples when menstruating.)
The hotel can also arrange tours to a local market in Ugansan selling mainly fresh fruit (when in season, the white mango is *chef’s kiss*), as well as a trip to the nearby Garuda Wisnu statue, which – at 121 metres – stands taller than the Statue of Liberty. One not to miss: the nightly kecak performance at Melasti Beach, where a troupe of performers act out scenes from the Ramayana against a backdrop of the setting sun, with theatrics including fire, dancing, and one-of-a-kind percussive chanting.
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