We visited the Four Seasons Hotel in Jimbaran Bay, Bali, for a few nights of seclusion, luxury and tranquility, all steeped in local culture.
The Four Seasons offer two acclaimed resorts in Bali; Jimbaran Bay and Sayan, offering travellers and guests both the beach experience as well a more eco-nestled retreat nestled in the Balinese highlands between two rivers and plenty of greenery.
Whilst a visit to each property is certainly advisable during a trip to Bali, we stayed at the Jimbaran Bay property, to explore five star service in this quaint, colourful and local coastline village. The resort is perched on a quiet shoreline and channels a calm, quiet, breezy feel through its authentic and private Balinese style villas and design.
It is, in short, a honeymooner’s sanctuary, however I was surprised to find that many families were staying at the resort and small groups of friends and families seemed to out-ratio the newly weds in sight. Whilst this may be seasonal, it is certainly no surprise. The resort offers a harmonious blend of intimate luxury, and buzzing, sociable colourful aspects which invite you to wonder around the resort and enjoy all the aspects it so seamlessly blends into the local surroundings and culture.
The hotels two pools for example (three, if you count your pool villa!) provide a perfect blend of local ambience and laid-back privacy. The Sundara Beach Club and pool in particular offers chic and shaded day beds lined against a long pool which directly overlooks the pristine beach. Only a short hop away from one another, the beach club allows you to enjoy a day of relaxation, poolside nibbles, drinks and ocean-watching as the locals themselves come and go in happy waves, especially as the sun sets, or the opportunity to interchange between dips in the pool and the ocean.
For even more privacy, the hotel’s infinity pool is set on a spacious stone terrace, and is ideal for adults. Attendants thoughtfully offer complimentary amenities, such as ice cream, fresh fruits, water, cold towels and sunscreen. But this leads me to the third and most important pool option: the one right in the heart of your suite!
We stayed in an ocean villa where you can hide away in this discreet thatched-roof sanctuary inspired by a traditional Balinese courtyard house. Gazing out to the ocean from your poolside open-air bale, makes staying in your villa all the more tempting when you consider the impressive size of the pool. The villa is so spacious, it must be of the most comfortable and thoughtfully designed villas which I have stayed in. The villas offer guests what can be best described as ‘indoor-outdoor living’ and for those wishing to go one notch up the two bedroom villas allow you to dine outside in your bale, a Balinese-style pergola, by the infinity pool and lounge on the terrace.
If you are staying for a week or more, you might find that the dining options repeat themselves. If you dine at Sundara however, you will likely not mind the repetition so much! A sultry beach club by day, and iconic restaurant by night: the all day beachfront restaurant offers lounge-like alfresco seating as well as an indoor setting, and offers an eclectic menu of Asian-inspired sharing plates – everything on the menu is offered in three sizes small, medium and large, with the large plates enough for two to share as a main course. An innovative concept means you can definitely dine here more than once and still enjoy variety; if only for the fact that you can have a starter as a main and a main as a starter! Dessert is always still dessert however! The outdoor terrace at Sundara hosts sultry fire-pits and a live singer in the evenings for the perfect setting to wine, dine or unwind in.
The hotel’s second restaurant allows you to experience interactive theatre-style dining presented by a brigade of specialty chefs at nine culinary exhibitions or show kitchens, and for more casual options the pool terrace cafe offers an al-fresco spot and a light menu to enjoy between dips in the Infinity Pool or the ocean.
The resort as a whole is quaint, quiet, ambient, super-luxurious and dreamy. It ticks off all the amenities and dedicated service you would expect from a Four Seasons hotel, and boasts a beautifully designed resort worth re-visiting for its truly authentic experience. What is worth writing home about the most however, for this resort, is the unrivalled Spa. It is difficult to rank Spas, their specialists, and the treatments you receive when there are so many variables at play. I’m willing to gamble however and say that the Spa at the Four Seasons Jimbaran is possibly the best I have ever encountered. We visited just before checking out for our late night flight and the array of bespoke treatments (some of which have been uniquely crafted by the hotel, and won’t be found in other resorts) each look to physiologically soothe, remedy, and revive the body. There is a carefully designed treatment and massage for every need or ailment. The therapists are of such superior expertise, we very seriously ‘joked’ that if they wouldn’t come back to London with us – we would visit again especially for their treatments. A massage which had originally aimed to soothe and detoxify the body, for me, evolved into targeting sciatic pains and clairvoyantly locating the precise pain points and knots which needed work on from the lower back all the way along the leg. I was guided through explanations of how the nerves and muscles which were causing me such pain, interlinked, and wholistic suggestions for how to keep the problem at bay back home. The treatment overran by 20 minutes – and no one seemed to mind this at all. The dedicated, sincere, specialised and hearty offering here is well worth an award, and many return visits.
Visit: https://www.fourseasons.com/jimbaranbay/
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