More than 25 years ago the London based architect John Heah designed a very, very strange building in the then hidden valley of the Sacred River Ayung near the former artists colony of Ubud on the beautiful island of Bali. Heah described the footbridge of the building as the ‘spoon’ and the lotus pond which is actually the roof of the hotel as a ‘rice bowl’ . Despite a lot of scepticism in the beginning the marvellous structure on a prime piece of land combined with the sterling service of Four Seasons has gained worldwide reputation as one of the most interesting, extraordinary, beautiful hotels of the world. It even was voted No. 1 among all hotels on the planet by the US magazine Travel & Leisure. The resort consists of 18 suites and 42 villas and offers a variety of services: Spa, Yoga classes, custom designed cooking school, guided trekking, restaurants, shops and entertainments. Once you have arrived you make your way to the property entrance via the wooden footbridge suspended above the jungle leading to its famous infinity edge lotus pond. It is difficult not to be impressed either by the architecture or the beautiful river valley or the celebs who have stayed here like Barack Obama who tried wild water rafting here or Julia Roberts who stayed at the property while making a movie. Dining choices include Indonesian specialities at Ayung Terrace, where peppy Indonesian dishes are served by batik-wearing staff. Or al fresco Mediterranean influenced dishes at the Riverside Café where the menu showcases produce from the resort’s own vegetable and herb garden. Ubud, Bali’s artistic and spiritual epicentre, now crowded by tourists, is around 10 minutes away by car – the hotel operates a free shuttle service until 5pm. The airport is more of a trek, taking up to two hours in bad traffic, but the Four Seasons’ leather-clad, air-conditioned, Wi-Fi-enabled limousine certainly makes the transfer easier to bear. So is it the best hotel in the world? That is up to you to judge. For me it is difficult to compare. A five star city property boasting sophisticated gourmet kitchen is not playing in the same category. But in general: Four Seasons is definetely one of the best luxury hotel chains with very high standards in all fields and if you combine it with outstanding architecture and location it is definetely one of the great hotels in the world you should see during your lifetime. The service was impeccable and all in all if you are in good spirits and the weather is fine you can experience the dream of Bali as it used to be in this oasis of peace while otherwise Bali is suffering from too much traffic, too many tourists, too much migration, too much of the blessings of the modern world.
Indicative – subject to change.
