COMO Shambhala Estate, Ubud, Bali
A direct flight of three and a half hours from Perth, followed by an hour in a car through the Balinese countryside, is all that separates Western Australia from one of the most exceptional wellness experiences available to Australians at this distance. COMO Shambhala Estate sits in a spiritual enclave of jungle and river just north of Ubud, combining Ayurvedic medicine, advanced health technology, exceptional villa accommodation and one of the most considered culinary programmes in the region. Guests arrive ranging from the fragile to those simply wanting to elevate, and the staff meet each with the same unhurried warmth and genuine attentiveness. It is the kind of care that is difficult to manufacture and immediately felt. For Perth travellers, this is the one to know about. A morning in the air and you are somewhere that guests from London and New York plan their years around. Few cities in the world have a retreat of this calibre so easily within reach.
Need to Knows
- Rooms: 31 suites and villas; Terrace Suites, Estate Suites, COMO Shambhala Suites, COMO Suite, One, Two and Three-bedroom Pool Villas across five themed Residences
- Wellness paths: Minimum three nights; includes daily wellness consultation, prescribed activities, treatments and all meals
- Facilities: 12 treatment rooms, Pilates studio, yoga pavilion, 25m pool, vitality pool, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, private ice bath with guided breathwork, private infrared sauna, colonic hydrotherapy, fitness centre
- Dining: glow restaurant, Kudus House, in-room dining
- Room features: Private pools or Jacuzzis in most categories, air conditioning, Wi-Fi, COMO Shambhala bath amenities, yoga mat, personal safe, private bar
- Services: Personal assistant, resident doctor on-call, 24-hour concierge, airport transfers, babysitting, multilingual staff
WHAT’S THERE
COMO Shambhala Estate occupies a hillside above the Ayung River, its furthest Residence perched a full 100 metres above the water. Jungle presses in from every direction, the air carries a cool altitude and the Estate’s natural spring feeds chemical-free pools that thread through the grounds. The 31 suites and villas are distributed across five themed Residences and four standalone villa categories, each a considered architectural statement in its own right.
The Residences, named Bayugita, Tirta Ening, Tejasuara, Wanakasa and Umabona, reflect different natural elements. Staying in one of the Wanakasa suites feels not unlike sleeping in a supremely well-appointed treehouse: teak floors, ironwood-shingle roofing and a semi-circular pool that echoes the bend of the Ayung River far below make you feel at once elevated above the world and entirely cocooned within it. Tejasuara, built from 1,200 tonnes of stone imported from the island of Sumba, burns a fire pit beside its infinity pool each evening. The three-bedroom pool villas function like private homes, with residential-scale living areas, a fully equipped kitchen, an infinity pool and a Jacuzzi.
WELLNESS
Six distinct Wellness Paths structure the programmes, each designed around a different state of need. The Integrated Wellness Path is the most comprehensive, beginning with expert diagnostics and building a personalised plan across fitness, nutrition and wellbeing. Detox to Restore focuses on gut health and mental clarity. Nourish to Glow is designed for those navigating burnout or hormonal change. Each path runs for a minimum of three nights and includes daily consultations, prescribed treatments and all meals.
The thermal circuit is one of the more physically compelling reasons to visit. It begins in the private infrared sauna, where deep-penetrating heat works on the muscles and circulatory system without the intensity of a traditional sauna. From there, guests move to the ice bath, where guided breathwork led by a therapist helps the body tolerate and ultimately benefit from the cold. The contrast between the two states, repeated across a session, produces a physiological reset that most guests describe as the clearest-headed they have felt in months. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy adds a further dimension for those seeking accelerated recovery or immune support.
More than eight specialist disciplines are represented on the Estate, including Ayurveda, yoga, Pilates and oriental medicine. World-renowned visiting practitioners take up residency throughout the year, extending the offering well beyond what a standard wellness hotel could provide.
WHAT’S SUPER SPECIAL
Few retreats anywhere in Asia match the depth and sincerity of programming available here. The combination of traditional Balinese spiritual practice, Ayurvedic medicine, modern health technology and a natural setting of genuine consequence creates something very special. The Estate’s spring water is a real differentiator: chemical-free pools fed by natural sources are a considerable rarity at this level of property.
The Estate’s commitment to the place it inhabits runs deeper than most. Ninety-four per cent of daily produce is sourced from Balinese suppliers, native plants are cultivated across the grounds and waste disposal operates through local environmental schemes. COMO describes itself as a custodian of each destination rather than a commercial operator within it, and at COMO Shambhala that intention is legible in almost everything the property does.
CHILDREN
Babysitting services are available and the multi-bedroom configurations across Residences and pool villas make the Estate genuinely workable for families. The overall tone leans strongly toward adult wellness travel. Couples, solo retreaters and small groups seeking meaningful change form the majority of guests and the programming reflects this accordingly.
BREAKFAST
Breakfast is served at Kudus House from 6.30am, drawing on the full breadth of Indonesia’s regional cuisines. It is an unhurried and genuinely restorative affair, the kind of morning meal that sets the right tone for a day of treatments and activity. The setting is open and warm, with attentive service and food that feels considered rather than abundant for its own sake.
EATING AND DRINKING
Kudus House anchors the evening dining experience; it’s Indonesian regional cooking at its most assured. glow handles the healthful end of the spectrum across lunch and dinner, serving the COMO Shambhala Kitchen menu alongside energising juices and enzyme-rich blends. The Sunday brunch has developed a devoted following. The monthly Full Moon Dinner, in which guests prepare a traditional Balinese offering before joining ceremony and a three-course Indonesian family dinner, is worth timing a stay around.
If the Estate arranges it, accept without hesitation: a picnic lunch reached by descending a series of steep jungle stairs, the canopy thickening around you with each step, to a table set directly above the Ayung River. The view across the valley is unbroken, the air noticeably cooler and the food arrives tasting precisely as it should in a setting like this: clean, considered and leaving you feeling quite simply, well.
THINGS TO BOOK
Select a Wellness Path before arrival and allow the Estate team to shape the daily programme from there. Book the water spring blessing and a Marma point therapy treatment early. Reserve a session in the thermal circuit, combining the infrared sauna and guided ice bath breathwork, as early as possible. Arrange a private wellness consultation on the first day to give direction to the rest of the visit. Time the stay around the Full Moon Dinner if the calendar allows.
Notes
Rooms include individually controlled air conditioning, complimentary Wi-Fi, a private bar, yoga mat, electronic safe and COMO Shambhala bathroom amenities. A personal assistant is assigned to each guest. The resident doctor is available on-call after hours. Airport transfers, babysitting, guided walks, 24-hour concierge and laundry services are all available. The Estate’s activity programme runs from mountain biking and white-water rafting on the Ayung to cooking classes, temple visits, rice paddy walks and the iconic water spring blessing.