Raffles Bali
Cascading down twenty three hectares of Jimbaran hillside toward the Indian Ocean, Raffles Bali is an all villa resort built on the idea of barefoot luxury done properly. The Raffles consistency carries through every element, the villas, the service, the beach, all speaking the same easy language, so that by the second day you stop noticing the effort behind it. Thirty two pool villas, each with its own garden, daybed and view over the bay, sit across terraced grounds where sixty per cent of the land remains untouched. A private beach runs along the property’s edge, rock shoes waiting at the entry for anyone keen to explore the shoreline, and at its far point Loloan brings the flavours of coastal Peru to the water, ceviche and tiraditos by day, woodfire cooking and pisco by night. The Rumari Counter alone is worth the trip.
Need to Knows
- Rooms: 32 private pool villas across eight categories, the One Bedroom Pool Villa, Ocean One Bedroom Pool Villa and Panoramic One Bedroom Pool Villa, the Hilltop One Bedroom Pool Villa, the Ocean Front Two Bedroom Pool Villa and Presidential Two Bedroom Pool Villa, the Ocean Front Three Bedroom Pool Villa and the Ocean Front Four Bedroom Pool Villa
- Check-in: 3.00pm, Check-out: 12.00 noon
- Parking: Available on-site
- Room Features and Amenities: Private pool and garden in every villa, a daybed with uninterrupted views across Jimbaran Bay, and the personal Raffles Butler service
What’s There
The resort unfolds down the hillside in loose terraces, villas linked by pathways through thick tropical planting. Brown leather buggies run between villa, restaurant and beach on call. A 25 metre infinity pool anchors the lower grounds, with a 24 hour fitness centre, two tennis and pickleball courts, and a running and cycling track with complimentary bicycles. The Signature Meditation Terrace hosts complimentary yoga, meditation and breathwork each morning, and for guests arriving by air, a private heliport sits on site.
What’s Around
Jimbaran Beach is five minutes away, Ngurah Rai International Airport twenty five. Uluwatu Temple and Nusa Dua Beach are each around twenty five to thirty three minutes by car, Kuta Beach twenty five minutes, Sanur Beach thirty eight, Tanah Lot Temple an hour, and Ubud ninety minutes inland
What’s Super Special
More than twenty five species of birds and eleven species of butterflies have been recorded across the grounds, and mornings open with a guided Birds and Butterflies Walk. The collared kingfisher and the black naped oriole are both regular sightings. The Botanical Guru leads tours through the resort’s gardens, and The Secret Cave, a natural formation tucked into the hillside, doubles as a meditation spot by day and a candlelit dinner setting for two by night. The property’s own walking trail is worth doing of a morning too, enough stairs to get the heart rate up, winding past a story about the friendship behind the resort’s beginnings. Ask about it at check in. The same attention shows up in the villas themselves, a custom Raffles hand clock designed without the bright backlight that can keep you awake, a navy petal shaped jewellery holder, and a complimentary rattan tote worth packing for summer back home.
Children
Children are given their own amenities and a selection of extras on arrival, and for those aged five and under, lunch and dinner from the Kids’ Menu are complimentary. Children aged six to eleven receive 50 per cent off the regular menu, and breakfast is complimentary for children up to eleven years old. The Botanical Tour is a favourite among younger guests, with further activities listed at raffles.com/bali/experiences/kids-activities, selecting Discover.
Breakfast
Rumari, set at the resort’s highest point over Jimbaran Bay, serves à la carte breakfast daily. The kitchen moves between Indonesian heritage dishes, Bubuh Bali and Soto Ayam Kudus among them, and international staples like eggs benedict with Tasmanian smoked salmon. Jamu, wellbeing elixirs, cheese and charcuterie round out the spread, with caviar and scrambled eggs among the chef’s signatures available at extra cost.
Eating and Drinking
Rumari sits at the resort’s highest point, set between the sun and the sea, its terrace opening onto uninterrupted Indian Ocean views. Chef Gaetan Biesuz leads the kitchen to an eighty twenty philosophy, eighty per cent of produce sourced across the archipelago, the rest from further afield. The result is bold, contemporary Indonesian cooking, matched with a wine list running past two hundred and fifty labels. For something more intimate, the Rumari Counter seats up to ten and changes nightly, the chefs building a surprise sequence from the day’s produce and plating it in front of guests, sommelier included in the conversation. Down at the water’s edge, Loloan turns to the Pacific shores of Peru, its kitchen built around woodfire cooking, lime, aji and aromatic herbs, bright by the pool through the day and warmer after dark. The Writers Bar closes out the trio, a sunset terrace pouring classic and whimsically spiced cocktails over ocean views.
Things to Book
Private dining runs deep here. The Farm Terrace serves alfresco feasts at a farm style table under a vine covered pergola, the Purnama Honeymoon Bale sits a firelit path away for a gazebo dinner for two, and The Secret Cave turns its setting over to candlelight and a one of a kind table for the night. Beach Barbecue and In Villa Barbecue cover more relaxed flame grilled evenings, on the sand or in the privacy of a villa. The Rumari Counter is worth booking well ahead, seats limited to ten a night. For treatments, The Sanctuary offers a signature journey at its remote hillside suite, while Raffles Spa runs the fuller menu, massage, sound healing and reiki, drawing on Balinese and Southeast Asian tradition.
Notes
Raffles Bali handles weddings, vow renewals and proposals with its own planning team, staging them across the private beach, a villa, The Secret Cave or one of the restaurants. The full resort, all thirty two villas, can be booked out for milestone birthdays, incentive groups or family celebrations. On departure, guests are sent off with a gift from the bar on the way to the airport, handmade chocolates among them.