Shelter Island
While the name Shelter Island is personal to Room4Dessert founder and chef Will Goldfarb – it’s where the New Yorker honeymooned in the Long Island archipelago – it does feel like a calm port in which to dock within ever-busier Ubud. The guest rooms, with their terraces, thick stone walls, traditional Balinese architectural features, and high ceilings have an open and relaxed feel that give you a sense of where you are in the world. You’ll hear the team here talk about the “Room4Dessert universe,” made up by the eponymous restaurant, Academy, permaculture gardens, and The Powder Room, essentially a bakery space that serves many a purpose. As is the ethos here they aren’t all neatly located in a purpose-built compound, as could be the case with a chef as renowned as Goldfarb – rather they exist as a close constellation, all part of a light touch ethos, of “anything but more building.”
Need to Knows
- Rooms: Suite (largest room); Gallery (displays multiple works by different Indonesian artists); Family (sleeps four in bunk beds); Pool (best view of the water); Twin (well, twin beds).
- Check-in / Check-out Times: Check in is at 2pm and check out is 12pm.
- Room Features and Amenities: Outdoor swimming pool; Free Wi-Fi; Free parking (limited); Restaurant and bar; Garden area; Library room; Room service and laundry; Air conditioning; Mini-bar and coffeemaker; Terrace or balcony (in some rooms); Sitting area; Free toiletries; Kitchenette or kitchen (in some rooms); Mosquito net (in some rooms); Natural water filter (in some rooms)
What’s There
You’ll find mod cons are limited to what you need, that’s to say a mini bar and WIFI. There’s a pool that’s more about cooling off than showing off, a library corner and communal area for groups or those who want to socialise with like-minded guests. Shelter Island in part was conceived to be home to diners, and especially Academy students who travel globally to learn from Goldfarb and his celebrated team.
What’s Around
Central Ubud is just 10 minutes away but it’s more than possible to avoid the hubbub and stay close to Shelter Island. The Neka Art Museum is just opposite, displaying traditional and modern works of Balinese art. While there’s a number of resort spas that allow outside guests Putri Bali Spa just metres from Shelter Island are an excellent local option and a lot more cost effective. You can’t miss Naughty Nuri’s warung, pretty much next door, the smell of their pork ribs more effective than GoogleMaps. Just 10 minutes on foot or a minute driving or riding and you’re at Kawi, a cocktail bar with a serious reputation, now amongst the best in Indonesia.
Children
Families are welcome at Shelter Island and a specially configured room comes with bunk beds and two bathrooms, to keep arguments just to who gets the top bunk.
Breakfast
It’s just a few minutes’ walk to The Powder Room each morning, a routine you may miss once you return to reality. There’s something very special about the continental style breakfast here. Simple, it’s an example of what great chefs can do, which is elevate. A coffee (or tea) as to your liking never disappoints, while a glass a jamu is in many mays medicinal more than culinary. This traditional tonic made from natural ingredients – roots, spices, bark – is second nature to many Indonesians, originating in Java over 1000 years ago. House made granola, yoghurt and fresh tropical fruit feels virtuous while also a salve to the sweet tooth. A pastry of choice, perhaps a plain croissant or something filled is the moment of decadence yet artisanal. Here ingredients are local, colourings are natural, and they only use healthy alternative sugars and zero added preservatives. In other words, it’s kind of guilt free.
Eating and Drinking
The main event here is Room4Dessert which is less than a minute from the door. Themed seasons ensure that creativity continues to flow and if you’ve not already worked it out the star is the sweeter side of life. But that’s not to say that savoury is outlawed. Of the 15 courses, 5 savoury dishes are served in the bar-come-dining-room, before you move through to the sweet courses, taking a route through the kitchen. The final 10 courses are broken into 5 desserts, and then 5 petits fours served on the terrace. In room dining borrows from the restaurant menu in places while The Powder Room, which opens until 10pm serving natural wines is the go-to for more than just breakfast. Bomboloni (Italian donuts) are a specialty, as are handmade chocolates, mallomars, and gummies. There are of course savoury items. Think, open sandwiches, or fried bomboloni with chicken or mushroom.
Things to Book
Other than making a reservation with the restaurant the food forest walk is recommended, the garden team showing you the wider work that goes on in growing food for the different parts of that universe. And for those who want to start the journey of improving their culinary skills or perhaps brush up on existing ability the Academy calendar should be your first port of call.
Notes
It’s perhaps a strange thing to be told to do your homework before you check in but here even the slightest awareness of where you are will stand you in good stead and save any awkward conversations with fellow guests. If you’re fully clued up already, well done. Goldfarb was named The World’s Best Pastry Chef by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2021 but his culinary reputation and has been forged over decades. Featured on the Netflix series Chefs Table in 2018, it was the same year he released Room for Dessert with creative arts publisher Phaidon. Prior to establishing the restaurant, first in New York in 2005, Goldfarb worked at the likes of legendary elBulli under the brothers Adria.