Shrouded by trees and carefully tended gardens among the hills hovering over Jimbaran Bay, Raffles Bali offers a hushed, secluded sanctuary.
With only 32 pool villas sprawled across 57 acres, the resort has an air of exclusivity. Eighty percent of the property is natural — verdant grounds, bright flowers, small waterfalls and a private beach. Upon arriving, you’ll find yourself instinctively exhaling as you relax into this tranquil oasis.
Opened in 2020, the Bali hotel carries forward a rich legacy. Raffles Hotels & Resorts began in 1887 with the debut of its Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Singapore flagship, one of the oldest and most storied luxury hotels worldwide. The brand has long been synonymous with heritage landmark properties, like its dazzling Paris palace and the stately London Old War Office.
As Raffles moves ahead with new openings (a second Singapore location and a Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, outpost will arrive this year) — it’s set to double its hotel count by 2025 — it’s been branching out with urban hotels (like Boston and Doha) and resort getaways. This is where Raffles Bali comes in.
Here are five reasons you should visit this Bali hideaway.
The Villas
You’ll be reluctant to leave these luxuriant confines. Starting at 4,036 square feet, the pool villas are the largest in Jimbaran. Each is a sprawling sanctuary — fuchsia flowers, spiky pandan leaves and other greenery encircle a private infinity pool overlooking the sapphire Indian Ocean. A terrace with chaise lounges, a palapa-shaded daybed and a dining table allow you ample choices when you want to linger around the water vista. While Raffles Bali offers a 25-meter outdoor infinity pool, most guests opt for their own.
The villas feel like homes. A stone fence encloses the standalone structure and includes tall black wooden double doors. These open to reveal your tropical garden and the villa’s intricately carved wooden entrance.
Once inside, you’ll find a refined, modern Bali haven with chocolate hardwood floors and rattan furniture. A batik tapestry covers the wall behind the plush bed. And minibars come stocked with local company JWU Botanicals’ tonics, like the immune-boosting Bali Turmeric with ginger, honey, lime and black pepper.
Bathrooms beckon with a deep-soaking tub and separate shower, though there’s also an outdoor shower if you want to refresh yourself in the sunshine.
The Spa
Raffles Spa offers an even more serene experience. Intimate with just two indoor treatment suites and an open-air hillside suite for those seeking a closer connection with nature, the spa’s warm wood-clad interiors exude a sense of comfort throughout. Each indoor suite opens onto a terrace, where a circular tub overlooks lush foliage, providing a scenic post-treatment relaxation spot.
Every service starts with a soothing foot ritual. Slip your feet into a fragrant peppermint soak sprinkled with rose petals. Afterward, they get misted with peppermint spray. The spa specializes in Balinese and other Southeast Asian services, ranging from a traditional Balinese massage (which involves kneading, stretching, skin rolling and acupressure) to a soul blessing (a Balinese ceremony that includes palm reading). No matter which you choose, it will likely involve reiki — all therapists are certified reiki healers and incorporate its energy healing into treatments.
After our Raffles Bali Signature Massage, which included calming our chakras and a coconut oil scalp massage for our third eye, we felt far looser and more relaxed. We capped our experience with the spa’s nourishing spicy ginger tea.
Special Dining Experiences
Whether you want to pop the question or offer a smaller romantic gesture, the luxury hotel curates unforgettable special dining experiences.
The open-air Purnama Bale, perched on rocks at the property’s edge, seems to float above the ocean. The dramatic setting is popular among honeymooners. If you prefer to immerse yourself instead in Bali’s lush landscape, the Farm Terrace seats you under a passion fruit pergola surrounded by greenery.
Perhaps the most extraordinary of Raffles Bali’s special occasion venues is the Secret Cave. Follow a winding pathway to a quiet limestone cave softly illuminated with candlelight and torches and soft music playing in the background. The personalized menu, designed to resemble an antiqued treasure map, guides you through a seven-course journey around seasonal local ingredients. Culinary treasures included artfully composed dishes like a local goat cheese and heirloom carrot panna cotta with an elaborate design on top and house-smoked Tabanan free-range duck breast strips rolled into roses; hollowed-out onions stuffed with foie gras accompanied by tamarind gel and buckwheat crumbs; and slow-roasted wagyu with potato risotto and king mushrooms.
Food and Drinks
Rumari, the resort’s signature restaurant, occupies the highest point of the property, offering a great vantage point to watch airplanes flying against the silhouette of Mount Batur before landing at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport. You can plane-spot on the terrace over breakfast like bubuh Bali (a pandan rice porridge with tuna sambal matah) or a croffle (a croissant-Belgian waffle hybrid) topped with cubes of juicy mango and basil-coconut sauce. Add on a well-being elixir, like the Perfect Remedy, an inflammation-blasting mix of beetroot, carrot, orange and ginger, or a tea like the immunity-boosting hibiscus, a sweet-tart local blend.
Once sunset arrives, the dark-wood-filled Rumari adopts a more upscale, sophisticated vibe. Select the seven- or nine-course menu to explore contemporary Southeast Asian cuisine (with optional mocktail or cocktail pairings). The Bali restaurant makes dinner interactive with a menu map that illustrates your food’s origins and a playful paper fortune teller explaining the restaurant’s sourcing philosophy — 80% of the seasonal ingredients come from the archipelago and 20% are imported. You’ll savor standouts like Bali bamboo lobster three ways (shredded with young mango, tempura and carpaccio) and North Sumatra heritage pork crowned with pork rinds and a side of tomato-chile chutney.
For a more casual atmosphere, Loloan Beach Bar & Grill provides alfresco dining near the pool and ocean. Don’t miss its adults-only Sunday brunch (the second and fourth Sundays), an indulgent feast featuring dish after dish, including truffle croissants with pumpkin puree for slathering; a seafood platter teeming with oysters, crab, Kaviari caviar, prawns and otoro tuna on ice; and wagyu tenderloin with potato espuma. The artisanal cheese board impresses — servers present a large spread of local options like Mazaraat farm’s creamy Brie and Moon River Dairy’s nutty Amaya cheddar, along with crackers, fruit and honey (drench everything in the delectable mango honey). Exquisite desserts arrive in small log canoes, followed by a petit fours buffet.
Upgrade to the Italian brunch for accompanying Italian wines, French for French pours, Luxury for a bottle of Krug champagne and other wines and Royal for a bottle of Dom Pérignon and more selections.
Be sure to visit The Writers Bar, where you can sip the Bali Sling, a riff on Raffles Singapore’s iconic cocktail with gin, arak (a Balinese spirit made of fermented sap), Dom Benedictine, spiced syrup, lemon juice, bitters, jackfruit puree, soursop, grenadine and soda.
The Butlers
A hallmark of the Raffles brand is that all guests receive butler service. At Raffles Bali, the concept has been thoughtfully adapted to align with the island being a destination for those seeking spiritual and personal renewal. Raffles Bali’s wellbeing butlers tackle the tasks of traditional butlers — available around the clock, they do things like shuttle you around the property in an electric buggy and score reservations at a waiting-list-only restaurant — while also focusing on integrating wellness enhancements into all aspects of your stay.
These butlers act as your personal wellness concierge, offering tailored recommendations that extend far beyond standard spa treatments. They can do everything from create a calming atmosphere in your villa to arranging a private yoga or meditation class to ensure you find the serenity you seek. The wellbeing butlers’ attention to detail is evident in the small but meaningful touches they provide. After a long international flight, you might find a soothing herbal tea waiting in your villa that eases you into a reviving vacation.