New Bali jungle resort is beyond the tourist crowds and traffic of Ubud

I’m having a ginger tea and a toes-up on the expansive deck of the new Anantara Ubud Bali Resort. With an enormous angular water feature designed to look like a swimming pool, and a dozen or so couch and table-settings shaded by decorative sun umbrellas, you might say it’s a tad OTT for what is essentially a patio.

That is, until the clouds part and you clock the view.

In Ubud a view of a verdant rice paddy is never too far away.

In the big blue yonder, sacred Mount Agung, Bali’s highest mountain, juts into the sky like an arrowhead. The supporting peaks of Mount Batur and Mount Abang point to the Balinese heavens next to it.

Such views aren’t usual for resorts with Ubud in their name. Accommodation in Bali’s spiritual heartland – known for its yoga retreats, holistic therapies and holidays to reset mind and body – is more often “immersed in bamboo jungle”, or “overlooking rice paddies”, or “hidden among traditional village houses and temples”.

But those familiar with the terrain will know Anantara Ubud is a good 40-minute drive (about 20 kilometres) from Ubud, closer by way of address to the traditional hillside village of Banjar Puhu in Payangan.

Not long ago, my preference for an overnighter (or a staycation, given I’ve lived here for nearly four years) would have been as close to Ubud’s heart centre as possible, somewhere within a leisurely walk to the galleries and artisan shops along Jalan Raya Sanggingan perhaps, and a quick Gojek ride to the Campuhan Ridge walk.

But like Bali’s busy southern beach communities, Ubud has had its share of overtourism, failing infrastructure and standstill traffic. Resort stays well beyond the city centre are increasingly looking like a great idea.

The design of Anantara Ubud Bali is hilltop-down.

Part of Minor Hotels hospitality group, Anantara Ubud opened in October last year. It has an admirable hilltop-down design with a sprawling lobby level and main public areas taking full advantage of that, and the 85 suites and pool villas tiered down the hillside.

The patio where I’m reclining adjoins the lobby which, uninhibited by space constrictions, has a cocktail bar, lounge, boutique and couch-clad reception. On the next level down, a smoky green swimming pool is handy to a fully equipped gym, kids’ games room and teen hangout.

A maze of stairs interconnects these areas with the resort’s three eating venues: Kirana, where I eat my favourite Indonesian breakfast bubur ayam (rice porridge) under the towering ceilings of a colonnaded balcony; casually stylish Serang with a lunch-time share menu, cocktail bar and adult-only pool; and Amerta, a fine diner with a degustation menu inspired by local ingredients.

A two-bedroom pool villa at Anantara Ubud is accessed via an inclinator.

The one- and two-bedroom villas are stand-alone white concrete buildings with a black-tiled peaked rooftop and narrow terraces with skinny pools. They sit on the hillside slope and are accessed via a vertiginous inclinator. As it descends, mountaintops give way to the tropics.

Stepping inside the villa, I’m met with a floor-to-ceiling window panorama of lush jungle that stretches cinematically across the width of the villa. When I open the sliding terrace doors, the sound of water gushing over rocks and tree roots in the gully below is accompanied by layers of birdsong and the screech of insects. In the mornings, the cool mountain air and clouds of mist floating through the greenery are a match for the Mount Agung views.

The resort spa sits in this jungle scenery and offers decadent treatments including a Taksu massage, combining Japanese, Hawaiian and Balinese techniques. Time is also well spent visiting the local village of Taro where the wonderful Pak Wayan Wardika takes guests on a tour of his beautiful firefly sanctuary.

And while Ubud may not be on the doorstep, a shuttle service ensures it’s ripe for exploring, too.

Rooms cost from $740 a night for Forest View suites and from $1350 for a one-bedroom Forest View pool villa. See Anantara.com

The writer travelled as a guest of Anantara Ubud.