Stylish new Bali resort helps the battle against bogans

Badly behaved bogans in Bintang singlets beware: Bali is clamping down on disrespectful tourists. The government is seeking to close loopholes in laws that allow recklessness to thrive among visitors as well as overhauling poor law enforcement of certain behaviours.

Beach villa, Regent Bali, Canggu.

The Indonesian island is looking to attract a different kind of tourist, and now the hotel industry is doing its bit to help.

The Regent Bali Canggu has opened on Bali’s south-west coast, making it only the second internationally branded five-star in the increasingly popular enclave.

The first was COMO Uma Canggu, which opened in the once-sleepy town in 2018.

As Canggu is touted as the new Seminyak with its cold-pressed juice and green bowl bars, the Regent is emblematic of the town’s changing face from surfer secret to wellness mecca.

While its villas are all open, it will debut the first Regent-branded spa later this year.

Room to move… beach villa bedroom.

A collaboration with Swedish spa and wellness consultants Raison d’Etre, The Regent Spa & Wellness will lean into Bali’s sought-after healing traditions that focus on connecting mind, body, and spirit. The spa menu will feature an array of scrubs, wraps, and massages, alongside advanced skincare sessions using Kerstin Florian beauty products.

It will have seven treatment rooms, including a couple’s suite, plus a sauna and a plunge pool. Pack the Lululemon – the health club will of course offer yoga.

Oasis of calm… the Regent Bali Canggu.

The 5.7-hectare resort has 150 suites and villas, five eateries, nine pools, and gardens by famed Irish landscape architect John Pettigrew. Expect elegance, charm and restfulness across the property.

Penthouse living room.

The Regent Bali Canggu opening coincides with the relaunch of the “Bali dos and don’ts” list created by the provincial government.

Released in 2023, its redistribution across social media and other platforms is part of a new push to clean up perceptions and expectations of what’s acceptable behaviour in Bali.

Australian consul-general Jo Stevens recently met the head of the Bali tourism office to offer Australia’s support. Australians dominate foreign arrivals, accounting for almost 25 per cent of all.

But one can assume, with its $1200-a-night before tax tariff, most of the behaviours being targeted won’t appear in the confines of the Regent – though money certainly doesn’t guarantee good manners.

See ihg.com