Floating with frangipanis

CHILLED to perfection at a leafy resort in Bali.

Karma

AT Villa 22, up on a rise overlooking the Karma Jimbaran resort estate, the plunge pool is sprinkled with creamy petals and long, yellowing leaves discarded by the surrounding frangipani trees.

The 15 full-time gardeners have their work cut out for them at this 40-villa property sprawled over several hectares at Bali's Jimbaran Bay, not far from Denpasar airport and within cooee of the beach.

Palms and red-flowering coral trees fringe the villas and overhang pathways leading past each accommodation compound's sheltering stone walls.

At Villa 22, the branchy frangipani trees are fluffed with flowers and the gardeners are on high alert. Every morning, while guests still sleep and the roosters are just rousing in a nearby village, they arrive, stealthy as ninjas, to remove fallen leaves and petals, brush away garden debris and, quite possibly, polish the plants.

It is mid-March and the wet season, but as is routine at this time of year the rains mostly come at night, fast and tumbling, banishing the humidity and cooling the tropical foliage. Frogs and geckoes provide a background soundtrack: nature's own tinkle-tonkle gamelan orchestra. From the serenely beautiful Karma Spa, opposite Villa 22, comes more music: windchimes and sweet warblings and, perhaps if we listen intently, the contented sighs of guests being cocoa-scrubbed and steamed or lowered into a cherry blossom and clay bath.

Such is the sense of sanctuary here that guests are tempted to stay put, straying no further than bed to poolside lounger, spa couch to the smallish restaurant, where British chef Miles Belfield turns out some of Bali's best resort fare.

The Karma concept is residential and self-contained. The abodes are tropical holiday houses with thatched alang-alang roofs, kitchens, big living spaces, private pools, secure gardens and staff on call. Villa 22 has four bedrooms (some are as large as six) but there are smaller options, also equipped with family-sized kitchens.

Karma Jimbaran opened in 2005, followed by its sister property, Karma Kandara, on the Bukit peninsula in southernmost Bali. The latter is a clifftop eyrie with an inclinator down to the sea, sand-floored Nammos Beach Club and an almost Greek island or Amalfi coast vibe.

Karma Jimbaran is more low-key, tucked behind the Four Seasons resort and close to the perennially popular seafood restaurants of Jimbaran Bay.

You'd be mad to stay at this resort and not venture down to the sand at dusk for an early dinner as the sun sets with a theatrical orange flourish and the corn-on-the-cob hawkers come out and the local mariachi bands begin trawling the tables for potential tippers. (Best tip: don't make eye contact unless you want to be serenaded.)

It's fish from the tank and iced Bintang beer, rickety tables at odd angles in the sand, and mahi mahi, red snapper and Lombok lobster marinated in garlic, chilli and lemon-sharp sauces and cooked over coconut-husk fires. You'd be mad, too, not to stay put and try Belfield's food, based on the organic principles learned at his former gig at Bordeaux Quay in his home town of Bristol, where the stated goals are sustainability, responsible energy use, zero waste and community food education.

He admits it is not easy to be completely organic in Bali but he has set up his key suppliers, is planting a potager and has hooked a "brilliant" contact in Lombok who fills his orders for lobsters, soft-shell crabs and mussels.

Belfield's dinner menu features an izakaya selection of Japanese-inspired small plates, Sri Lankan fish curry, miso-marinated black cod with fennel and citrus and his signature dessert of rosemary, chocolate and olive oil cake with pistachios.

There's a steak menu of angus and wagyu, too, plus the prospect of ricotta hotcakes and just-squeezed pineapple juice for breakfast. Cocktail hour? Try a cucumber martini or Buckingham Bubbles, with sparkling wine, cranberry juice and peach liqueur.

While couples would enjoy the private nature of a one-bedroom villa in this pretty resort, its facilities make it ideal for families and the Three Monkeys Kids Club offers complimentary activities for juniors aged two and up from 8am to 8pm.

Many guests summon Belfield and his brigade to cook in-villa barbecues, with dips in their pools between courses.

We smell sizzling steaks and see smoke curling over villa walls as we walk down towards the roadway one evening, past hibiscus hedges where tiny birds with investigative beaks are bouncing about.

The gardeners are just leaving for the day on their motorbikes; they will need to be up early for the dawn leaf patrol.

Susan Kurosawa was a guest of Karma Jimbaran

Checklist
Pool villas are one or two storeys, from one to six ensuite bedrooms and with all expected amenities, including free wi-fi, satellite television, airconditioning, equipped kitchen and room service. From $US550 a villa a night; deals with special inclusions apply. Karma also operates a resort in Koh Samui, Thailand, and is planning to open in Agung, Bali. More: www.karmaresorts.com.

Garuda has just released its 2011 Bali on any Budget program of hotels, resorts and villas, with holiday packages and flight deals. More: www.balionanybudget.com.au.