Como Uma Ubud, Bali

This bijou resort panders to your every need.

Como Uma Ubud, Bali

Villa No 12, let me count the ways you have stolen my heart. You are reached by a narrow stone path through greenery threaded with white anthuriums, all tucked away like a secret nook but within cooee of the airy reception pavilion, 25m main pool and resort facilities. Through the double-door timber gate, you are gloriously quiet, save for the plop of fat koi in your entryway pond and the occasional chirrup of geckos. You have separate sleeping and bathing pavilions with diamond-patterned stone floors and a blue-tiled plunge pool I could almost slide straight into from the four-poster swathed in floaty voile. The pool is sheltered by a wall topped by flowering creepers, shaded by frangipani and trees with big leaves the shape of paddles. You are small and, yes, perfectly formed. Ceiling fan or aircon? Thank you, there is both, but I much prefer the former, which gently circulates the scents of the resort’s breathe-easy soaps and lotions, all lemongrass, ginger and eucalyptus.

Como Uma Ubud, Bali

It is my third stay at this bijou 46-room resort, which opened in 2004, and there’s scope for a gentle refurb here and there, but why bother? COMO Uma Ubud has a deserved fan base who would stay nowhere else in Bali’s most famous hill town. Tucked off busy Jalan Raya Sanggingan, near the Neka Museum, there is a real sense of sanctuary here away from the rush and swarm of Ubud proper.

The interior design, conceived by COMO Hotels & Resorts co-founder Christina Ong, is unfussy, geometrically precise, and predominantly of limed timbers and streamlined surfaces that are white or in graduated degrees of same, such as cream and café au lait. Aside from bright, family-friendly lounging furniture by the pool, no intrusive colours jolt the eye unless courtesy of Mother Nature, who shows off here with spiral gingers and crab-claw heliconias. I don’t know how many gardeners tend the grounds but the immaculate presentation surely means a battalion behind the scenes. Even skeletal trees seem custom-pruned to frame massed plantings and stone statues of Hindu deities. White pennants fly on tall poles as if announcing a festival.

Como Uma Ubud, Bali

Accommodation is a mix of guestrooms with private terraces and green aspects; garden pool villas, such as No 12; pool suites that can adapt a sitting room to a second bedroom; and top-tariff Uma pool villas, set low on the sloped estate and with sundecks that appear to float into the terraced ricefields.

The Shambhala Spa is reached down steep tiers of rock-cut steps and it feels like approaching a temple. There are rituals and all sorts of spiritual journeys on offer but who could go past a signature massage with therapists such as Puri, whose firm touch provokes sighs of contentment and squeals of passing pain in equal measure. There are four serenely bare treatment salons, steam room, sauna, yoga and meditation pavilions. It stays open until an encouragingly late 9pm. Drift in and out after dinner and go straight to bed at No 12? Don’t mind if I do.

White water rafting on the Ayung River

• Perfect for: Couples; the super-luxe two-bedroom COMO Villa is perfect for families and there are children’s menus and activities.

• Must do: Check the daily agenda for activities such as complimentary yoga classes and guided morning walks through the ricefields; there’s also mountain biking, whitewater rafting on the Ayung River, cooking classes and visits to museums, temples and galleries. Across the road, Naughty Nuri’s roadside warung has been serving famously strong martinis since 1995.

• Dining: Onsite diner Cucina is a big, jazzy space, with dark timber floors, metal chairs, long communal tables as well as cosier options. It’s loud but fun, with Mediterranean-inspired dishes served on gorgeous ceramic plates made by a local craftsman. There are tall white candles by night and lots of chic diners; lunch is less of a scene, and Sunday brunch here has become an Ubud legend. Famous, too, is “Nurse” Sari, a wonderfully bossy waitress who prescribes special tonics for those beset with Bali belly. (When I tell her I’ve given up alcohol, she nods sagely and promptly administers me a Mango Sacrifice mocktail.) The resort’s Kemiri Restaurant offers local fare in a garden pavilion with a rush-woven ceiling and encircling pond; nasi goreng, pineapple juice and strong local coffee is the breakfast of holiday champions. Elsewhere in Ubud, Will Meyrick’s Hujan Locale is absolutely the best place to dine.

• Getting there: Ubud is about 90 minutes’ drive from Denpasar.

• Bottom line: Book at least 30 days ahead for 20 per cent off the daily rate, including breakfast and shuttle bus service into Ubud. Stay a minimum three nights for inclusions of daily breakfasts, airport transfers and a meal at Cucina or spa treatment. Rooms from about $650 a night.

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