The best hotels in Bali have always drawn repeat visitors – but the island’s property landscape keeps shifting, with new openings in Uluwatu and Ubud raising the bar for both design and service. Here are the properties worth booking right now, organised by area and travel style.
The best boutique hotels in Bali: Sanur and Sebatu highlands
Ulu Valley Retreat
Newly opened in the Sebatu highlands, a short drive north of Ubud, Ulu Valley Retreat occupies a hillside where rainforest and rice paddies fill the valley below. With just 18 suites and villas, cooler air and a pace that bears no resemblance to Bali’s busier south, it earns its boutique credentials quietly. The two-storey NawaRasa restaurant sources from Sebatu’s local markets and garden herbs, the spa looks out over the valley, and the yoga shala sits level with the rice paddies – each element placed with the same unhurried attention as the rest.
Kayumanis Sanur Private Villa & Spa
Kayumanis Sanur has just 11 pool villas, each enclosed by a walled garden, which gives it a privacy that larger Sanur properties can’t match. A welcome massage on arrival sets the tone for stays built around in-villa spa treatments, 24-hour butler service and dining at Gong and Kayumanis Seaside Sanur (or in the villa itself if you’d rather not leave). Cooking classes and temple excursions are available for those who want to spend time outside the walls.
The best beachfront hotels in Bali: Nusa Dua, Canggu and Seminyak
Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Beach Resort
Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua sits on the southern peninsula, on a stretch of beach that stays noticeably quieter than Seminyak or Canggu, with French design sensibility applied to a very Balinese setting. The dining spread is one of the resort’s genuine strengths: Pan-Asian street food at Kwee Zeen, Italian alfresco at Cucina and barbecue at Toya Beach Bar & Grill cover the main bases. L’Oh Pool Bar and the beach club Manarai Beach House handle the afternoon hours. It’s a resort that rewards those who stay put.
The Mulia
The Mulia is suite-only, which sets the tone from the moment you arrive: this is Nusa Dua’s most uncompromising property. Seven pools (including an oceanfront infinity pool), nine restaurants and bars, and a spa with 20 treatment rooms, a Finnish sauna and hydrotherapy pools make it one of the most complete resorts on the island. It works equally well for couples, families and groups, though the scale means it never feels crowded.
Merusaka Nusa Dua
Merusaka sits on Mengiat Beach in Nusa Dua, with Balinese-inspired architecture across rooms, suites and villas, a multi-level pool and six restaurants and bars. For families, Tamaya Land Kids Club covers the younger guests while adults have The Spa by Merusaka to themselves. The location is practical too: the Bali Collection shopping centre is close by, and Senggol Night Market and Uluwatu Temple are both within reach for days out.
Pullman Bali Legian Beach
Pullman Bali Legian Beach occupies a prime position between Kuta and Legian, with three pools, a rooftop infinity pool, a spa and an onsite restaurant set within gardens that keep the resort feeling self-contained despite its central location. A solid five-star option for those who want Seminyak’s energy with slightly more breathing room.
COMO Uma Canggu
COMO Uma Canggu is built for people who want to surf in the morning and eat well at night. Positioned steps from one of Canggu’s best breaks, the resort has an onsite surf school, a beach club that draws a crowd beyond hotel guests, and COMO Shambhala Kitchen, which makes you feel virtuous just looking at the menu. COMO Shambhala Retreat handles the spa side with the same considered approach. It’s a five-star property that fits Canggu’s tempo rather than fighting it.
Alila Seminyak
Alila Seminyak puts you directly on one of Seminyak’s best stretches of beach, with the district’s restaurants and beach clubs a short walk in either direction. Four pools, a beachfront seafood restaurant – Seasalt, which uses organic Kusamba sea salt from East Bali – and the well-regarded Spa Alila give the resort enough to keep you on-site. It’s a property that suits both first-timers who want to be in the middle of things and repeat Bali visitors who know exactly what they’re coming back for.
The Seminyak Beach Resort & Spa
The Seminyak Beach Resort & Spa runs an infinity pool the full length of the property, with a sunken pool bar and double loungers facing the water. Sanje Restaurant & Lounge handles beachside dining, speakeasy-inspired Klass & Brass covers the evening drinks, and Kahyangan Spa is available for those who want to step back from the beach for an hour. The sunset from the pool terrace is one of Seminyak’s better ones.
The best hotels in Bali for families
Grand Hyatt Bali
The best hotels for families include something for everyone, and Grand Hyatt Bali certainly delivers. There’s the ocean-themed kids’ club offering everything from Balinese cooking classes to hand-puppet making and duck feeding, a Balinese-water-palace-inspired spa, nine restaurants and bars (Pasar Senggol is designed around a Balinese night market, while Salsa Verde serves Mediterranean flavours), and five pools. Generous all-inclusive packages offer added ease for families.
Novotel Bali Benoa
Novotel Bali Benoa is a strong family option in Nusa Dua, with a kids’ club, breakfast buffet and enough pool space to keep younger guests occupied for the duration. Cocos covers international dining, Crocokiss handles poolside drinks, and the Ice Cream Pavilion does what it says. For families who want watersports on the doorstep and a resort that doesn’t require military-level planning, it delivers.
Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Beach Resort
For families, Sofitel’s interconnecting rooms and kids’ club are the practical draw, but the resort holds up for adults too. The sprawling lagoon pool, Kwee Zeen’s Pan-Asian street food and the Sofitel Spa mean there’s enough on-site to fill a week without venturing far.
The best hotels in Ubud: jungle retreats and rice-terrace villas
Kappa Senses Ubud
Kappa Senses occupies a ridge above Ubud’s rice fields, with Sanskrit carvings, open pavilions and temple views giving the property a considered cultural character that goes beyond decoration. Six restaurants, a winding Jungle River Pool and the OmTara Spa by Clarins – which brings a French skincare sensibility to a very Balinese setting – round out a resort that earns its five-star billing.
The Samaya Ubud Bali
The Samaya Ubud is an all-villa property set above the Ayung River, where jungle-covered hills and rice terraces fill the view from every room. Butler service and a private pool come standard across the villas, and the two restaurants – Scene, an open-air breakfast spot overlooking the terraces, and Swept Away, which sits at the riverbank – make good use of the setting. Yoga, morning cycling and guided trekking are available for those who want to spend time outside the villa.
Aksari Resort Ubud
Aksari sits deep in the Balinese jungle above a valley, with the infinity pool, in-suite bathtubs and the Ankhusa restaurant all oriented toward the forest view. It’s a property pitched at couples. The setting suits proposals, honeymoons and anniversaries, with Svaha Spa and floating breakfasts by the pool among the signature touches. Small, quiet and deliberately removed from Ubud’s busier streets.
The best romantic hotels in Bali: Uluwatu reigns supreme
Alila Villas Uluwatu
Alila Villas Uluwatu is built along Uluwatu’s clifftop edge, with private pool villas, uninterrupted Indian Ocean views and a quietness that the busier south of the island rarely delivers. The Warung restaurant draws on the traditional food-stall format with the ocean as its backdrop, and Spa Alila works with ancient Asian healing techniques. A dedicated stairway cut into the rock face leads directly to the beach below.
Renaissance Bali Uluwatu Resort & Spa
Renaissance Bali Uluwatu Resort & Spa occupies a clifftop position in one of the island’s most dramatic settings, with infinity pools that face the Indian Ocean and surf breaks a few minutes away. Mornings start at Clay Craft Restaurant before the day opens up. The resort’s own Roosterfish Beach Club handles the beach hours, a pottery studio at the Clay Studio offers something different for the afternoon, and R Bar takes over at sunset.
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Featured image: The Apurva Kempinski Bali, Nusa Dua.
