Tanah Gajah, Ubud

Set amongst beautiful working paddy fields and only ten minutes from the centre of Ubud, Tanah Gajah (formerly known as the Chedi Club) is incredibly tranquil and offers fine examples of Balinese design and architecture; all with the same level of comfort and care that you would expect from one of the very best hotels in Bali, if not Asia.

Conceptualized by Adrian Zecha, Tanah Gajah was previously the private villa of Hendra Hadriprana, a famous Indonesian architect and fine art collector. The exclusive resort has kept in tune with its natural environs and integrated new designs with old. The combination of tile roofing with wooden and stone structures and furnishings give the whole property, and all of its rooms, a tasteful and traditional Balinese feel. The 20 villas are spread in such a way to provide peace and quiet and the deep blue pool is beautifully designed and situated.

A real highlight of any stay is eating in the stunning wooden terraced restaurant that was built in and is surrounded by a large expanse of paddy fields. The wonderful international fusion menu, relaxing local percussionists, the beautifully designed and furnished terrace, views of the paddy fields by day and the stone lanterns that mark the hotel grounds by night, produce an extremely peaceful and romantic, if expensive, eating experience.

The pool villas are wonderfully private and their infinity pools offer great views, providing you have a paddy view, while the spa villas offer spacious relaxation in the form of complimentary 90-minute daily spa treatments and a cold water plunge. While the one-bedroom villas do not provide the same benefits of the other villas, they do provide a significantly cheaper opportunity to experience the style and location of Tanah Gajah. All of the rooms have spacious covered outdoor bathrooms with separate baths and showers. They do not offer particularly modern luxury and amenities but they do provide plenty of style, tradition, comfort and care.

The hotel is undoubtedly at the top end of the market and the prices do reflect this. However, guests are provided with a large number of complimentary services such as airport transfers, the daily refilling and use of the minibar (including spirits and local beers), yoga classes, twice-weekly traditional local dance performances, afternoon tea, evening cocktails and a shuttle service into town. Furthermore, unlike many properties in Ubud, Tanah Gajah has a limited number of steps thus limiting the number of hot and bothered walks around the resort.