A hand-picked collection of nine extraordinary luxury villas — clifftop Uluwatu, beachfront Canggu, jungle Ubud and quiet Lombok — and exactly who each one is for.
There is a moment — usually on the first evening — when a Bali villa stops being a place you have booked and becomes a place you live. The pool turns to glass. Someone finds the good speakers. The chef asks what you would like for breakfast.
These nine houses are the ones we send people to when that moment matters most: a clifftop estate blessed by Mandarin Oriental, beachfront houses along the Canggu sand, a jungle eyrie above Ubud, and two quiet hideaways across the water in Lombok. Some sleep eighteen; some just eight. All of them, in their own way, are the best of what these islands do. Here is where we would stay.
The clifftops of the Bukit
Bali's southern peninsula is its most cinematic edge — limestone cliffs, surf breaks far below, light that turns gold an hour before sunset.
Uluwatu Estate
Perched on the cliffs above Nyang Nyang, Uluwatu Estate is one of only a handful of Mandarin Oriental Exceptional Homes anywhere in the world — and it feels like it. Eight bedrooms unfold across a dramatic clifftop garden with the Indian Ocean filling every frame. A full-time estate manager, a private chef approved by Mandarin Oriental’s culinary team, a personal mixologist and two championship padel courts turn a stay into something closer to a private resort. This is the Bukit at its most extraordinary.
The essentials · 8 bedrooms · sleeps 16 · Uluwatu · Mandarin Oriental Exceptional Home with clifftop ocean views & padel courts
Canggu & Pererenan, by the sea
Bali’s northwest coast is where the island feels most alive — surf at dawn, long lunches, a creative hum that runs late into the night. These are houses with the sand on their doorstep.
Cala Saona
Cala Saona is Canggu’s modern-tropical ideal turned all the way up — an architectural showpiece where eight bedrooms, a long lap pool and soaring volumes meet polished concrete and warm timber. It sits central enough to walk to dinner, yet private enough to forget the rest of the island exists. For a large group that wants design as much as space, few houses in Canggu come close.
The essentials · 8 bedrooms · sleeps 16 · Canggu · architectural design, long lap pool, walk to Canggu’s best tables
Arnalaya Beach House
Set in tropical gardens with the sand just beyond, Arnalaya Beach House is a masterclass in contemporary beachside design — five bedrooms threaded around a private tennis court, a gym and a spa. It is the rare Canggu villa that is genuinely beachfront, and it never lets you forget the sea is right there. Mornings are for surf and yoga; evenings for that long, low Canggu light over the water.
The essentials · 5 bedrooms · sleeps 10 · Canggu · true beachfront with private tennis court, gym & spa
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Villa Melissa
Right on the sand at Canggu, Villa Melissa pairs five bedrooms with its own tennis court and an easy, barefoot rhythm. Surf in the morning, lunch by the pool, sunset from the lawn — it is built for two families who want the beach as their front garden and nothing much on the agenda.
The essentials · 5 bedrooms · sleeps 10 · Canggu · beachfront with a private tennis court
Akashi Residence
Canggu runs on surf culture, beach clubs and a restless creative energy, and Akashi Residence plugs straight into it — a six-bedroom family villa built for the way Canggu actually lives. Walk to the breaks and the roasteries by day; come home to a house designed for long, lazy dinners and full-house weekends.
The essentials · 6 bedrooms · sleeps 12 · Canggu · family villa in the heart of Canggu, a walk from the surf
Ocean Palm
In quietly fashionable Pererenan, Ocean Palm is a seven-bedroom estate built around openness — living spaces dissolve into garden, garden into pool, until indoors and out stop being separate ideas. It suits a big group that wants room to scatter and gather in equal measure, moments from Pererenan’s beach and its slow, surfy mornings.
The essentials · 7 bedrooms · sleeps 14 · Pererenan · open-plan estate with a private pool in quiet Pererenan
Ubud, among the trees
Inland, the island slows down. Rivers cut through the green; mornings arrive as mist over the canopy.
Bedulu Cliff Estate
Above a river gorge near Ubud, Bedulu Cliff Estate is nine bedrooms of open-air living wrapped in jungle. Mornings come as mist over the canopy; evenings as birdsong and the distant river. With ten bathrooms and acres of green to wander, it is made for the multi-generational gathering that wants Ubud’s stillness without giving up scale.
The essentials · 9 bedrooms · sleeps 18 · Ubud · jungle-and-river setting, 10 bathrooms, room for eighteen
Discover Bedulu Cliff Estate →
Lombok, the quiet frontier
An hour east by air, Lombok is the Bali of a generation ago — emptier beaches, wilder hills, far fewer people. Within the Tampah Hills estate on its untamed south coast sit two houses for travellers chasing the next quiet thing.
House Kala
On the wild south coast of Lombok, within the Tampah Hills estate, House Kala is a study in calm — four bedrooms of organic materials, raw stone and soft light, framing the hills as they roll down to the sea. For travellers who have done Bali and want the next, quieter frontier, this is exactly it.
The essentials · 4 bedrooms · sleeps 8 · Tampah Hills, Lombok · organic-modern design on Lombok’s wild south coast
Villa Awasi
Intimate where its neighbours are grand, Villa Awasi is a three-bedroom Tampah Hills retreat where minimalist architecture and greenery keep gentle watch over you. It is a hideaway for a family or two couples chasing Lombok’s empty beaches and that rare, end-of-the-world quiet.
The essentials · 3 bedrooms · sleeps 8 · Tampah Hills, Lombok · an intimate, minimalist hideaway
Frequently asked questions
Which of these villas is best for a large group or multi-generational trip? The estate-scale houses sleep the most: Bedulu Cliff Estate (18), Uluwatu Estate and Cala Saona (16 each), and Ocean Palm (14). All are designed so a big group can gather and scatter with ease.
Do the villas include staff and a private chef? Yes — every villa here is fully staffed, and most include daily breakfast and a private chef (Uluwatu Estate’s chef is approved by Mandarin Oriental’s culinary team). Groceries and additional food and beverage are usually billed separately at cost.
How far are they from the airport? From Ngurah Rai, Canggu and Pererenan are roughly 45–60 minutes, Uluwatu about 45, and Ubud around 75. The Lombok villas are reached via a short onward transfer that our concierge arranges end to end.
Can I rent more than one villa at the same time? Yes. Several sit within shared estates or close together, and our concierge can arrange combined bookings for a wedding, a milestone birthday or a large family reunion.
When is the best time to visit? The dry season (roughly April to October) is ideal for beach days in Canggu and the Bukit, while the clifftop and jungle estates are a pleasure year-round.
Tell us who is coming and when, and we will match you to the right house — and look after everything from the airport pickup to the chef’s first dinner. Browse our full villa collection or speak with a concierge on WhatsApp.