Six Senses Uluwatu, Bali

"From the moment you arrive, you feel like you’re teetering at the edge of the earth. Six Senses Uluwatu is a fan-shaped property built into a high clifftop on Bali’s southern coast, behind which lies the pool to end all debates about the world’s best pool, with an infinity-edged blue swath of water that extends to meet sky and clouds. Six Senses is a wellness pioneer in the hospitality industry; given that Bali is a mecca for health-seekers, they bring their A-game here with a long menu of spa treatments, an Integrated Wellness Screening, and an organic kitchen garden. —Alex Postman" - Chris Schalkx, Juliet Kinsman

"Set the scene.Teetering at the edge of the earth, well, a high clifftop overlooking the Indian Ocean on Bali’s southern coast. The views arrive in three stages. After the topmost lobby—basically a patio en plein air with startling vistas of ocean and surrounding cliffs—a vertiginously steep road is navigated by buggy to the second lobby. Behind this lies the pool (all three of them), the blue swath of water merging with sky and clouds. Peer over the side and you’ll see the rugged surf crashing on the beach hundreds of feet below. What’s the story?Six Senses has long been on a mission to champion sustainability and wellness. Uluwatu opened in mid-to-late 2018, and is the only hotel in Bali with a Certificate of Sustainability: It composts food, bottles its own water, and recycles grey water; its terraces are landscaped with indigenous plants and villas built almost entirely of sustainably farmed timber. There’s also an organic kitchen garden which supplies many of the ingredients, as well as an organic mushroom hut and beehive. What can we expect from our room?Inspired by traditional village homes, with carved wooden doors leading to a small courtyard and a ceremonial altar. Ours was a two-bedroom villa about halfway down the hill, with bamboo-weave rugs and contemporary-style furniture covered in fabrics that reflect the shifting ocean light—yellow, white, blue, grey. Mini-bars are stocked with arak, the local spirit distilled from coconut palms, and Balinese coffee. Bathrooms have egg-shaped tubs with a view, and an indoor-outdoor river-stone-floored rain shower. They’re easy to dawdle in—especially given that each has its own plunge pool on a private deck. Aside from villas, the entry-level rooms in the main building are a great alternative, with a similar design aesthetic but even better views. How about the food and drink?The main restaurant, Rocka, serves the kind of healthy breakfast that’s become standard in Bali with, count them, 21 types of juices that detoxify and energize, and seriously good French press coffee. For dinner, there are modern takes on Indonesian classics, such as lawars (veg, coconut, minced meat) and nasis (rice dishes). But Crudo has something totally different: Nikkei-style food, created by Japanese immigrants to Brazil, served both raw and grilled over an open fire. This style of cooking would seem entirely out of place, except, as Mexican chef Ricardo Luján explains, Indonesia has great raw materials for this sort of food, from excellent fish to spicy peppers. After a chipotle margarita and a Sambal on the rocks with arak, you might be served Peruvian-style ceviche with sea bass and coriander, pork belly tacos, and steamed coconut buns. And the spa?Given that Bali is itself a destination for health-seekers, this is the Six Senses playing its A-game. Massages, scrubs, and wraps are inspired by Balinese traditions, using herbs grown in the organic garden. If you’re staying a few days, consider the Integrated Wellness Screening, a signature holistic measurement of key bio-markers that the team uses to create an individual program. There’s also a lovely air-conditioned glass yoga pavilion with harnesses for aerial yoga, which isn’t too hard to pick up as a newbie. You can also pick up a few moves in selat, a local kung-fu, which is taught here. Anything to say about the service?The vast majority of staff are Balinese, many from the surrounding villages. All are extremely friendly and solicitous, if a little over-eager. Who comes here?Hard-core wellness seekers and those just looking for a holiday in the sun. What’s the surrounding area like?Uluwatu is legendary in surfing circles—Rip Curl holds annual championships on the breaks beyond the yellow-sand beaches, and smart hotels such as Alila Villas and the Bulgari have been opening in response. Six Senses is more isolated than the others, though you can easily get to, say, Pedang-Pedang Beach, to drink Bintang beer while watching the surfers. Uluwatu Temple, where crowds come to watch the sun set behind the cliffs, is also close, as is the enormous (unfinished) new Garuda Statue, Bali’s icon of greatness and unity, that’s already taller than the Statue of Liberty. Is there anything you'd change?The roads up and down are steep—so steep, in fact, that they can be challenging for someone with any walking impairments to negotiate, and downright hair-raising on a loaded cart. Anything we missed?The kids’ club is characteristically focused on mindfulness—no electronics allowed. Children can participate in an Earth Lab to learn planting and recycling. Equally appealing to kids and adults is Cinema Paradiso, which screens movies outdoors, watched via wireless headsets. Is it worth it—and why?Those who are down for a serious wellness program will especially enjoy it. And the views are incredible." - Alex Postman

"The rocky outcropping of Uluwatu has largely been immune from the crowds and construction afflicting much of the island, and these terraced 10 acres—built onto a towering cliff at Bali’s southernmost point—drive the sense of isolation home. The open-air lobby overlooks the wind-latticed surf, while winding stone switchbacks lead past rows of white stone villas with carved wooden doors to a wide infinity pool that stretches to, well, the infinite horizon (and beyond it, Australia). Like at all Six Senses, the focus here is on wellness, and the spa pavilion has 10 rooms for sessions with local healers or Balinese-inspired scrubs and wraps that incorporate herbs grown in the hotel’s organic garden; this is where anyone seeking physical and emotional betterment should stay while here. This fertile plot, with its own mushroom hut and beehive, also produces a good portion of the kitchen’s produce, which turns up in fresh takes on Indonesian classics—lawars and nasis—and an surprisingly sharp Nikkei-style chef’s menu (that’s Japan by way of Brazil) at the hotel’s smaller restaurant, Crudo. Not surprisingly, sunset from this vertiginous perch conjures a hotel-wide hush, best viewed while sipping a cocktail spiked with arak, the local coconut palm elixir, in the Cliff Bar, or sprawled in a chaise by each breezy villa’s own plunge pool. FLASH POINT Guests seeking deeper transformation can submit to individually prescriptive Wellness Screenings offered at the spa. +62 361-209-0300; sixsenses.com; one-bedroom villas start at $850 per night." - CNT Editors