The Ubud Ridge Resort With Views That Money Can’t Usually Buy

Published by forbes.com.au

Perched on a secluded ridge above the emerald Petanu River gorge, Viceroy Bali welcomes discerning travellers into an intimate sanctuary that marries genuine Balinese tradition with elevated luxury. Family stewardship began in 2005 under the vision of Margaret Bainbridge, who envisioned a hideaway where alang-alang thatch roofs and hand-carved timber doors harmonise with heated infinity pool villas overlooking rice terraces and the silhouette of Mount Agung.

Validation arrived when the Global Recognition Awards 2025 named it Best Luxury Honeymoon Resort, and Condé Nast Traveler readers named it the world’s top resort in 2018. Apéritif Restaurant secured Indonesia’s Best Restaurant title in 2020. A private helipad whisks guests from Denpasar airport in twelve minutes, bypassing traffic and offering a cinematic aerial view of Bali’s verdant heart.

Performance metrics underscore sustained appeal. A generous staff-to-villa ratio results in four team members devoted to each of the forty villas, generating personalised moments. Villas feature heated infinity pools, marble terraces, state-of-the-art Bowers & Wilkins audio, and 49-inch flat screens. Espresso machines arrive prestocked with artisanal Bali beans grown locally. Shuttle service to Ubud operates daily from 7:00 AM to 10:30 PM, delivering travellers to Ubud’s cultural centre at no extra cost.

Spectacular Vantages

Margaret Bainbridge launched the property with a vision of inviting international standards into Bali’s soul, sparking affection among guests seeking authentic connections. Daughter Amanda, as Director alongside General Manager Patrick Farrell, now steers daily operations under a family ethos that prizes personal relationships over corporate protocols. Local staff members predominantly come from neighbouring villages and receive continuous training to uphold high service levels while preserving cultural heritage. One villa attendant greeted a returning guest at a garden gate, recalling a conversation about rice paddy rituals from two years earlier. Spa teams narrate healing legends involving frangipani and turmeric, growing their own herbs in an on-site greenhouse. Conversations at breakfast drift into local folklore, rekindling guests’ curiosity about Balinese spirituality and offering a depth of experience few luxury resorts can match.

Early-morning shuttle departures traverse twisting jungle roads until a sudden panorama unfurls: terraced paddies reflecting dawn light, waving bamboo stands, and a distant volcano that anchors the horizon. Travellers disembark at an intimate terrace where heated infinity pools carve into the ridge’s edge, framing the gorge. Temple bells chime across the valley, and soft tropical breezes carry the aroma of frangipani and lemongrass. Arrivals by private helicopter turn routine transfers into celebratory moments, complete with welcoming frangipani leis. In-room details range from alang-alang thatched roofs to hand-carved stone fountains. Marble floors cool bare feet; outdoor balés beckon at sunset. Guests often pause mid-step, mesmerised by the sheer drama of the scene, as view and villa merge into a secluded paradise seldom charted on popular maps.

Greenhouse kitchens transform farm-to-table engagement into a dynamic discovery tour. Chefs guide participants through harvesting turmeric, chillies, and herbs before demonstrating intricate sambal recipes in volcanic stone mortars during cooking classes. Seven-course tasting menus at Apéritif Restaurant escalate this culinary journey to an art form, blending local produce with global techniques with a borderless philosophy. One guest shared, “My senses came alive when I tasted each course against the jungle backdrop”. Workshops galvanize conviviality, sparking conversations that spill over into candlelit dinners on private terraces. Morning strolls through vegetable plots frame a narrative of Bali’s agrarian roots, cementing a connection between plate and place.

Service and Acclaim

Accommodation options span intimate Pool Suites to the sprawling 4,306-square-foot Viceroy Villa, all featuring heated infinity pools and expansive marble terraces. Deluxe Terrace Villas topped occupancy charts. Architectural motifs draw from Balinese vernacular with alang-alang thatch, fabricated from local grass, hand-hewn timber doors, and volcanic stone detailing. Semi-outdoor living rooms and glass-panel railings maximise engagement with the jungle vista while preserving privacy. Espresso machines, high-speed internet, and flat-screen TVs enhance in-villa amenities.

Dining venues amplify the resort’s appeal. Apéritif Restaurant, housed in an art deco salon with peacock-feather accents, commands attention with a seven-course degustation menu that won Indonesia’s Best Restaurant in 2020 and recent Travel + Leisure Tastemakers awards. Chef Sommelier Jean-Benoit Issele curates over 180 labels in the wine cellar, including rare Burgundies and boutique Indonesian vintages. CasCades Restaurant serves all-day international and traditional Rijsttafel dishes against a backdrop of jungle valley panoramas. Pinstripe Bar channels speakeasy glamour, offering crafted cocktails and live jazz weekly. Akoya Spa features three couples’ treatment rooms, reflexology chairs, and in-villa body therapies blending Swiss technique with Balinese healing practices.

Cultural Flourish

Temple visits unfold like living dramas, each ornate shrine whispering tales of gods and mortals entwined. Guests don sarongs and sashes, then follow incense-laced pathways to witness purification rites, where water spirits mingle amid moss-laden stones. Evening Balinese dance performances at CasCades Restaurant feature performers adorned in golden headdresses, their fingers articulating episodes from the Ramayana. Artisan workshops invite novices to shape batik canvases or carve teak panels under master artisans’ watchful eyes.

Independent ownership grants swift tailoring of experiences and policies. Weekly schedules offer rice paddy treks, Balinese offering makings, and morning flow yoga. Reviews frequently cite cultural programming as the element that elevated their stays from leisure escapes to soul-enriching retreats.

Sunsets bleed saffron across the Valley of the Kings, painting sky and river with hues that defy monetary measure. Villa balconies become immersive observatories, where silence accrues as the most valuable amenity. Tourists elsewhere swap chaos for crowded beaches and pulsing nightlife, while Viceroy Bali rewards those seeking stillness with a panorama that encourages pensive reflection. Scores of global awards and repeat-visitor testimonials testify to a retreat where each dawn heralds discovery and every dusk seals a promise of serenity. With vistas etched into memory, Viceroy Bali stands as proof that some luxuries, like an untouched ridge view, remain priceless.

Learn more at viceroybali.com.