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ARCHITECTURE/ INTERIOR DESIGN |
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| Koichiro Ikebuchi |
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A volcanic mountain chain divides Bali into quiet northern coast and bustling southern coast. In between them lies the small but dynamic town Ubud. At its edge, on a three-hectare site overlooking the Tjampuhan Valley, sits Uma Ubud, a resort designed to feel like a luxuriously comfortable rural home in the Balinese hills. With the river Oos running below it, hilly paddy fields rolling around it and banyan trees and coconut palms surrounding it, Uma Ubud is an ideal place for those in search of bucolic bliss.
The resort’s 29 double rooms and suites all come with garden terraces or courtyards overflowing with tropical fauna; three Uma Pool Suites also include a private infinity-edge pool, and the Shambhala Suite has its own private spa-treatment area.
Japanese designer Koichiro Ikebuchi’s interiors are context-appropriate: uncomplicated, deferential to their natural surroundings and culturally authentic. Spaces are simply and succinctly articulated so that the main focus is the location itself. Panels carved from local woods open rooms to the outdoors, allowing easy access for sunlight, forest scents and chirping birds to flood through guestrooms. Pale stone flooring and lime-washed wood provide a pleasant contrast to the usual dark-wood furnishings and floors of most Balinese hotels. At the same time, fine white mosquito nets and soft linens complement the furnishings’ cream and light brown tones. In each room or suite, an outdoor area separates the living space from the bathroom, which includes both a bathtub and an open-air shower. Thatched roofs made from indigenous alang-alang blend in beautifully with the trees enclosing the guestrooms, and those rooms pressed right up to the edge of the Tjampuhan Valley provide dramatic views of green vistas and the snaking Oos.
To keep the resort’s ecological footprint at a minimum, everything is designed and built in an eco-friendly manner. The hotel’s communal areas share the aesthetic of their private counterparts: clean, understated design interwoven with indigenous touches and informed by local tastes. The lobby, 25-metre jade green pool and bar are all open, providing a pleasant contrast to the narrow paths leading to the rooms and running between tall, planted walls. Both the yoga pavilion and the resort’s main restaurant, Kemiri, are also open-air and afford some of the property’s best views. And Trevor Hillier, a Southeast Asian tropical specialist committed to conservationism, refers to the village site-plans that belong to island tradition in his unobtrusive landscaping. Dining at Uma Ubud, too, is inspired by Balinese custom: Kemiri meals are prepared with seasonal ingredients from local suppliers, and dishes celebrate local gastronomy while adding a modern spin. The special COMO Shambhala cuisine, designed to boost energy and promote health, uses only raw, organic ingredients full of living enzymes, vitamins and sea minerals, with blended nut milk replacing cow’s milk and soy alternatives and honey replacing processed sugars.
Four treatment rooms, a reflexology area, meditation bale, steam rooms and sauna provide plenty of places for calm enjoyment of the tranquil atmosphere. And the resort’s location is far enough away from traffic and city bustle for secluded relaxation, but close enough to Ubud for spontaneous visits to its many shops, galleries and restaurants – only twenty minutes away by foot or five by car. Nestled amongst hills and paddy fields but within walking distance of a vibrant town, Uma Ubud invites its guests to admire the best of both urban and rural Bali. |
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