The Cove

Below the lawns of The Cove, a path drops through a rocky grotto to a small black-sand bay, where waves curl in from the Indian Ocean and the only footprints are usually your own. The villa sits right on the shore at Balian, on Bali’s wild west coast in Tabanan, an area of surf breaks, coconut groves and slow village life far from the crowds of the south.

A fourteen-metre infinity pool curves along the edge of the garden, its water seeming to run straight into the sea, with a timber deck, loungers and a thatched cabana for the hottest part of the day. The main house rises under three peaked thatched roofs, all warm timber and tall glass, its living room opening to sea breezes and fitted with a projector for movie nights. Beyond the lawn there is even a private grass tennis court.

Four bedrooms sit in the main house and a fifth occupies a stone-walled guesthouse with a living roof, giving a couple their own quiet corner. Every room has air conditioning, its own ensuite and a terrace or balcony facing the ocean, and some bathrooms have deep stone tubs. Staff keep the house running day to day, a chef can cook on request, and evenings belong to the sunset, which drops straight into the sea in front of the villa.