Villa Bliss

A wall of dark lava stone carries the villa’s name in gold lettering, and behind it a timber pivot door swings open onto a courtyard where a carved stone relief panel stands among potted frangipani. From there a covered walkway leads inwards, its boards running the length of a black-lined pond planted with lotus, so the sound of water follows you to the door. The house sits low and wide against working paddies on the edge of central Ubud, two bedroom wings flanking an open living pavilion in the middle. Look up as you arrive and the roof lifts into a tall pitch, while the plan itself opens sideways to the fields on both sides.

The living pavilion is the heart of it. Three oversized rattan pendants hang from the raked white ceiling above two curved cream sofas, drawn around a coffee table cut from a single slab of timber with the tree’s own edge left on. One wall is half fluted timber and half polished concrete and carries the television; the two opposite walls are glass, sliding away to lawn on one side and pool on the other. Behind sits the kitchen, built around a long black marble island with the hob set into it and stools pulled up at one end, the oven and pale timber cabinetry running along the back wall. Six spindle-back chairs surround a live-edge dining table under black and copper pendants.

Both bedrooms are kings, both open to the terrace, and both come with a television and a bathroom of their own. In one, a blush and terracotta arc mural rises behind a rattan-panelled headboard, woven pendants hang either side of the bed, and a walk-in wardrobe with open shelving sits behind. Its bathroom is lined in emerald zellige with brass tapware and stone basins on a timber vanity, then opens through to a walled garden court where a carved black stone tub and a shower stand beneath a bamboo-slat pergola, stepping stones set into the pebbles. The second bedroom is quieter in grey and cream, with brass lamps, an arched mirror, and a bathroom in white ripple-textured tile ending in a charcoal slate rain shower.

Outside, the pool runs the length of the lawn and finishes in an infinity edge above the rice terraces, its teal tile patterned with leaves so the water shifts colour through the day. Rattan loungers and two white parasols sit on the grass beside it, and a covered pavilion at one end holds a rattan sofa and armchairs behind a glass balustrade with nothing but paddy in front. Staff come daily to clean, the pool and garden are tended two or three times a week, and a concierge team arranges everything from a private cook to a driver for the day. Two couples, or a small family, will find the scale exactly right.

Villa Bliss suits travellers who want Ubud’s restaurants and galleries within reach but would rather come back to open fields than a busy lane. Take breakfast at the marble island, spend the afternoon between the pond walk and the pool, and let the concierge fill in whatever else the day needs.