Villa Desa

A twenty-eight-metre pool runs the length of Villa Desa’s lawn, and from the water you look across terraced rice paddies to a thin blue line of the Indian Ocean on the horizon. The estate lies in the quiet farming country of Tabanan, well away from Bali’s busy south, and is built around a cluster of traditional Javanese joglo pavilions, their tall carved roofs rising over more than four thousand square metres of garden.

Inside, everything is warm teak, hand-carved statues and tribal artefacts. The open living pavilion has deep sofas facing the pool and the fields, and meals are served in a separate joglo beneath a soaring, ornately carved roof. Each of the six bedroom suites is its own pavilion, with a king bed, air conditioning and a garden bathroom where you can shower in the open air or soak in a stone tub under the stars, and the master suite adds a private sitting room.

There is far more to do here than swim. A pool bar sits under its own joglo roof, daybeds line the water’s edge, and a poolside bale is set up for lazy lunches. An air-conditioned gym and spa room look out over the paddies, and there’s an outdoor jacuzzi, a sauna, a billiard table and a home cinema for evenings in. A team of six keeps everything running smoothly, breakfast is included, and the rice terraces start right at the garden’s edge.