Villa Dharma

A dark plaque bearing the villa’s name sits beside an arched timber door in a white wall, half hidden by elephant-ear leaves. Step through and the house opens up in one long gesture: a turquoise pool runs the length of the ground floor in a courtyard of palms and ferns, a hardwood deck and a pair of woven lounge chairs at one end, a carved antique door standing among the planting at the other. Along its side, full-height glass slides away so the living room, the dining table and the water become a single space under a ceiling of warm slatted timber.

Inside, deep brown modular sofas gather around a round white table, with a television set into an arched niche and bold contemporary portraits on the walls. The kitchen is built around a white island with timber cabinetry, a coffee maker and everything needed for a relaxed breakfast, while the dining table seats eight on wishbone chairs beside the glass. Arched doorways, woven wall hangings and rattan pendants soften the clean white walls, and a floating timber staircase leads up through the house. Air conditioning runs throughout, and each of the three bedrooms has its own desk, so a working morning slots easily between swims.

The bedrooms each have their own ensuite. One is framed by floor-to-ceiling glass looking into palm fronds, with rattan-fronted wardrobes and a desk built into the back of its woven headboard. Another sits behind arched black-framed garden doors under a carved mandala headboard, and the third tucks neatly beneath the stairs with built-in white storage. The suite the house is proudest of centres on a freestanding stone bathtub under a tall arched window filled with greenery, with a walk-in shower alongside. Above everything, the roof terrace is the villa’s signature: loungers under a reed pergola, an outdoor sink, views over the hills and a pine-lined sauna.

Staff clean daily and tend the pool and garden through the week, and there is parking on the property. A concierge team can arrange a private cook, massages in the villa, a nanny, laundry, airport transfers, a car and driver, surf lessons or a day among the temples of the Bukit. Bingin Beach is about a kilometre and a half away, with Dreamland and Padang Padang close behind. It suits friends or a family of up to six who want a modern, well-designed house with a sauna and a sunset terrace close to the Bukit’s surf breaks and cafés.

Villa Dharma pairs a jungle-framed pool with a rooftop made for the end of the day, where a sauna and a row of loungers wait for the sun to drop. Book it for a group of friends or a family who want design, space to work and the beaches a few minutes away.