Villa Irrawaddy

A heavy metal gate opens onto the first surprise at Villa Irrawaddy: a long infinity pool that seems to spill straight into the Bali Sea far below. Set high on the hillside above Lovina, on Bali’s north coast, the villa looks over green slopes to an endless sweep of water, and in the late afternoon the sun drops behind the distant volcanoes of Java.

Clean contemporary lines meet warm timber, polished concrete and natural stone throughout. The open-plan living pavilion rises to a soaring thatched ceiling, with a deep curved sofa, a long dining table and a kitchen with a generous breakfast counter, all open to the view. Beside the pool, a shallow sun ledge with its own umbrella invites lazy afternoons in the water, there is a Jacuzzi, and a covered bale-style deck holds massage beds and a hammock. A pool table, a gym room and a rooftop terrace for sundowners round things off.

The four bedrooms are bright and calm, with crisp linen, wide windows onto the hills or sea and en-suite bathrooms in stone and timber, some partly open to the garden and one with a bathtub set among the greenery. The setting is wonderfully quiet, a world of slow mornings and long sunsets, with Lovina Beach, its cafés and the waterfalls and mountain villages of the north all within a comfortable drive.