Villa Mas 3

Villa Mas 3 gets the fundamentals right in a part of Seminyak where that is harder than it sounds. It sits on a quiet lane within walking distance of Eat Street, yet the moment the gate closes you are in a walled garden with a long pool running down the middle of it and a traditional thatched bale at the far end. At dusk, when the lanterns come on and the water turns the colour of the sky, it is genuinely lovely — and it is the reason most guests end up eating in rather than heading out.

The living pavilion is open-sided under a high alang-alang roof, with a lounge and Smart TV on one side and a long dining table on the other, all of it facing the pool. Behind sits a fully equipped kitchen, and the whole space catches the cross-breeze so it stays comfortable without air conditioning for most of the day. Antique carved cabinets and dark timber furniture sit against white plaster and polished concrete — restrained, tactile, and a world away from the glossy new builds nearby.

Three bedrooms open through sliding glass directly onto the pool terrace. Each has a king bed — two of them four-posters draped in netting — soft sage-green joinery, air conditioning and an en-suite bathroom with a twin stone vanity and a walk-in rain shower, one of them semi-open to a planted light well. Wardrobes, hairdryers and bathroom amenities are all in place. It is a straightforward, well-run villa that suits three couples or a family of six, five minutes from the beach and closer still to dinner.