Villa Sungai Raja

The best seat at Villa Sungai Raja is the upstairs master bed: a woven, canopied nest beneath a thatched roof, with the Bali Sea filling the view through open doors. Set right on the beach at Lovina on Bali’s quiet north coast, the villa trades the bustle of the south for palm-fringed calm, wide lawns and a horizon where fishing boats and the odd passing ship drift by.

Outside, a long turquoise pool runs alongside the house, its shallow ends handy for children, with loungers, parasols and an open pavilion with deep cushioned sofas right at the water. Beyond it, a sweeping manicured garden of around 1,500 square metres rolls towards the sea, with a thatched gazebo on the shoreline for lazy afternoons with a book. Inside, an open-plan living room with a Smart TV and a covered dining terrace overlooking the pool keep the breeze moving through the house.

Five staff look after everything, including a chef who can cook local and international dishes, plus housekeeping and a gardener. Mornings here are made for sunrise dolphin-watching trips off the Lovina coast, snorkelling close to shore and fresh seafood at the beachfront warungs, then long, slow evenings watching the light fade over the water.