Villa Umah Daun

Two pools and a jacuzzi sit side by side on a broad green lawn at Villa Umah Daun, with rice fields running away beyond the palms and the curved, shingled roofs of the house rising behind. It is a big, generous property in Umalas, with around 2,000 square metres of garden wrapped around a five-bedroom home, and the scale is the first thing you notice: room for children to run, for adults to stretch out on the loungers, and for nobody to feel on top of anyone else.

The house is built for long, easy days. A main pool of around sixteen metres is joined by a shallow children’s pool, and an open-air pavilion beside the water holds a long dining table with views over the lawn. Inside, the main living pavilion is all soaring timber ceilings and deep sofas, the dining room opens through bi-fold doors to a fish pond, and there is a wine room alongside a fully equipped kitchen. When the afternoon heat sets in, the air-conditioned media room, a game room with a pool table and foosball, and an upstairs library with armchairs and bean bags give everyone somewhere to retreat.

The five suites are named after Balinese flowers, each with a king bed, warm timber floors, its own bathroom and big windows onto the gardens. A four-strong team handles housekeeping, pool care and security, with breakfast included and a cook available for other meals. Umalas keeps things calm, yet Kerobokan’s restaurants are close by, Seminyak is around five kilometres away and the beaches of Berawa and Echo Beach are a short drive.