Umana Bali review: a warm welcome to the island of gods

I took a single frangipani flower and held it between the tips of my fingers, against my forehead. The Balinese Hindu priest – a slight, old man with a wide smile – turned back to face the altar and he began to mutter the next in a series of prayers. 

He rang a little bell, which he held in his hand, punctuating the end of one blessing with a crescendo of pealing. He then picked up a small bottle of alcohol and squirted it at a small shrine on the floor – an offering to the demons, because as it was explained to me, without the bad there can be no good. 

The priest discarded his spent frangipani over his shoulder – my cue to tuck the one I held behind my ear and the whole process began again until we were out of flowers. 

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We stood up, dusted off our sarongs, and walked further into the cave high up in the cliff above the Indian Ocean. Hundreds of bats hung upside-down, guarding the entrance and the floor on which we walked was covered with guano. 

Here and there, an old lamp or a chair had been placed against the rocky wall. An elderly priest needs his comforts. We lined up to receive holy water into our cupped hands three times, sipping the first two times and tipping the third over our heads before fixing a pinch of dry rice to our foreheads. 

Thoroughly blessed, we thanked the priest and stepped, blinking, back out into the sunlight to descend the wooden steps. It was just one of the many ways visitors are welcomed to Bali, “the island of gods”.

Spirituality is taken seriously in Bali. But it is practised with a smile – a sign, perhaps, of a people at peace in their beautiful island surroundings. 

The temples you come across in the villages are fashioned from the local basalt rock, with the many mythic beasts that feature intricately carved according to the local, Balinese style. Even the flavour of Hinduism practised here is distinct to Bali, differing from that found in India. 

Umana Bali, by LXR Hotels & Resorts, located at the southern tip of the island, too, has a tiny temple for good luck, in addition to the chapel for guests who want to get married here. In the lobby, you will find many references to Balinese folklore if you know where to look. 

The resort may be a part of the larger Hilton group, but authenticity and respect for the culture are integral. First and foremost, you will taste it in the food. The Balinese and Indonesian dishes served in Umana’s main restaurant, Commune, are in no way dumbed down for Western palates. 

The spices are as fresh and aromatic as any found on the island. I know, because I was treated to a cookery class making chicken sate lilit (Balinese satay). Into the bowl went the lemon grass – a far cry from the dry stalks we buy in Britain – turmeric, ginger, galangal and kafir lime leaf. 

The palm sugar was sweet and moist, the chilli peppers zingy. Combined with the minced chicken, we worked the fragrant mixture over the flat bamboo skewers with our fingers. Quite literally, it is the flavours of Bali on a stick. 

Commune has a fun way of presenting its sate lilit, which in Bali are often served during festivals and celebrations. It places them on miniature charcoal burners. The Balinese seem to never miss an opportunity to impart just that little bit more flavour, right up until the moment it is placed on the table. 

Naturally, you will want to try a bit of everything and you can as part of a traditional rijsttafel (£83 for two). The word is Dutch from the colonial era (meaning “rice table”), but the food is authentically Indonesian and Balinese from the islands.

The restaurant is situated behind the resort’s very stylish swimming pool (and adjacent to the pool bar), which makes for a lovely setting, especially at night when the water is lit. 

Umana Bali has another eatery, down the hill and overlooking the calm Indian Ocean. It is a gorgeous spot for sundowners. It is called Oliverra and the menu is Mediterranean (£60 for three courses), and, honestly, the fish I had here was as good as any I’d had in Italy. 

But a stay at Umana Bali isn’t all about the food. There’s the drink too. Blessed by its geography, Bali produces lovely coffee and, to my surprise, given its latitude, some really quite stonking white and rosé wines (there are apparently microclimates). Both can be sampled via guided tastings, but I really recommend you also try the arak. 

Traditionally made from rice, this spirit had been, until recently, slightly taboo in Bali. Now the Balinese are embracing it as a product of their culture and a new generation of artisan distillers are playing around with different ingredients. You can now find araks made from coconut and sweet potato – and in your cocktails, too.

Your own private sanctuary

The feverish sound of drums, xylophones and wind instruments greeted us at one of the resort’s larger villas one evening after dark, as we arrived for dinner – a Balinese barbecue. 

Some 20 musicians played crouched on the poolside patio, off to the side of the table. Two female legong dancers appeared and danced, lit by the luminescent blue of the swimming pool behind them, the ocean rolling in the distance. 

They wore elaborate green and gold costumes, their fingers were pinched into dramatic poses and their heavily made-up eyes, opened wide, darted from side to side, acting out a story of sorrow and unrequited love.

Food, wine, music and dancing in the comfort of one’s own villa – there can be no better way to enjoy what Bali has to offer.

My own ocean pool villa was a sanctuary. Through the front door, you walk down a corridor and into a wide room – both are open to the sky. Elegant pools of water shimmer either side of this corridor, which runs to the foot of a flowering frangipani tree, scattering its sacred flowers around the infinity pool and hot tub. 

The pool stretches the length of the villa to its left and, at the far end, there is a small water fountain. To its right, there is greenery and the lapping of the ocean far below. A flowering tree hangs lazily over the pool. 

Evidently, the troop of crab-eating macaques that, from time to time, perched in its branches to enjoy its bounty have been misnamed. From the pool, you step right up into the bedroom. 

Here, there is a large bed and, of course, the view and patio doors leading outside. Behind the bed, a huge dressing area and bathroom with a deep tub and rain shower. There is another, private shower outside, beyond the glass walls.

Through the bedroom door takes you past another, smaller bathroom into the wide living room with its coffee table, TV and, at the back, a fridge and bar space with a sink. Look up and the dark-wood ceiling tapers to a point, allowing the air to flow freely – just one element of the modern-meets-Balinese aesthetics of this cosy home. 

You can, as I did, enjoy an in-villa massage or you can head down to the spa for some sound healing. The therapist runs a pestle around various size bowls to induce healing vibrations of varying pitch while you lie on a mat on the floor in a state of perfect calm. Umana Bali really is a tranquil place. 

But, of course, there is an island to explore and not just on but around it. Bali sits in the middle of the coral triangle, a body of water rich in marine life. So, we packed our lunch and snorkelling gear to get a closer look and took a motor yacht towards the island of Nusa Lembongan. 

Here, the waters are teeming with tropical fish, along with the odd turtle swimming languidly by and pods of racing dolphins. It was a majestic experience. From high up in the bat cave to down in the warm waters of the ocean, in Bali the gods are everywhere.

Chris was a guest of Umana Bali. From $845 a night with breakfast for two in a tropical garden pool villa in the low season and from $1,075 a night in the high season.