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Had a spaceship landed in the middle of the Bali rainforest?
Crossing a teak-and-steel footbridge over a dramatic gorge, we stared at what looked like a three-tiered spaceship that had stopped beside the rushing Ayung River.
But no, it turned out to be the reception, spa and main restaurant building of the Four Seasons at Sayan, located on the edge of Ubud, Bali’s artist colony.
Four Seasons Sayan review
Four Seasons Sayan villas:
The resort’s 42 villas are equally eye-catching. (This Bali Four Seasons property also has 18 suites, but the villas are where you want to stay – and where we stayed.)
The villas are cleverly carved into the hillside, which keeps them cool. From the path to your villa, all you see is a lotus pond and a patch of tall grasses (actually your own shaded meditation area).
A spiral stone staircase leads down to your villa door.
Open that, and you see that your indoor/outdoor villa has been cut into the hill in an L-shape – two walls are snug up against the hillside.
Each villa has an expansive wooden deck with cushioned couches and chairs (under the shade of a roof with ceiling fan) plus a teak dining table with umbrella.
Watching the river from our deck was quite hypnotic (we’d inevitably doze off), and we could hear the water tumbling over boulders in the riverbed at night.
All villas also have a small private pool outside.
Inside, the air-conditioned bedroom has warm polished wood floors along with a writing desk and bedside tables inlaid with mother-of-pearl tiles.
A giant carved wooden screen behind the king-size bed features a delicate pattern of leaves and birds.
No Four Seasons Sayan review would be complete without mention of the huge bathroom.
The bathroom has green marble floors – and get this – an egg-shaped bathtub, also inlaid with mother-of-pearl tiles. Totally striking!
Mix it up and stay at another fab place too – see more luxury Bali hotel reviews here!
What to do at the Four Seasons at Sayan?
There are many fabulous things to do in Bali. But the outdoor setting of our villa was so inviting that we really didn’t feel the need to do very much during our stay at the Four Seasons, other than laze about and eat.
Feasting:
Speaking of eating, we enjoyed the resort’s weekly buffet feast, which celebrates Indonesian food – and we got to try local suckling pig and crispy fried duck.
Babi Guling or suckling pig is one of Bali’s most famous dishes.
Traditionally, the pig is stuffed with spices like lemongrass, coriander, turmeric, black pepper and garlic, then roasted on a spit. The crackling skin is the best part (so long as you don’t worry about all the fat!).
Complimentary activities:
Several activities are complimentary when you stay at this Bali Four Seasons resort.
And we did rouse ourselves to enjoy both the authentic Balinese dance performance and a guided walk through the rice paddies.
Spa:
The spa also won us over with its lovely couples spa villas overlooking lotus ponds.
Our feet were first bathed in a wooden bowl of water with floating rose petals. Then we were scrubbed down with Himalayan salt crystals before giving ourselves up to a languorous Balinese massage.
The Balinese know how to do spa treatments right!
Now, if only Scottie could beam us back up to the Four Seasons again…
If you visit the Four Seasons Sayan
Award-winning:
The Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan has made Conde Nast Traveler’s Gold List for more than five years running.
Goodies:
Complimentary resort perks include authentic Balinese dance performances, guided rice field walks, village bike rides and a shuttle to the artistic center of Ubud five times daily.
More information about this Four Seasons Ubud
See the resort’s website
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Photos 3, 7, 9 and 10 are © Janice and George Mucalov, SandInMySuitcase | Remaining photos are courtesy Four Seasons Resort Sayan
We stayed at this Ubud Four Seasons as media guests for review purposes. But as professional travel writers, our words and views are always our own.
Congratulations on your article in Cruise & Travel! Great post, it does look a bit spaceshipy! :)
Thanks! We write frequently for Cruise & Travel Lifestyles (a nice Canadian magazine).
AMAZING! As hotel entrances go, that has got to be one of the most dramatic around.
Wowww…. an amazing place !!!
Bali offers the traveler extraordinary places …
Thank you
Wow this place looks seriously stunning! Bali has some extraordinary places to stay!
For such a small island, Bali does indeed have loads of luxury hotels – can be hard to choose :-).
We didn’t get to Sayan on our Bali trip in September but this hotel looks amazing. I love the drawbridge and the mother of pearl bathtub
That drawbridge was pretty amazing! Talk about an entrance, eh? (We like how many Four Seasons resorts create a wow sense of arrival.)
We stayed in the Four Season property in the Serengeti. Like that one, this one really has a wonderful sense of place.