Lombok, Innit? Sounds a little like a Londoner picking up a cabbage in China and asking the seller its name. BUT in great news for Indo-lovers, this is an epic stay in Ekas Bay, an idyllic stretch of Indonesian coastline.
There are only seven villas on this island resort, but they’re sleek, they’re made of bamboo and they’re hot damn beautiful. Everything you imagine a low-key trip to Indonesia to be.
Each villa has two levels, so you can move about the different areas as if you’re in your own house. That is if your own home also contained a stunning infinity pool looking out over the Indian Ocean. Paradise, innit?
Veluvana’s set of bamboo villas appear to have been sent by the gods.
Thankfully, their delivery point was perfect—smack dab amongst rice fields and adjacent to Bali’s Mount Agung in Bali. Phew.
The Manta House is the newest stay, a snail-shell shaped, two-level building featuring a shifting roof (and bed!). Which means you can lay under the stars, should you ever wish. A large glass window faces the double bed, making the morning sunrise an AM bed partner as it lights up the surrounding Sidemen Valley.
Then there’s the glass pool that hangs from the side of the stay like a tongue hanging from a mouth. Bad description, but rad concept.
Rhythm flows through Soulshine, as if its owner is a musician or something.
But wait, this just in: its owner is a musician! Chill crooner Michael Franti and his wife Sara (a former ER nurse) have turned their considerable talents (a combo of creativity and calmness) toward Soulshine, a one-of-its-kind wellness and sound retreat.
This stunning, but laidback, Balinese resort is surrounded by rice terraces and ancient temples, and features three swimming pools, one waterslide, three Panorama Penthouse Suites, several yoga spaces and two restaurants. It’s the kind of place that’s a bit ‘ooh la la’ but being barefoot is totally acceptable (probably even encouraged).
Terazzo tubs and record players are in each room, the cocktails are abundant—as are coconut trees and sunshine—and the dancing is non-stop. What a vibe.
We love a private island here at get lost. And Song Saa is up there at the very, very top. Best part? The hullabaloo of Phnom Penh (and your regular life) feel a world away when at Song Saa.
This resort takes the average overwater bungalow and turns the dial up a notch (or seven). The thatched-roof huts seem humble from the outside, but inside they’re packed with luxury.
Think cushy day beds, indoor and outdoor showers, and private pools. Plus you’ve got that south-east Asian cuisine to feast on, and the knowledge that you’re contributing to a hotel that invests majorly into nearby rainforest and mangrove regeneration.
Mull that over while you’re floating in your choice of luxe body of water.
From AU$900 per night. Click and OMG THIS IS MY FAVOURITE SONG
Dryft certainly has Fast and Furious connotations, conjuring images of Vin Diesel flying around corners in fast cars. But the reality couldn’t be more different.
Dryft is a bed of tranquillity—a getaway of palm trees and purity, without internet and without worry. It is a group of glamping tents on the tiny (almost deserted) Darocotan Island, a 15-minute boat ride from the village of Teneguiban on Palawan Island.
And while glamping is the term, this is something different. They’re sort of elegant treehouses, the kind of accommodation you dream about from your desk on a Tuesday arvo.
This is a glorious part of the world, and when you are in such a glorious location, the best place is the one with the least number of barriers to nature. Dryft is exactly that.
A Venn diagram, with Japanese food as a circle on one side and trains on the other, and you’re in the crossover in the middle.
We’ve tried to simplify this complex, intricate relationship in the diagram below:
The Rokumon is the crossover; a classic style of Japanese train that travels from the quaint city of Karuizawa to Nagano City, a total of two hours, and serves genuinely mouth-watering fare – easily the best food get lost has ever had on a train.
The train is stunning, and there’s a big local vibe coursing through the carriages. For instance, it utilizes timber sourced locally and classic Japanese furnishings which give a luxurious, exclusive feeling, whichever of the three classes you’re in.
It serves local beers, and gets it’s wines from the Nagano area too; it doesn’t get much better than drinking a wine in your own private little booth as you amble past the vineyards where the grapes in that wine were grown.
But then they bring out the food, and it does get better! In an 11 (11!) course meal, get lost were served things like tateshina pork and Shinshu mushrooms, paprika mousse and Shinshu salmon, roast beef, plus a fruit compote which we genuinely think we could get addicted to.
If you’re travelling from Kariuzawa to Nagano, the Tasty Train is the only way to do it.
One of the many underrated things about Bali is it’s food, and brand new opening Tickled Pink has only added to that.
The Melbourne-born café juggernaut has brought its “good food, good drinks and good vibes” ethos with it to Canggu, serving up a western-fusion menu that incorporates the best of two food-loving locations.
It’s like a little slice of Melbourne in another country. Craving a good coffee? Say no more fam.
“Indonesia is a beautiful country with a rich culture, and we’re thrilled to be able to bring Melbourne’s unique epicurean culture, especially its coffee, to this stunning island,” said Rashid Alshak co-founder of Tickled Pink. “Our fusion of these two hospitality worlds will deliver a unique experience for tourists and the local community.”
There’s outdoor seating overlooking a typically tranquil rice field landscape, and private cabanas by a pool. It’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and at night, the vibes are super chill, offering a super chill atmosphere at night. It’s the perfect place to relax on a night in between nights at Potato Head or Finns, or at the end of a bender.
Somewhere Lombok is a vague, if accurate, name for a hotel that opened on an Indonesian island that’s long been a favoured haunt by Aussies.
Located somewhere on Lombok, Somewhere Lombok is somewhere between luxurious villa, art aesthetic and surf hut.
It is located near a famous break for a start, but to call it a surf stay would be to downgrade the place of its lovely, earthy aesthetic, simple and airy, and making you want to go there right now, whether you surf or not.
Somewhere is the brainchild of two sisters with Indonesian roots. For any wave loving traveller with a bit of extra coin, we can’t imagine you’ll find too many places better than this in 2023.
Bawah Reserve is the recently reopened paradise in the Anambas, an archipelago in northern Indonesia.
A series of six secluded private islands play host to 35 luxury suites, all boasting panoramic views of the ocean. Overwater bungalows and beach suites are the go here—the sort of barefoot luxury you dream about from your desk at 3pm every Thursday.
There’s access to an ‘Aura Spa and Wellness Centre’, plus hiking, snorkelling, stand-up paddle boarding, stargazing, a beach cinema and an unquantifiable number of places to swim. There’s even a chance to sail off into the sunset on an island cruise.
Ishigaki, Japan (set to be completed May 2023)
It’s not a hotel, only it is, but not yet.
Ishigaki is an island in the Yaeyama chain, at the very, very south of Japan (technically it’s closer to Taiwan than mainland Japan). Slated to open mid-2023, the design has certainly set tongues wagging—we’re to expect a circular building with an infinity pool, plus a rooftop lawn and pond, all of which blend seamlessly into the landscape.
Designed for one group (of up to ten people), the tranquility of both the island and the building itself will set it apart from other spaces. We can easily imagine a writer penning their debut novel here, or a bunch of mates using it as basecamp as they surf the more or less unheralded waves nearby.
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