The most original luxury hotel experience in Bali — Capella Ubud, the Bill Bensley-designed luxury tented camp in the Keliki Valley above Ubud, where 22 one-bedroom tented suites (each with private saltwater plunge pool, indoor-outdoor bathroom, and oversized daybed) are connected by jungle paths, where Api Jiwa restaurant serves an Asian barbecue program under the jungle canopy, and where the nightly campfire storytelling by a local Balinese elder is the most cited single guest experience at any luxury hotel in Bali.
Why We Chose It
Capella Ubud opened in 2018 and was immediately recognized by Travel + Leisure as Best Resort in Asia and later Best Resort in the World — a recognition based on the combination of Bill Bensley's design (the architect known for creating experiential luxury hotels across Asia, here working in the vocabulary of Dutch colonial exploration to create a 19th-century tented camp that is simultaneously historically playful and genuinely luxurious), the Keliki Valley setting (5km from Ubud center, deep in the jungle above rice terraces, with no road noise and the sounds of the river and jungle replacing urban ambient sound), and the experiential programming that makes the hotel's time structured around Balinese culture rather than resort amenities. The 22 tents are one-bedroom structures with private saltwater plunge pools, oversized daybeds designed for spending full days in, outdoor bathrooms, air conditioning, and the specific luxury of waking to the sound of the Keliki River below. Api Jiwa (the Asian barbecue and neck-to-tail cooking restaurant under the jungle canopy) is one of the most cited hotel restaurant experiences in Bali. The Officer's Tent (the library-bar filled with maps, books, and artifacts from a fictional expedition) and the Mortar & Pestle (poolside snacks) complete the tent camp's simulation of a Victorian explorer's camp in the Balinese jungle.
What Stands Out
- Best Resort Asia (Travel+Leisure) and later Best Resort in the World: the consistent international recognition for originality
- 22 luxury tents with private saltwater plunge pools: each tent a private jungle suite — the most original luxury accommodation format in Ubud
- Bill Bensley design: the Dutch colonial exploration concept — the Officer's Tent library-bar, the 19th-century camp aesthetic made genuinely luxurious
- Nightly campfire storytelling by a Balinese elder: the most cited single guest experience at any Bali luxury hotel
- Api Jiwa Asian barbecue restaurant: neck-to-tail cooking under the jungle canopy — one of Bali's most atmospheric dining settings
- Michelin 1 Key (2025): the recognition that confirms Capella as among Bali's exceptional hotel experiences