The Best Hotels With a Pool to Book in Bali, Indonesia

Regal villa rooms, a soothing spa and smiley service are all on the menu at the Hanging Gardens of Bali, the very definition of downtime. People come here for the lush views of misty rainforest-filled valley from the two-tiered main swimming pool; of the star-filled sky from the private plunge pools at the edge of the villa terraces; and of the glade of tropical trees from the massage pavilion, poised over a clear-water mountain stream. Everything here is tranquil, lush and green.

Ocean-view infinity pools are ten-a-penny in Bali, but few have a location like this, on a cliff edge above an almost-empty beach. The luxe but low-key resort seems to meld with the landscape: the minimalist-modish light concrete and stone villas, with their own pools, are faced with walls of glass that invite the outside in, and the inside out; a poolside restaurant is positioned to catch the best of the sun and the endless ocean view, while a poolside bathers’ pavilion hangs right over the cliff edge.

There are more beautiful pools in Bali, but few hotels have as many as this beachside resort complex in the island’s far south. The biggest (which sits right on the beach) could accommodate a ship and is flanked by ranks of giant statues. They seem symbolic of the resort itself, which is a Hollywood theme park in scale and scope. There are myriad room types, restaurants and bars, chapels for weddings, an ice spa, three pools just for kids, tennis courts and so many activities you need never leave the hotel.

It’s a real cliffhanger: this hotel is so close to a precipice that it feels as if a sea breeze might just blow it into the ocean. One of the two swimming pools hangs over the waves, with vertiginous views through its clear sides and glass bottom. Villa pools, bars and a fitness centre perch perilously close to the edge. The downside? Despite the muted tones, designer furniture and dizzying views, the smaller villas feel pokey. The larger ones are so vast and formal that they feel more business than beach. Still, if you’ve got money burning a hole in your pocket, you could do worse than a night’s B&B here.

There isn’t a location more regal on the island. The Viceroy’s swim-up cocktail bar overlooks Bali’s Valley of the Kings, a forest-green gorge cut by a rushing river just outside Ubud village, where the island’s royals once lived. Villas fuse stately European-colonial style with Southeast Asian influences, with leather club chairs and high teas, rattan-roofed villas (some with their own private infinity pools and teak-wood pavilions) and ornately carved Balinese furniture. If sedate is how you like it, this is your place.

It’s a luxury resort made for a mermaid. Count the swimming opps: a family-sized main pool set in orchid-filled gardens; a cliff-top infinity pool; children’s zones with water slides; hydromassage numbers on a rocky seashore; plunge pools fronting sumptuous villas (small enough for intimacy or big enough for families). That mermaid presumably likes package holidays: with 19 restaurants, an 18-hole golf course and guests gathering en masse for pre-breakfast aqua aerobics, it’s no boutique retreat.

Looking like paddy fields, the Padma’s enormous pools tier-drop through artificial cascades around a verdant hillside just outside Ubud village – in perfect harmony with the surrounding rice terraces and palm forest. Jungle-and-valley views from the pool are dreamy, as are the plush rooms, the spa and the lovers’ pavilions that dot the gardens. The four-storey concrete buildings feel somewhat out of step with the lush landscape, but guests can look outwards, contemplating Bali’s natural beauty.

Visually, it’s probably light years from your idea of Balinese paradise: an almost-brutalist outing in terracotta bricks handcrafted by island artisans, sunk in masses of fecund vegetation like some forgotten civic centre. But it’s a tranquil beauty, and just what the modern hipster ordered. Hence the plate glass, honey-toned timber and muted whites throughout the rooms. Sentried by trim palms, the pool’s a lean slice of paradise, so flop on a lounger and forget your everyday cares for a while.