The Bali holiday now seems a long way away. A long way away from the last time you visited, a long way away from Australia and a long way away from the next time it may be possible to visit again.
Yet we’ve just come back from a Bali Getaway that took us 20 mins to get there and 20 mins to get back and our journey to the Adelaide Hills rewarded us with a culturally rich experience, inspiring and memorable food journeys and a Balinese villa stay which has left us with interior design envy.
The Bali Retreat package is a short or extended getaway, designed to offer you an opportunity to immerse yourself in Balinese cuisine, culture and tropical architecture and promises a range of resort style wellbeing experiences that treat guests to a pampering of mind and body.
The destination for the ‘Bali Escape package’ must of course include a Balinese Villa and this light filled space is an architectural inspiration with contemporary and traditional Balinese styling. It’s no surprise when we discover it was awarded a state architectural award for its unique and sustainable design. Inclusions of solar heated concrete flooring, lofty ceilings and argon filled glass walls provide the foundations of luxury, while the modern styling provides a backdrop for many authentic Balinese treasures. Warm, rustic, teak and mango wood furniture scents the air and the giant timber day bed adorned in a stylish abundance of fresh white cushions, is a magnetising welcome. A Bali villa is not complete without an ‘Instagram-able’ free standing stone bath and the secluded open plan design of this villa bathroom is picture perfect amongst natural stone and lush bamboo scenery. This Balinese villa does not disappoint its followers on design and styling inspiration and quickly we find ourselves snapping away and overlaying grand ideas for our own home makeover.
A perfect Balinese holiday needs to include some down time, some pampering, some yoga or personalised wellness regimes and the getaway package offers you the chance to book an in-room massage or opt for the chauffer driven day spa visit which offers personalised pamper packages created just for you. Your villa is equipped with everything you need to create your daily breakfasts and rejuvenation smoothies and there are yoga mats and a private meditation garden for those relaxing mornings. Cocooned behind private garden walls and seamlessly connected to the villa by giant sliding doors, is a traditional Bali hut for you to enjoy. You will be forgiven for lazing your days away here, playing chess or engrossed in your holiday novel but come dusk, the romance of this ambient, temple like space, will tempt you to enjoy lantern lit alfresco dining or a cosy winter fire pit.
When it’s time to explore Asia further, all you need to do is pack your tastebuds and venture across to the on- site cooking school. As part of the Bali escape you can take part in a cultural cooking class with one of the professional chefs who specialises in Asian cuisine. There are 30 cultural cooking classes to choose from covering all South East Asian cuisines and some of the cooking classes will have your tastebuds journeying to Vietnam and Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia and Bali all in the 4 hour gourmet ride. Extend your culinary journey further by ordering Nasi Goreng for breakfast or booking a private chef to cook a Balinese banquet in the villa the following night. Newly inspired cooking lovers like us gave our new skills a work out in the top of the range villa kitchen and signed up for additional private classes.
As a package this experience has it all. The cooking class provides a spice enriched journey of taste discovery plus the convivial, hustle and bustle energy of a night market. The villa provides luxury, contemporary Balinese inspired architecture and 5 star hotel styling. The private outdoor areas encourage you to enjoy the relaxed Balinese lifestyle and as a short getaway it over delivers on its promise of long lasting holiday memories.
In a time when we cannot holiday overseas, this Balinese Escape package creates the excitement and intrigue we feel when we anticipate visiting somewhere new. Without the need to travel any great physical distance we have observed traditions of a far-away culture, have immersed ourselves in foreign food and flavours and have holidayed in architecturally inspiring accommodation which emanates all things Asia.
If you a looking for a Balinese journey without the travel, this is a Balinese Escape which is accessible just 20 mins from Adelaide’s CBD.