Amandari, whose name means peaceful spirit, lies in the village of Kedewatan, part of Ubud, the cultural capital of Bali. It is perched on an escarpment high above the winding Ayung River Gorge, framed by jungle and rice terraces, and laid out after a traditional Balinese village, the first resort of its kind on the island.
The resort is an intrinsic part of Kedewatan. A pathway through its grounds, said to be on sacred land, leads down to the river, and every six months, for hundreds of years, the villagers have walked it to a spring fed pool of holy water watched over by three modest shrines and an ancient stone carved tiger. The tiger is repeated throughout Amandari, and a replica overlooks the open air reception, designed after a wantilan, the village meeting place.
Winding pathways lead from there to thirty one free standing pavilions and villas, each behind high paras stone walls and a Balinese stone gateway, with a garden courtyard, alang-alang thatch, teak and coconut wood, and glass doors that slide open on three sides. Some look over the valley and the rice paddies; some have duplex rooms and pools of their own. Below the open sided Restaurant, the green tiled infinity pool, the first in Bali, mirrors the curve of the rice paddies, and every evening rindik players perform from the golden pavilion beside it.
Days turn on temple ceremonies, the ateliers of village silversmiths, wood carvers and painters, cycling and walking through the rice fields, or a reading with a local healer, and end at the Terrace Bar for sundowners. Ubud is a ten minute drive away. It suits travelers who want the soul of Bali rather than its beaches, couples, and families who take one of the Amandari Villas as a compound of their own.
