The Best Ubud Accommodation in Bali | International Traveller

Ubud, Bali’s spiritual heartland, is blessed with some of the island’s most magical accommodation.

Visitors to the Island of the Gods – be they surfers, sunseekers or yogis, will do well to devote some of their holiday time to Ubud, where Balinese arts and culture go hand in hand with spirituality and wellness.

Replete with rainforest, paddy fields, temples and traditional Balinese architecture, the ancient town also has much to offer by way of impressive hotels, resorts and villas.

Whether you’re after a treetop bamboo house, a literary hideaway, or a hilltop hotel with a Mt Agung view, Ubud accommodation is where it’s at. Here are some of our favourites.

Hotels in Ubud

Honeymoon Guesthouse

One of the best times to be in Bali is during October when the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival inspires literary minds from near and far. Even better if you score a room at festival founder and director Janet DeNeefe’s Honeymoon Guesthouse.

Located in central Ubud, a short walk from Ubud Palace and the main thoroughfare, this is old-school Bali, with enchanting red brick and tiled-roof villas set amid a garden made ancient by its stone walls, sacred temple and frangipani trees.

The rooms and two-storey cottages are lovingly decorated with antique furnishings, overbed mosquito nets and local crafts and textiles. There’s air-con, a tranquil garden, a swimming pool and a charming street-front restaurant and bakery, the perfect place to spot visiting authors.

Shelter Island

Ubud’s Jalan Raya Sanggingan is known for its art galleries, independent clothing stores, eateries and (importantly given the lack in Ubud) shaded walkable footpaths. Right in the mix is well-known chef Will Goldfarb’s Shelter Island.

This reimagined guesthouse is small and stylish with nine suites that combine traditional Balinese-style architecture with clean white walls, wood furniture and pops of colour.

Have a toes-up on the porch, laze by the garden-edged swimming pool or stop by the library to flick through a cookbook. Breakfast is served at Goldfarb’s Powder Room cafe, and don’t go past dinner at Room4Dessert, the chef’s globally acclaimed restaurant.

Villas in Ubud

Anantara Ubud

It takes about 40 minutes to drive the 20 kilometres from central Ubud to Anantara Ubud, but the rewards for getting out of town are soon apparent. This newish hotel’s expansive lobby (including a cocktail bar and lounge), swimming pool and three restaurants, have incredible views towards Mount Agung, Bali’s highest peak.

Its 85 one-, two- and three-bedroom villas have narrow terraces occupied by long thin swimming pools. They are staggered down a steep inclinator-accessed hillside, with the pick of them enjoying a panorama of tropical jungle, birds, cicadas and all.

Fear not boredom. This place has a fully equipped gym, kids’ games room, teen hangout and spa. Or visit the local village of Taro to experience its magical firefly sanctuary.

Rumah Hujan

Studio Jenquel, one of Bali’s most well-regarded design firms, drew on the architectural principles of adaptive design and sustainability when conjuring beautiful Rumah Hujan and its sister villa Ruma Senja.

Hujan is a three-bedroom single-level villa on the lower part of the 2400 sqm property. Sitting above it, Senja, a double-storey dwelling made from two traditional Javanese joglo houses, has three bedrooms. Both villas feature fittings and furniture made from repurposed wood, staff, local experiences and the kind of styling you’d expect for a magazine spread.

Dreamy green swimming pools, rice paddy views and sociable outdoor spaces combine for maximum time in nature.

Resorts in Ubud

Kappa Senses

There are spas aplenty in Ubud but only Kappa Senses Resort can boast using French brand Clarins as its product of choice.

Located in the north of Ubud, the 2-hectare resort is surrounded by the village of Kedewatan and its glorious working rice fields. Its 76 beautifully crafted peaked-roof suites and villas, some with hot tubs and private pools, have calming natural interiors made from a mix of timber, rattan and natural textiles.

There’s a French restaurant, two main swimming pools, and a huge permaculture garden, but the highlight is OmTara Spa by Clarins with seven treatment rooms, vitality pools, gym, steam and sauna room all thoughtfully integrated into the Balinese ambience.

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Bambu Indah

On the banks of the Ayung River in Sayan, south of Ubud, Bamboo Indah is regarded as one of Bali’s most natural and sustainable resorts. Owned by experts in the field John and Cythia Hardy, it effortlessly integrates a grassroots regenerative ethos with luxury hospitality.

Its 24 hand-crafted freestanding houses are hidden in a wild jungle of rivers and spring-fed pools navigated by fairytale pathways and wooden bridges. Choose a bamboo tree house for a view across the valley, a traditional teak two-storey abode sitting poolside, or a ‘tent’ made from spans of bamboo jutting into the mahogany tree canopy.

Sip on kalamansi cocktails at Sunset Bar, take the Wonka-style bamboo lift to casual Riverside Warung or step it up a notch dining under the massive bamboo arches and copper detailing of the newish Tembaga restaurant.

Tanah Gajah

Bordered by the rice paddies of Tengkulak village in southeast Ubud, Tanah Gajah, flies under the radar when it comes to exceptional Ubud stays. But it shouldn’t.

This beautifully manicured, 20-villa property, named after popular nearby Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave) temple, is the creative inspiration of celebrated Indonesian architect and art collector Hendra Hadiprana, whose sculptures and paintings are dotted throughout the property.

The villas – Balinese with a nudge to contemporary styling, are dotted around a picturesque lake and sprawling lawns, where artists from the local village perform one of Ubud’s best Barong dances.

From the resort’s magnificent open-air Dua Dari restaurant, Bali’s only hot air balloon rides take off. Though tethered to the ground, the experience rewards guests with a stunning view of Mt Agung.

After youth-led protests in 2025, this year Nepal elected a 35-year-old former rapper as Prime Minister. In a country where tourism is its biggest industry, what’s next for travellers?

In 1986, Nepal changed its clock. It had used India Standard Time since 1920 so, to differentiate, it wound its clock 15 minutes ahead of, not behind, its big-brother neighbour. Boss move. “Nepal is strongly opposed to the idea that our identity is connected to India,” says Community Homestay Network (CHN) guide Bikal Khanal.

Tharu dance is traditionally set to hand drums. (Credit: Kate Lewis)

Today, Nepal is the only independent country with a 45-minute deviation to universal time; an oddity that’s become a symbol of national pride. The quirk is nearly as endearing as Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan airport where carved varnished wood and shiny red bricks rule. One sign points to a ‘Travelator’ and another to a ‘Grievance Handling Desk’ while visas are noisily stamped at customs for US dollars, cash only. When am I?

Spot the endemic Nepal gray langur. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

The 15 or 45 minute anomaly sees me tap out completely on timezone calculations. Why bend my brain calculating if it’s quarter to or quarter past elsewhere when I’m in the honking here and now of Kathmandu where the air is high-altitude crisp, the prayer flags flutter and the street dogs howl?

How tourism is changing in Nepal

Bardiya National Park is rich with wildlife. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

India is not the only association many Nepalis would like to shake. With eight of the world’s 10 tallest mountains, including Mount Everest and Annapurna, Nepal has long attracted mountaineers and trekkers, and expedition numbers are continuing to rise.

Tourism is one of the country’s biggest sources of foreign currency, so this growth is not negative, per se. But according to Ang Tshering Lama, who co-founded Phaplu Mountain Bike Club, being reduced to a mere trekking destination is limiting.

“Trekking is just one layer of our identity,” says Ang. “When it becomes the dominant narrative, it limits how we’re seen and how we see ourselves.” Nepal’s recent success, however, in diverting trekkers to less-trafficked areas such as Manaslu mofuntain, where visitor numbers rose by 117 per cent last year, offers hope that tourism can diversify even more radically.

Local men in Bhada village. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

The founder of CHN, Shiva Dhakal, wants that change. “The whole idea of the Community Homestay Network is to promote experiences outside of trekking,” he says. “Community tourism changes lives and helps kids stay home instead of coming to the city or migrating to the Middle East.”

Ang grew up seeing people leave, “not because they wanted to but because there weren’t enough opportunities to stay”, he states. Yet from remote villages to living traditions; food, art, music and emerging subcultures, “there’s so much that’s not being seen.”

CHN is opening some of those doors. It doesn’t own, or fund, any homes. Rather, it promotes homestays to travellers on a single, slick platform, while fostering entrepreneurship in places where women, marginalised castes, Indigenous people and the youth stand to benefit the most.

A new generation demanding more

Dalla Town Hall, where volunteers discuss anti-poaching tactics. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

The future prospects of next-gen Nepalis can no longer be ignored. On a Kathmandu tour with 33-year-old guide Monica K.C, we pass buildings torched in the September 2025 ‘Gen Z protests’, including the Supreme Court and Parliament House. Seventy-two people died. “They were anti-corruption protests,” says Monica. “Politicians’ children are living a lavish life but the airports are crowded with youngsters leaving to find work.”

We stop in ‘little Tibet’ at the wondrous sixth-century Boudha Stupa. “The wheel of life is Buddhism in a nutshell,” says Monica. “Things such as hate, ignorance and anger keep you rotating around the wheel, so you must follow the principles of Buddhism to detach. If you can’t, there’s no nirvana for you.”

Boudha Stupa's prayer wheels — Boudha Stupa’s prayer wheels are used to recite Buddhist prayers. (Credit: Kate Lewis)

In a sun-drenched twist to the usual temple visit, we ascend the stupa’s sloping plinth and roam its whitewashed dome. Tendrils of diaphanous prayer flags stream from a steeple-like structure where the Buddha’s unblinking eyes stare out. No nirvana for you…

bouda stupa prayer flags — Tibetan-style prayer flags embellish the whitewashed dome of Bouda Stupa, a Buddhist temple. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

The dome is delightfully free of guard rails or chiding from security. There is, however, a stern ‘No TikTok’ sign, perhaps in response to the youth’s newly flexed power. The booted-out Prime Minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, was replaced in a resounding election victory in March by 35-year-old Balendra Shah of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) – a former rapper and mayor of Kathmandu. The RSP’s manifesto indicates tourism is a priority, and that Nepal’s cultural identity in areas such as gastronomy will be strengthened.

Boudha Stupa vendors — Vibrant souvenir shops and cafes around Boudha Stupa. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

A more confronting stop awaits at Pashupatinath Temple. Today is Bala Chaturdashi, a Hindu festival where thousands of devotees gather to honour their dead ancestors. Vendors hauling foam mattresses do a lucrative trade as people set up for a night of vigil. This includes burning the bodies of recently deceased relatives on bamboo pyres in the Bagmati River, which flows into the sacred Ganges.

A woman at annual Hindu festival Bala Chaturdashi, in Kathmandu. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Wrapped in a shroud, the bodies are positioned with their heads facing north to the Himalayas where Lord Shiva resides. They’re covered with flowers and straw and set alight by male family members.

Hours later, the ashes are swept into the river where devotees will take a holy dip the next day. As much as Monica assures us it’s not voyeuristic to watch, I struggle to do so. “Here you see the reality of life because everyone ends up there,” she says, gesturing to the river.

Life unfiltered in the Terai region

tharu woman — Tharu woman and master weaver Parbati Chaudhary in Bhada Village. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

The reality of life needs processing time, which the western Terai region delivers in spades. The Terai is largely separated from India by the Karnali River and Bardiya National Park, where elephants, rhinos and the elusive Bengal tiger roam.

Once a nomadic tribe, the Indigenous Tharu people are now the largest ethnic group here. “They didn’t know their daily life was interesting for international travellers but they’re starting to understand now,” says CHN founder Shiva.

Take a Jeep safari through Bardiya National Park. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

We fly Buddha Air to Dhangadhi airport and drive five hours to stay in Tharu homes. The journey to Bhada village is a blur of roadside fruit stalls, traffic-stopping sacred cows and fields sown with wheat, rice, mustard, spinach, cauliflower and potatoes. Nepal’s agriculture feeds only Nepal.

Marigolds are an important part of Hindu rituals. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

“The only thing we export is young people,” says our guide Bikal. As the light dims and we plunge evermore rural, mysterious mounds of compacted hay – some house-sized – loom like the creatures from Where The Wild Things Are. Even our trusty driver gets flummoxed by a dirt road that abruptly ends and we find ourselves hurtling across a paddock.

On arrival, some are ferried to mud-walled cottages greened by gourd creepers, with thatched roofs and rustic-chic mosquito nets. Myself and two others are ushered to the home of corner store owner, mechanic and mushroom farmer Man Kumar Chilaruwa and his wife Rajkumari.

community homestay entrance — A warm welcome at a community homestay. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

They escort us to a bunker-esque back building with steel doors and a folding security gate, behind which is gleaming linoleum, dolphin-printed tiles and a shower cavity that must be gingerly stepped through to reach the toilet.

The ceiling lights emit a rainbow of colours (the bathroom light gets stuck in, frankly, a quite frightening red). We’re nevertheless touched that our hosts invested in all this bling when the average salary is around $275 a month.

In the coming days, we participate in Tharu traditions such as making moonshine, dancing, weaving straw handicrafts and gold-panning. We’re fed well with staples of rice, mustard greens, lentil pancakes, daal, curried chicken and tomato chutney served on antibacterial saal leaves.

food at community homestay — Dig in. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Sonara community homestay president Indradevi Tharu tells us river snails are often served, and the boiled and pickled flesh of rats hunted in the rice fields. “Perhaps next time?” we say and all have a laugh.

The power of community homestays

community homestay owners in Nepal — Barda community homestay owners Parbati Chaudhary and Ram Krishni Devi Chaudhary. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

Immersing Western visitors in foreign cultural practices is not new. But with the Tharu, I never get that uneasy sensation that I’m being performed for. Despite being the only tourists, there’s no ‘othering’; just warm, composed and ultra-dignified welcomes. Like we’ve always been here.

“I love to have travellers in my village so I can see the world,” says local woman Parbati Chaudhary. “Why would I travel the world when the world comes to me?”

The graceful acceptance the Tharu offer, as well as the slow pace, works miracles on my frazzled nervous system. One day I even take a nap on a vacant homestay bed.

Sonara community room — An authentic stay in the Sonara community. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Roosters strut and goats bray as we sit on the ground in al fresco kitchens, rolling rice flour into cylinders steamed to make dhikri (dumplings). When water is needed, we fetch it using a hand-operated pump as a family of ducks strolls by, side-eying us like curious neighbours.

Animal lovers will delight in Tharu villages. Kind and resourceful inventions are everywhere, such as snacking stations where two posts lean together, with leafy boughs dangling on rope for baby goats to forage from.

CHN’s CEO, Aayusha Prasain, nods knowingly when one in our group says she cried when she left her host, Shayam Chaudhary, in Bhada. Shayam’s 17-year-old son, Prashant, had translated, which deepened the connection.

“Community tourism turns travel into a relationship, not a transaction,” says Aayusha. “It places decision-making power in the hands of local communities, especially women and youth.” Since 2018, CHN has hosted more than 4000 travellers from 52 countries in 408 households, and estimates women’s participation has increased by 381 per cent.

In the Bardiya community, where vexing human-animal conflict has been a balancing act for decades due to elephants raiding crops, long-time homestay operator Salik Ram Chaudhary says young people keep the older ones on their toes.

“We can’t keep homestays stagnant,” he says. “We have to upgrade our service and redefine our product or young people won’t see it as an attractive business. If we can keep evolving with this travelling trend we’re confident the youths will stay and continue it.”

Back in Kathmandu, Monica explains that after the deaths of young protestors in September, a determination had spread to not let their sacrifice be in vain. “We want to keep holding the government accountable,” she says. “We don’t know what situation we’re facing, but we’re ready to face it.”

Interested in Nepal but prefer to experience it in total comfort? Read our guide to luxury travel in Nepal.

The best Ubud accommodation for a relaxing Balinese getaway