Indulging in a bygone era in an Ubud

Dewi Anggraeni, Contributor, Melbourne

It is not an exaggeration to say that for such a small island, Bali has an amazing capacity to cater to all kinds of holiday- makers, from backpackers to those seeking a more exclusive kind of accommodation, who do not mind paying for what they really want.

Generally speaking, when thinking of a more expensive accommodation, we tend to think of a five-star hotel with an excellent international rating and some local flavor and friendliness thrown in.

It is time, however, we modified this mind set. The era of boutique hotels has dawned for some time in Bali. The attraction of these hotels lies in their individual styles, in terms of physical appearance as well as more subtle ambience.

And a boutique hotel, to do it justice, has to be experienced and savored, not merely treated as a place to sleep, have a quick breakfast and shower, and leave your wet towels behind.

Now imagine you are visiting Bali, and you have made an impromptu booking for Tugu Hotel, on the southwest coast of Canggu.

At the airport you will be met by a driver holding an ornate plaque bearing the logo of the hotel and your name beneath it in gold lettering. So far it is not much above your expectations. In the car you are served with a basket of fruit and drinking water, and fragrant towels to wipe your hands on after the snack. The half-hour drive from the airport is pleasant as you see open space as well as houses and human activities before you reach the village of Canggu.

When you arrive you may be struck by the understated appearance of the establishment from outside, as there are no signs indicating that you are entering the driveway of an hotel. The only immediate tell-tale is the warm welcome you receive as soon as you step out of the vehicle.

Then as you are ushered into the house -- for it looks, for all intents and purposes, like a grand house -- along a dark and polished wooden bridge, you are flanked by glass-fronted rooms through which you can see furniture and artifacts from past centuries, not only attributable to various parts of Indonesia, but also representing the country's different cultures.

At the end of that long entrance bridge, you come face to face with a vast ceremonial platform adorned with wooden carvings of mythological giant guardians mounted on crossbeams, and you cannot help looking up at the high peaked roof supported by ornate columns.

You are actually in the Wantilan Agung, a replica of a grand ceremonial house which, when used in a real ceremony, would command awe in everyone present. It has no rear walls, and if you look out, you will see a beautiful garden, and behind a discreet brick fence, the blue ocean.

And if you then turn around, you will see in locked display cabinets, a stunning collection of antique artifacts from all over Indonesia. When you have taken in all the surrounding nooks and coves, furnished with period furniture and pastel colored scatter cushions on the floor, you will notice that the large teak table on the left of the entrance is actually the reception desk.

If you do not feel like sitting at the table facing the receptionist, because by this time you may actually feel you are not in a conventional hotel and do not want to behave like you are in one, you can choose to sit at one of the settees surrounding the ceremonial platform, and your hosts will ask you to choose your welcome drink, and bring all the paperwork to you with a smile. And only when you are ready will you be led to your suite, which is another realm of experience.

You are immediately addressed by your name by the staff. Apart from the fact that they are mostly young and alert, and have all their faculties working to full capacity, they seem to have been conditioned to regard all the guests as house guests. And with only 22 suites this may be more achievable than in say, a 150- room hotel.

In fact, on the way to your suite, if you ask the staff member accompanying you, the current occupancy rate of the hotel, you will be given the exact number with the breakdown in their countries of origin.

Try the gardener the following morning; ask him how many guests are expected that day or how many are leaving, you will similarly receive a definite answer, presumably correct.

Even if you have booked one of the least expensive suites, Rejang (upstairs with a private spa and massage area, and ocean views) or Dedari (downstairs with a private plunge pool), it is still a complete indulgence which makes you wonder what you have done to deserve it. Of course the trick is to suppress any sense of guilt and release the deep, hidden suspicion that you are actually a prince or a princess in the previous life, and are now relocating into your natural station, albeit only briefly.

All the suites are self-contained living quarters, with varying degrees of sumptuousness and indulgence, surrounded by clear and limpid lotus ponds inhabited by real fish. You could sit on the veranda of your own suite just enjoying these surroundings all day if you are an immobile type, because you could ask for your breakfast, lunch, high tea, and dinner brought to you.

If you are a restless type who has to move around to feel alive, you are free to flutter around the establishment, enjoying a massage and a spa at the "Bale Nglamun dan Leha-leha" (Hut for Daydreaming and Relaxation), sitting in one of the banquet rooms, having your breakfast at the seaside, your lunch sitting in lotus position or reclining like a Roman royal on one of the scatter cushions, your dinner in one of the secluded rooms around the edges of the Wantilan Agung, visiting the various rooms which house priceless artifacts from throughout the region, or going for a jaunt to Kuta and Seminyak.

By the time you have spent three days here, you will have your sense of guilt massaged away. I have a suspicion that all the staff have been trained in psychology, because irrespective of time and the type of requests you may have, there is never a trace of obsequiousness in their reactions, as if what you want then is very normal; people often disguise their resentment with obsequiousness.

The good news in terms of costs is that the suites are spacious enough to accommodate up to three people without them having to bump into one another every hour, unless intended. Split two or three ways, you can afford to have an extended indulgence, time permitting, without an early rude awakening of a depleted bank account.

And where else to do this but in beautiful Bali?