The best boutique design hotels · Bali
Viceroy Bali
Margaret Bainbridge spent years travelling the world with her husband Otto before she arrived in Bali and decided to stop. She built Viceroy in 2005 on a ridge above the Petanu River gorge — the Valley of the Kings — and the family has run it without interruption since. The forty villas were designed around the drop: each private infinity pool is positioned to hang over the valley, the water appearing to fall into the jungle below. Architect Ketut Mahardika drew on Balinese palace conventions — the open pavilion, the alang-alang roof, the carved stone threshold — because these were the right structural responses to climate and site, not decorative references. Condé Nast Traveler made it the number one resort in the world in 2018. It is still the only Bali property to have held that position. The family still owns it. Michelin Key. SLH Finest Collection.
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The hotel
THE FOOD
Margaret Bainbridge sent staff across Bali to find whatever remained from the 1920s. The restaurant she assembled around those objects became Indonesia's best before it was two years old.
Apéritif occupies a standalone building in 1920s colonial style — black and white floor tiles, antique cast-iron chandeliers, arched windows over the ravine — that Margaret Bainbridge designed herself, sourcing period objects from across the island. Belgian chef Nic Vanderbeeken runs a degustation menu of global eclectic cuisine: Indonesian ingredients, produce from the restaurant's own greenhouse, technique that crosses cultures without explaining itself. The Venison Wellington comes with a rendang sauce from a recipe sourced in Padang. The cocktail programme is built around the expatriate artists who shaped Ubud in the 1930s — Margaret Mead, Colin McPhee, Walter Spies — each drink named for one of them. You could visit Viceroy for Apéritif alone.
THE FOOD
Margaret Bainbridge sent staff across Bali to find whatever remained from the 1920s. The restaurant she assembled around those objects became Indonesia's best before it was two years old.
Apéritif occupies a standalone building in 1920s colonial style — black and white floor tiles, antique cast-iron chandeliers, arched windows over the ravine — that Margaret Bainbridge designed herself, sourcing period objects from across the island. Belgian chef Nic Vanderbeeken runs a degustation menu of global eclectic cuisine: Indonesian ingredients, produce from the restaurant's own greenhouse, technique that crosses cultures without explaining itself. The Venison Wellington comes with a rendang sauce from a recipe sourced in Padang. The cocktail programme is built around the expatriate artists who shaped Ubud in the 1930s — Margaret Mead, Colin McPhee, Walter Spies — each drink named for one of them. You could visit Viceroy for Apéritif alone.
THE DESIGN
Forty villas, each with a private heated infinity pool over the Valley of the Kings. The lobby mural was carved by hand. Margaret Bainbridge designed the restaurant herself, sending staff across Bali to find whatever remained from the 1920s.
The ridge position is the founding decision — every villa is oriented to the valley, and the drop below the infinity pools is steep enough that the water appears to fall into the jungle. The architecture draws on Balinese palace conventions: the balé pavilion, the thatched roof, the carved stone entrance. These are not decorative allusions; the property was designed by a Balinese architect who understood them structurally. Apéritif operates as a separate world within the resort — 1920s colonial design that Margaret Bainbridge assembled herself, sourcing period objects from across the island.
THE DESIGN
Forty villas, each with a private heated infinity pool over the Valley of the Kings. The lobby mural was carved by hand. Margaret Bainbridge designed the restaurant herself, sending staff across Bali to find whatever remained from the 1920s.
The ridge position is the founding decision — every villa is oriented to the valley, and the drop below the infinity pools is steep enough that the water appears to fall into the jungle. The architecture draws on Balinese palace conventions: the balé pavilion, the thatched roof, the carved stone entrance. These are not decorative allusions; the property was designed by a Balinese architect who understood them structurally. Apéritif operates as a separate world within the resort — 1920s colonial design that Margaret Bainbridge assembled herself, sourcing period objects from across the island.
