#20 in Top 20 Bali for A Wellness Retreat · ★★★★★
Alila Ubud
Adults-friendly, riverside paddy rooms, the original Ubud design hotel.
Adults-friendly, riverside paddy rooms, the original Ubud design hotel.
"Kerry Hill's 1996 design landmark above the Ayung gorge, where the green-tiled infinity pool still sets the Bali standard."
Why it ranks #9: Alila Ubud opened in 1996 above the Ayung River gorge at Payangan, designed by Kerry Hill Architects and still one of the most assured pieces of hotel architecture in Bali. 56 rooms and 18 villas, the rooms raised on stilts in a re-reading of a Balinese village. Hyatt acquired Alila in 2018 and kept the original design. Its green-tiled infinity pool over the gorge is among the most photographed in Bali; Spa Alila runs Balinese-rooted treatments, and the open-sided Plantation restaurant handles dining above the valley. The honest drawback: Payangan sits about 20 minutes north of central Ubud, so this is a settle-in retreat rather than a walk-to-town base. Best for travellers who want design pedigree and a river-gorge setting over proximity to the centre.
Best room: Pool Villa, one-bedroom, private pool, valley view
"Adults-friendly, riverside paddy rooms, the original Ubud design hotel."
Alila Ubud is the original Alila property, Mark Edleson opened the hotel in 1996 on a Payangan ridge above the Ayung river, and the property was the first contemporary-design hotel in Bali. The architecture by Kerry Hill (the late Australian architect responsible for several Aman properties and the Datai Langkawi) is a study in restraint, clay-tile rooflines, alang-alang thatch, dark wood, the architectural precision that defined the Ubud luxury idiom for the next twenty years. Sixty-four rooms and villas, all with valley-edge or rice-paddy orientation, the higher tiers with private plunge pools. The 25-metre infinity pool, square, not curved, set into a sloping garden, is one of the most-influential pools in Bali and the photograph that introduced a generation of design travellers to Ubud. The Alila Spa runs Asian-discipline treatments. Alila Ubud is the right pick for the wellness retreat at the mid-tier price where the architecture and the Kerry Hill design language are the differentiator. It is the most-affordable property on this list of the same architectural quality as the higher tiers.
Pool Villa (with private plunge pool) or Terrace Tree Villa (a treehouse-style room with valley-edge orientation).
Photograph the 25-metre square infinity pool at 7am from the upper terrace. Book the Alila Spa Watukaru massage (uses local volcanic stones from Mount Batukaru) for day three. Walk down to the Ayung river through the rice paddies on day two.
Alila Ubud sits within our broader Top 20 Hotels in Bali for a Wellness Retreat list. It scored an aggregate 9.4/10 across the three editorial criteria, competitive against the field but, on a wellness retreat-specific factors, the angle above is what earned its rank. For the alternatives in the same Bali neighbourhood, see Payangan, Ubud and adjacent. For a different city entirely, see the related lists below.
With dates settled, the booking window that works is about twelve weeks ahead. The best suites with the right view orientation go first, and inventory for the popular months is quoted in months, not weeks. Top-category rooms with private pools or terraces, the reason this hotel ranks here, are routinely the first gone.
Editorial · #9 on the Top 20 Hotels in Bali 2026 list
Alila Ubud's case for the Bali stay is its design pedigree and river-gorge setting. The 1996 property at Payangan was designed by Kerry Hill Architects and remains one of the most assured pieces of hotel architecture on the island.
The 56 rooms and 18 villas include valley-view rooms on stilts and private-pool villas folded into the hillside above the Ayung.
Spa Alila runs Balinese-rooted treatments, and the open-sided Plantation restaurant handles dining above the valley. The green-tiled infinity pool over the gorge is among the most photographed in Bali. Hyatt acquired Alila in 2018 and kept the original design. The honest drawback: Payangan is about 20 minutes north of central Ubud, so this is a settle-in retreat rather than a base for walking into town. Best for travellers who want architecture and a gorge setting over proximity to Ubud's centre.
A ranked shortlist, a special offer worth booking, and the overpriced stay to skip. Straight from the editors.