#20 in Top 20 Hotels in Bali 2026 · ★★★★★
Ulaman Eco Luxury Resort
Bamboo architecture, full eco-certification, plant-based dining, wellness with conviction.
Bamboo architecture, full eco-certification, plant-based dining, wellness with conviction.
"The Tabanan eco-resort built from bamboo and rammed earth: Bali's most original new architecture."
Why this rank: Ulaman earns #20 as the most architecturally original resort on the list. It opened in 2020 in the hills of Tabanan, 20 villas built from bamboo and rammed earth, set between rice paddies and a river, with a saltwater pool and off-grid solar that earned a Prix Versailles nod. The character is eco-wellness: Wahana is fully plant-based, and the spa runs Balinese treatments, breathwork, and sound baths in a bamboo dome. Tabanan is about 45 minutes west of Ubud and 30 north of Canggu. The honest caveat is the remoteness and the small scale, there is little beyond the resort, so it suits a stay-in retreat rather than a touring base. Best for the traveller who wants Bali's most striking architecture and a real wellness focus.
Best room: Sky Lodge, with private plunge pool
"Bamboo architecture, full eco-certification, plant-based dining, wellness with conviction."
Ulaman is the bamboo-architecture wellness resort that opened in 2020 in Tabanan, west of Ubud, designed by Inspiral Architecture and Design Studios around a waterfall and a permaculture farm. The villas, every one entirely built from bamboo and rammed-earth, with no concrete used in the structures. The architecture is the asset, the curves of the bamboo, the way the structures merge into the surrounding jungle, the absence of conventional building materials. The wellness programme is plant-forward: the Wahana restaurant is fully plant-based, the kitchen sources 80% of its produce from the on-site garden, and the wellness consultations begin with a plant-medicine assessment. The Sound Healing Sanctuary, a custom-built bamboo dome with a 360-degree sound system, is the venue for the resort's signature treatments. Ulaman is the right pick for the wellness retreat where the architecture and the eco-conviction are the explicit point of the trip, the bamboo architecture, the off-grid power, the regenerative-agriculture programme. It is the most architecturally-coherent wellness property in the country.
Earth Lodge or Sky Lodge (the bamboo-and-rammed-earth villas with private plunge pools).
Walk the bamboo architecture with the staff on day one. Book the Sound Healing Sanctuary 90-minute session for day three. Eat every meal at Wahana, the plant-based menu is genuinely worth the booking.
Ulaman sits at #20 on our Top 20 Hotels in Bali for 2026, scoring an aggregate 9.4/10 across Room & Design, Service, and Location. It closes the list as its most original architecture and its most committed wellness stay, set apart by location and scale. For the grander Ubud and beach resorts, see the entries above; for the full ranking, see below.
Have firm dates? Our editor's advice is to book roughly twelve weeks in advance. Rooms with the coveted orientation are claimed first, while popular-month availability runs out months in advance. Suites with a private plunge pool or terrace, the very rooms behind this rank, usually vanish first.
Editorial · #20 on the Top 20 Hotels in Bali 2026 list
Ulaman's case for a Bali stay is its architecture and its conviction. Opened in 2020 in the hills of Tabanan, it is built almost entirely from bamboo and rammed earth, between rice paddies and a river.
There are 20 villas, the Earth Lodge and Sky Lodge types among them, with private plunge pools, and a saltwater main pool; the off-grid solar design has drawn a Prix Versailles nod.
The Wahana restaurant is entirely plant-based, and the spa runs Balinese treatments, breathwork, and sound baths in a bamboo sanctuary. Tabanan is about 45 minutes west of Ubud and 30 north of Canggu, so it trades convenience for seclusion. The honest trade-off is the remoteness and the 20-villa scale: there is little beyond the resort, and it suits a stay-in retreat rather than a touring base. Best for the traveller who wants Bali's most original architecture and a genuine wellness focus.
Sign up for deal alerts: fifth night free offers, resort credits, and the upgrade windows we would book ourselves.