The Umana Bali is a stunning limestone clifftop resort on the Southernmost tip of Bali in Ungasan, an area known for stunning ocean views, beach clubs and luxe resorts that appear as though they cling onto the edges of the cliffs like limpets on rocks. The Umana Bali is part of the Hilton Hotels portfolio and is the 16th out of 18 LXR resorts, Hilton's highest tier luxury brand known for its "one of its kind" resorts. Come along as we explore what the hotel has to offer.
The last time I was in Bali was in 2019 and I realise how much I've missed it. Especially the warm weather, Balinese architecture, intricate bas reliefs and the ready smiles and banter of the Balinese people. This is my first time staying in Ungasan in the very south of the island of Bali and I'm keen to explore everything the Umana Bali has to offer.
There are 18 LXR resorts in the world and LXR represents the Hilton Hotel's most luxurious tier (with one to come in Australia in August 2026 on the site of the former Palazzo Versace). Umana Bali's resort design was inspired by Uma or the ancient rice fields and their curves and terraces and comprises of 72 stunning 1, 2 or 3 bedroom villas.
The resort's winding roads are dotted with these villas, spaced discreetly apart and in a cascading terrace pattern, the traditional way that rice was farmed. As we alight from the car, a gong sounds and we are gently ushered towards the arrival lounge where we are offered lemon tarts, fragrant ice cold towels and a refreshing pineapple juice.
Each villa has its own dedicated "curator" who you can contact for anything that you need. Our curator Gabriella tucks a frangipane behind our ears and then offers us a Tridatu bracelet, a sacred Balinese Hindu accessory. The three colour bracelet symbolises birth, life and death and protects against negative energy.
The Villas
For those with FOMO who constantly wonder if they have the best room, I've got great news. All of the accommodation at Umana Bali is made up of beautiful villas and they only differ based on the number of bedrooms. And even better, the villas are among the largest in Bali.
Our one bedroom villa measures an astounding 403 square meters or roughly 4,300 square feet. The outdoor section is what draws the eye with its ocean front vista and 10 metre infinity pool with fountain. Tucked into one corner is the jacuzzi alongside a balé or bale bengong. This traditional Balinese open-sided pavilion or gazebo has a relaxing day bed and there are also sun beds placed in the direct sunshine too.
You can access the indoor part of the villa through two sets on doors with one straight up from the pool for the ultimate entrance. The sitting room and kitchenette area is expansive and stocked with a well curated mini bar, a cut above most with local, boutique brands of chocolate, snacks and Balinese botanical drinks. A wine fridge keeps the wine chilled and there is also a coffee machine and tea replenished as frequently as you need. There is a large television here and a modular lounge to relax on.
Walking through the villa, the rooms unfold - there's a separate powder room for guests and an enormous marble bathroom. This may be one of the largest bathrooms I've ever had in a hotel and the centrepiece is a huge soaking bathtub. There are also double sinks with detailed amenities tucked away in a drawer box. On one side is a spacious shower that looks out to an outdoor shower that you can use after the pool. A Japanese bidet toilet is separate. There is also plenty of space to hang clothes and a yoga mat, safe, soft robes and slippers are provided.
Next to the bathroom is the bedroom with a king sized bed, large television and charging ports by the bed. The bed is very comfortable and looks out into the pool. Gabriella warns us to lock the doors as there is a monkey that likes to call in and visit. That monkey will have to battle Mr NQN who falls upon the fruit bowl with great enthusiasm. Turn down each evening draws the curtains shut and slippers and water are placed by the bed. The room also has plenty of international plugs, a phone charging pad and plenty of bottles of water for drinking and brushing teeth.
Personal touches are the personalised fresh coconut juices and on my birthday, a rich chocolate cake with candle is delivered and Happy Birthday is spelled out in flowers and leaves. The most thoughtful personal touch is the welcome card with a picture of Mochi. One noticeable thing is that all of the staff that we encountered from the Uma Beach Club to Commune to check in are genuinely friendly and welcoming.
The Restaurants
Oliverra
The Umana Bali has 5 dining and drinking options. Oliverra is an upmarket restaurant that focuses on Mediterranean cuisine and is only a few minutes walk from our villa although staff also encourage us to call golf buggies whenever we need them.
The multi level building has an outdoor area, a sunset bar upstairs and the restaurant has both indoor and outdoor seating. It's a perfect, lightly breezy evening so we take a seat outside watching the sunset deepen to an ochre glow.
There are two set menus and an a la carte menu. The set menu starts with two amuse bouches from the chef (a mini beef empanada and a tuna filled corn bite) that looks like a tiny green tomato.
The Carbonara del Mare isn't pasta, it features hand dived French scallops on a potato cake with a Pecorino Romano Espuma foam and a carbonara sauce.
The charcoal grilled stockyard strip line is a perfectly cooked fillet of beef with slow baked wild mushroom ragu, hasselback topinambur (Jerusalem artichoke), roasted shallot and red wine juice served at the table. It's fantastic when you get a little bit of everything on your fork.
But my favourite dish is the Lobster Fideua from the a la carte menu. Fideua is an Andalusian Spanish dish that means "lots of noodles" and is a Spanish "paella" made out of pasta noodles or in this case vermicelli noodles. I haven't often seen this on a menu but it is exactly the dish that we want to have on holidays given the seaside setting. The noodles are paired with perfectly cooked bamboo lobster and lemon aioli on top of the split lobster. The noodles have a lovely crispy edge to it and a rich tomato flavour while the split bamboo lobster is well cooked so that it is still luscious and tender. We scrape the plate for every last piece of noodle.
The coconut meringue has the fine texture or desiccated coconut in a crisp meringue combined with a Arabica coffee jelly Amaretto essence and mascarpone for a refreshing yet creamy dessert to end the meal, followed by salted caramel petit fours.
Commune Restaurant
The all day Commune restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and is located right by the main pool. Breakfast is served from 6am-10:30am and comprises of a split buffet and a la carte selection. The staff are super friendly and helpful and help bring plates to our table.
The pastries are delicious and there are local items to try like a cendol cup, cinnamon donuts, Indonesian desserts and a range of egg dishes and soup noodles available freshly made.
The banana pancakes are excellent as is a local specialty rice porridge. Moreng is an Ungasan style rice porridge with boiled eggs, moringa leaves, shredded chicken and turmeric that is so comforting and divine. We also order a tropical fruit plate.
Commune is also open for lunch and the menu comprises local Indonesian dishes as well as Western classics, salads and pastas and meat. If you're famished (perhaps from an early flight or waiting for your villa to be ready), the Rijsttafel is an Indonesian Dutch banquet that translates to "rice table" and is made up of numerous dishes from salads to meats and seafood. All meals here start with the signature cracker basket with a range of different crackers and half a dozen dips, sauces and pickles - the kecap manis with satay sauce is a standout.
The staff then bring out an enormous platter of food laden with everything from sate lilit, beef rendang, egg curry, Balinese chicken, green bean salad, prawns in coconut sauce, grilled fish and boiled eggs with Balinese bumbu genep as well as a selection of white, brown and purple rice to go with the dishes. There is also Gerang Asem,a meatball and prawn clear soup. Everything is delicious, especially the sate lilit and beef rendang.
This is followed with a platter of fresh tropical fruit, glutinous rice balls made with purple potatoes and filled with palm sugar syrup with jackfruit and a sweetened coconut soup. There is also a plate of Pisang Goreng or deep fried bananas. These are crunchy on the outside and the bananas are perfectly ripe and sweet on the inside and all you need to do is dip these crunchy morsels in the palm sugar syrup.
Uma Beach House
Uma Beach House is one of the most popular places to visit in Ungasan for its oceanfront views, infinity pool, fusion cuisine and relaxed luxury vibe. Uma Beach Club sits on Melasti beach located below the Umana Hotel and a cute little mini bus regularly shuttles guests down to the Beach Club. Melasti means the day before silent day or Nyepi, an important day in Balinese culture usually celebrated in March where the entire island shuts down for 24 hours.
Melasti Beach is a very popular white sand beach that is often blessed with spectacular sunsets and just before sunset is the most popular time here. It is also a destination for people staying in nearby Uluwatu and Padang Padang. Uma Beach Club is decked out in warm terracotta and blush pink tones with stone floors and timber beams. I'm here for my birthday dinner and it is the perfect location.
This place has a vibe but isn't overwhelming busy or heaving. Salmon pink booths hug curves and look out to the beach. There are plenty of sun lounges or guests can go straight to a table to order food. For Umana Bali hotel guests the entrance is waived to the Beach Club sun loungers but for non hotel guests there is a fee for these. And usually there is an entrance fee to enter Melasti Beach but this is waived for Umana guests. Sun beds are IDR 750,000/$60AUD/$42USD while cabanas are IDR 2,700,000/$213AUD/$153USD but this spend is 100% applicable towards food and beverage.
Start with cocktails like the Coral by the Bay or the Lemongrass Blossom which are both excellent refreshers that are well balanced and not overly sweet. The Lemongrass Blossom is made with Gin, lemongrass, jasmine, peach, ginger and citrus while the Coral by the Bay has citrus Vodka, apricot brandy, salak and spice liqueur, tamarillo, spiced syrup, citrus & soda.
The menu here at Uma Beach House is Nikkei cuisine or Japanese-Peruvian cuisine, so there's everything from anticuchos to ceviche and suspiros for dessert. The seafood platter immediately caught my eye and at 560,000 (or around $44UD or $32USD) it is a very reasonable price. The raw seafood platter has sashimi salmon, tuna and sea bream with large prawns, fresh Japanese oysters and a poached baby lobster. It comes with sauces on the side like sour cream, soy sauce, and a tomato salsa. It's sizeable so we share this and another main and salad.
I also love the Japanese-style Caesar salad with baby romaine lettuce, katsuobushi, tender poached chicken and finely diced bacon dressed with a fantastic wasabi anchovy Caesar dressing.
The sushi and sashimi is also popular with tuna maki, large nigiri, three large nigiri and two vegetarian maki rolls. It is said to have California rolls but these weren't on our platter and there wasn't actual sashimi on the platter.
There is also a surprise for me as they bring over a birthday cake and the lovely staff sing Happy Birthday to me and bring a gorgeously rich chocolate cake decorated with meringue swirls and fresh fruit.
Extraordinary Experiences
Breakfast is normally at Commune restaurant but the floating breakfast in your villa is a must do at least once during your stay. The friendly staff lay out a wicker floating tray with your pre-booked breakfast options (Continental, Indonesian or Western) plus a choice of drink and juice.
We tried the Indonesian breakfast with a delicious Nasi Campur that came with Indonesian sweets and paired with fresh fruit, juice and coffee. The Western breakfast is also excellent with a choice of eggs (we recommend the Umana scrambled eggs that have caviar, prawn and truffle) and a mixed pastry basket. The floating breakfast is IDR 550,000/$43AUD/$31USD per person
The Lohma spa is a gorgeous, serene space where talented therapists use traditional and modern techniques with a range of facials, massages as well as treatments like holotropic breathing, cold water immersion and sound healing along with private yoga classes.
For our 60 minute couples massage were led to an expansive couples room with a garden view outside and large soaking tub, shower and change room. Our spa therapists explain what they will be doing and check our comfort levels before giving us a deeply relaxing massage with tropical scented massage oil. I have to will myself to stay awake to enjoy the head and face massage administered expertly by my spa therapist.
The Village Walk is not to be missed. Guests get a glimpse into the life of people living in Ungasan village by an Umana tour guide. A more detailed post about this is coming up!
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever stayed at an LXR Hotel? Have you ever visited the Southern area of Bali?
Umana Bali
Jl. Melasti, Ungasan, Kec. Kuta Sel., Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80364, Indonesia
Phone: +62 361 3007000
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/dpsolol-umana-bali-resort/
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