Review: Buahan, a Banyan Tree Escape

8.2/10

Excellent

Best Bali Hotels score

$$$$$Ultra-luxury · A$1,000+

Buahan is the most memorable bed in Ubud. The villas have no walls and no doors, so you sleep in the jungle with a roof over your head and the valley at your feet.

It’s for couples who want two or three nights of doing nothing, in the dry season. Skip it if you need a door you can shut to sleep well.

• Wow-factor

  You sleep in the open air, high over the jungle, with a waterfall below. It’s the most dramatic bed in Ubud.

• Service

  Your own host, a phone to call them on, and staff who walk you home along the dark paths.

• Rooms

  An open-air villa with a copper bath and your own pool. Nothing else in Bali feels like it.

• Spa

  Small and open-air, with a room over the waterfall. Gentle, sleepy treatments rather than deep tissue.

• Pools

  Every villa has its own pool, plus an infinity pool over the valley. Don’t count on warm water.

• Food

  A great breakfast. Dinner is a mostly plant-based set menu of locally grown ingredients, and there’s only one restaurant.

• Value

  Ultra-luxury money, and drinks and the spa cost extra. You pay for the setting.

• Location

  Forty minutes north of Ubud and about 2 hours from the airport, with a lot of steps on site.

Things I loved

• The villa. There are only 16, and each is an open-air pavilion on the hillside with a copper bath, a fire pit, a daybed and its own pool. You wake up already in the view.
• The service. You get your own host and a phone to call them on, and someone walks you back along the paths after dark. I think it’s as good as Mandapa’s.
• It feels Balinese. A Balinese architect designed it from bamboo and old ironwood, and almost all the staff come from the area. It feels nothing like a chain hotel.
• The quiet. With 16 villas spread down a valley, you barely see another guest. The shared infinity pool is often empty.
• Breakfast. It’s cooked to order with produce from the area, and it’s the best meal of the day here.
• The daily programme. Yoga, guided foraging walks and a trek down to the waterfall are included, so the days fill themselves.

What could be better

• The wet season. Open-air means open-air. From November to March, rain can blow in, bedding can get damp and the mosquitoes come out. I’d go between May and October.
• The works. From November 2026 to early March 2027, part of the resort is being modernised. The inclinator (the little lift down the hill) is out, and some areas get daytime noise.
• The steps. The resort is spread over four levels of hillside, on stone and gravel paths. Even with the lift running, it’s hard work, and it’s no place for anyone who struggles with stairs.
• It’s a long way from anywhere. Central Ubud is about 40 minutes away, and nothing is walkable. You’ll eat every meal at the hotel.
• Dinner won’t suit everyone. There’s one restaurant, and dinner is a set menu that’s mostly plant-based. If you want a steak and chips night, you won’t get one.
• Early wake-ups. The birds start before 6 am, the roosters before that, and sheer curtains let in the dawn. Pack earplugs and an eye mask.

Rooms

Every villa (Buahan calls them balés) has one king bed, a bath, its own pool and a terrace, and sleeps two. There’s no air-con on the walls. Instead, a canopy over the bed blows cold air onto you, and there are ceiling fans.

The shower and toilet sit behind a curved wooden wall, so they’re private, even with no doors. At turndown, staff lower the drapes and the netting around the bed.

There are five types, and they differ mainly in where they sit on the hill:

• Rainforest Pool Balé: the entry villa, furthest from the shared areas. Some sit low in the valley, where it’s cooler and damper.
• Buahan Valley Pool Balé: valley and mountain views, close to the main pool and the restaurant. The views vary from villa to villa.
• River Valley Pool Balé: a view down the valley.
• Seven Peaks Pool Balé: high above the valley, facing sunrise over the peaks. It comes with a free minibar and a return shuttle into Ubud.
• Above the Waterfall Pool Balé: the most secluded, above the waterfall, with the same extras as Seven Peaks.

I’d book Seven Peaks. You’re high on the hill, close to the restaurant, away from the damp and with the best view in the resort. If that’s out of reach, I’d take a Rainforest balé and ask for one high up the slope.

Pools

Every villa has its own plunge pool with an infinity edge, filled with spring water rather than chlorine or salt. Below the main pavilion there’s a shared infinity pool over the valley, and it’s usually empty.

Don’t count on the water being warm, especially in the lower villas. The shared pool doesn’t have much shade either.

It’s adults only, with no cots or extra beds, so there’s no kids pool or kids club.

Food

There’s one restaurant, the Open Kitchen, plus The Botanist Bar for herbal cocktails, kombucha and local beer. Every booking is half-board, so breakfast and dinner are included. Lunch and drinks cost extra.

Breakfast is the highlight: fresh, cooked to order and beautifully done. Dinner is a set menu of several courses, mostly plant-based, with meat or fish if you want it. I think it’s clever cooking, but after three nights I’d want a choice.

Location

Buahan is in Payangan, about 40 minutes north of central Ubud. The airport is about 2 hours away, and longer in afternoon traffic.

There’s no beach and nothing to walk to, so plan to stay put. You’ll want a driver for any day trips into Ubud.

The hotel sits about 700 metres up, so the nights get cool. Ask for an extra duvet if you feel the cold.

Overall

Buahan is the most unusual luxury hotel in Bali, and it does what it promises. You sleep with no walls between you and the jungle, and the service makes it feel easy.

It’s not a hotel for everyone. It’s remote, it’s steep, and in the wet season it’s a gamble. But for a couple in the dry months, I think it’s the most memorable stay in Ubud.

Book it if you’re a couple who want something wild, and you can go between May and October. Skip it if you’re a light sleeper, struggle with stairs or want to be near town.

Alternatives nearby

• Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve. The best hotel in Ubud, with walls and doors, the best service in Bali and a much shorter drive to town.
• The Kayon Jungle Resort. Adults-only villas on a jungle ridge, also in Payangan, for a lot less.
• Bambu Indah. Bamboo houses on the Ayung River, with the same jungle-and-river feel, closer to town.

Weighing it against Raffles for a honeymoon? I compare them in my Accor ranking.

See all my picks in the best luxury hotels in Ubud or the most unique boutique hotels in Ubud.