FOURSEASONSRESORTBALI
JIMBARANBAYINDONESIA
Even as it buckles under the weight of
hotel developments and choking trac,
there are, happily, still places to nd the
Bali we all fell in love with decades ago.
Jimbaran Bay, dating back 30 years, has
become a classic on the south coast
atop the promontory known locally as
the Bukit, with its dramatic cli-top
views of the Indian Ocean. Built along
traditional lines, like a Balinese village,
the rooms are scattered along winding
lanes leading to sculpted entrances and
high-walled stone courtyards adorned
with statues and shrines. More recently,
the late and lauded Indonesian designer
Jaya Ibrahim refreshed the larger villas,
echoing the local vernacular with
hand-dyed ikat textiles, stone panelling
and wood carvings. There are 35 acres
of lush leafy grounds here and three
miles of beachfront—with low-key
eateries, known as warungs, at the far
end of the stretch serving up chilli
prawns and spicy barbecue chicken.
Bali might be busy now, but this place
retains its slow beat.BELMONDHOTELSPLENDIDO
PORTOFINO, ITALY
“No, no,” says the general manager
Ermes De Megni, as eervescent as a
glass of prosecco, “this isn’t about la
dolce vita, it’s about la dolce far niente”
(which roughly means “the art of doing
nothing”). And that just about sums it
up. While one goes to Venice, Florence
and Rome to explore, one comes to
Portono to eat, drink and lie in the
sun. And there’s no better place than la
terrazza of the Splendido, set against the
hotel’s carmine and ochre facade
softened by tangles of wisteria, and
overlooking a saltwater pool ringed by
loungers facing the teeny-tiny harbour
of Portono with its sailboats, Rivas andeven keys here), let the kids run free and
have plenty of room to roam. Across
Jumby Bay’s 300 acres is a network of
pathways to be explored by electric
buggy or bicycle, where you can spot
grazing sheep, stop for a swim or delve
into the organic garden (followed by a
fresh salad at the farm-to-table
restaurant). It’s old-school Caribbean—a
relief given that some of the shiny new
beach resorts are more like Miami than
the West Indies. Not that this property
has stood still. Closed for a year after
Hurricane Irma, it has upped its game
with soft tropical interiors by Brazilian
designer Patricia Anastassiadis, a water
sports centre and a sailing school that
salutes Antigua’s yachting status, with
its regatta and steady trade winds.superyachts. By the water is the smaller
Splendido Mare hotel, and the lovely
Chuay restaurant and San Giorgio
gelateria. But then withdraw up the hill
to the original Splendido, a converted
Benedictine monastery which was
anointed as the most beloved European
retreat in the 1950s and 1960s by stars
such as Humphrey Bogart, Lauren
Bacall, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard
Burton. With its unrivalled
Mediterranean light and luminous
water, it’s no less glamorous now.JUMBYBAYISLAND
ANTIGUA
There’s something special about a
private island where you leave the front
door unlocked (actually, there aren’tClockwise from top:
Looking out from the
Belmond Hotel Splendido;
villa entrance at Jimbaran
Bay; ocean view from
Jumby Bay IslandBELMOND SPLENDIDO; CHRISTIAN HORAN JIMBARAN BAY; OETKER COLLECTION JUMBY BAYSweet Spot A hotel doesn’t have
to be new for us to love it
Travel The Edit
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