#4 in Top 20 Bali for A Wellness Retreat · ★★★★★
Amandari
Original Aman, terraced rice paddies, the wellness retreat that doesn't market itself as wellness.
Original Aman, terraced rice paddies, the wellness retreat that doesn't market itself as wellness.
"The 1989 Ubud Aman, the founding Bali Aman, the working heritage Bali ultra-luxury address."
Why this rank, Amandari opened in 1989 in the village of Kedewatan above the Ayung River gorge, the founding Aman property in Bali and one of the founding properties of the Aman portfolio globally. 30 thatched suites and one Amandari Villa across the property, the layout configured as a Balinese village. The Aman Spa runs the property's wellness curriculum, with treatments integrating Indonesian-tradition Boreh wraps, Javanese Lulur scrubs, and the Amandari-specific Healing Stone Bath in the river gorge. Yoga is taken in the wantilan (the Balinese open pavilion). The Restaurant Amandari and the Bar Amandari anchor the dining. The Kedewatan village setting (the property is set within the working village rather than separated from it) is the structural difference from newer Bali wellness retreats. Best for the heritage Bali stay at the property that defined Bali ultra-luxury.
Best room: Amandari Villa, private pool, three-bedroom
"Original Aman, terraced rice paddies, the wellness retreat that doesn't market itself as wellness."
Amandari was the second Aman property ever built, Ed Tuttle designed it in 1989 on a Kedewatan ridge above the Ayung, and it remains the most-influential resort in Asia for the way it taught hospitality to dialogue with traditional architecture. Thirty suites, all built as Balinese village compounds (a private bale, a courtyard, a walled outdoor bath, a thatched roof), the highest tier with private plunge pools. Amandari does not present itself as a wellness resort and does not run multi-day protocols, it does not have a Programme menu, but the property's very architecture is the wellness experience. The Aman service standard, the hush of the property at 6am, the 35-metre infinity pool that aims directly at the Ayung canyon, the daily yoga in the open-air shala, the Aman Spa treatment menu, all of it adds up to a wellness retreat of the soft kind, where the recovery happens by virtue of the property rather than because of a programme. Couples and solo travellers who find the COMO clinical-wellness model too structured book Amandari and get the same outcome through different means.
Valley Pool Suite, the river-canyon-edge suite with private plunge pool. Or a Suluban Suite for the entry-level Aman compound.
Walk down the rice-paddy footpath to the Ayung at 6am; the path leaves from the back of the property and ends at a small private river bend. Pre-arrange a Balinese melukat (water-purification) ceremony at the local temple for day three.
Amandari sits within our broader Top 20 Hotels in Bali for a Wellness Retreat list. It scored an aggregate 9.8/10 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 Kedewatan, Ubud and adjacent. For a different city entirely, see the related lists below.
If you have already chosen the dates, our editor recommends booking the room 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. Suite-level rooms with private plunge pools or terraces, the ones that earn this rank, are typically the first to sell out.
Editorial · #4 on the Top 20 Hotels in Bali 2026 list
Amandari's case for the Bali stay is the heritage Aman setting. The 1989 property is the founding Aman in Bali and one of the founding properties of the Aman portfolio globally; the village layout (30 thatched suites laid out as a Balinese village) is the property's structural difference from newer Bali resorts.
The 30 thatched suites and one Amandari Villa across the property include the One-Bedroom Pool Suite with private pool, the Two-Bedroom Pool Suite, and the multi-bedroom Amandari Villa. The Aman Spa runs the property's wellness curriculum, with Indonesian-tradition Boreh wraps, Javanese Lulur scrubs, and the Amandari-specific Healing Stone Bath in the river gorge.
Yoga is taken in the wantilan (the Balinese open pavilion). The Restaurant Amandari runs the dinner anchor; the Bar Amandari handles the cocktail programme. The Kedewatan village setting (the property is set within the working village rather than separated from it) means guests participate in village ceremonies and pass through the working agricultural rhythm of Bali daily. The Aman service tenure (forty-year head-of-department staff are present here) is the operational depth. Best for the heritage Bali stay at the property that defined Bali ultra-luxury.