#8 in Top 20 Bali for A Wellness Retreat · ★★★★★
Hanging Gardens of Bali
The two-level infinity pool that broke Instagram, and a serious meditation programme behind it.
The two-level infinity pool that broke Instagram, and a serious meditation programme behind it.
"The Payangan jungle property, the most-photographed Bali infinity pool, the working Instagram-iconic Bali address."
Why this rank, Hanging Gardens of Bali opened in 2005 in the Payangan jungle north of Ubud, on a steep ridge above the Ayung River gorge. 44 villas across the property, all with private pool. The property's two-level cantilevered infinity pool with the iconic Bali jungle backdrop is the most-photographed Bali pool image and the property's working social-media anchor. The Glass House restaurant on the property runs the dinner anchor; the property's wellness programme runs Balinese-tradition treatments and yoga on the deck overlooking the jungle. The property's steep-ridge geography means the funicular runs from the main lobby down to the villas (the only Bali property with a funicular). The Payangan jungle position is twenty minutes north of central Ubud. Best for the Bali stay where the iconic infinity-pool image is the visual register.
Best room: Riverside Pool Villa, private pool, river view
"The two-level infinity pool that broke Instagram, and a serious meditation programme behind it."
Hanging Gardens of Bali is the resort with the two-level infinity pool, the photograph that broke into the global wellness imagination around 2014 and has been on the cover of half the wellness travel magazines since. The pool is real and it is impressive: a stepped infinity edge that aims directly at the Ayung canyon, with the lower level set fifteen metres below the upper. Forty-four villas, all with private plunge pools, distributed across a Buahan-village ridge above the river. Beyond the pool, the resort's wellness programme is more substantial than the Instagram positioning suggests, there is a daily yoga programme on a covered open-air platform suspended over the canyon, an Ayurvedic spa with a resident doctor, and a meditation programme that uses the local temple complex (Pura Alamendra is on the property) as the venue. Hanging Gardens is the right pick for the wellness retreat where the photograph and the architecture matter as much as the programme, for couples on a one-trip-a-year wellness break who want the visual reward and a real spa underneath.
Riverside Two-Bedroom Pool Villa or Panoramic Pool Villa, both with private plunge pools, both river-canyon orientation.
Photograph the two-level infinity pool at 7am (no other guests, the morning light is strongest then). Book the Ayurvedic Detox 3-day programme (or longer) on arrival; the resident doctor's consultations are included.
Hanging Gardens of Bali sits within our broader Top 20 Hotels in Bali for a Wellness Retreat list. It scored an aggregate 9.5/10 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 Buahan, Payangan 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 · #10 on the Top 20 Hotels in Bali 2026 list
Hanging Gardens of Bali's case for the Bali stay is the iconic two-level cantilevered infinity pool. The 2005 property in the Payangan jungle north of Ubud has the most-photographed infinity pool in Bali (the two-level pool cantilevered out from the steep jungle ridge above the Ayung River gorge).
The 44 villas across the property include the Riverside Pool Villa, the Panoramic Pool Villa with private pool overlooking the jungle, and the multi-bedroom Hanging Gardens Villa.
The Glass House restaurant on the property runs the dinner anchor; the property's wellness programme runs Balinese-tradition treatments and yoga on the deck overlooking the jungle. The property's steep-ridge geography means the funicular runs from the main lobby down to the villas (the only Bali property with a funicular). The Payangan jungle position is 25 minutes north of central Ubud. The structural difference from the more conventional Ayung River gorge Ubud properties is the steep-ridge dramatic-pool architecture; Hanging Gardens of Bali is the Instagram-iconic Bali property. Best for the Bali stay where the iconic infinity-pool image is the visual register.