Why I am yet to share our stay here is beyond me, maybe I was keeping it to myself, reluctant to share this treasure with the world. There is no doubt Komaneka Tanggayuda was the most beautiful hotel during our travels in the past year and with a setting in the valleys of magical Ubud the experience is hard to beat. We choose Komaneka as the local boutique brand, not just for intimacy but for its reflection of Balinese style and architecture which the somewhat bland international brands fail to interpret. It was our second luxury resort stay in Ubud arriving from the slick outfit of Alila a flawless boutique brand homegrown in Indonesia. In both we not doubt find the best of both worlds in Ubud, from the simple yet stylish Alila to the immaculate beauty of Komaneka. For stays in Ubud it is hard to look further.
Valley Pool Villa
For me what makes the perfect resort is its ability to adapt with its settings and Komaneka Tanggayuda accomplishes this seamlessly. The use of native hardwoods, paras stone, rich fabrics and batik and the bathtub carved from volcanic stone all create Balinese authenticity yet nothing over the top. Its simplicity and contemporary interpretation feels flawless as the infinity plunge pool flows toward the distant Oos River passing in the valley below. So maybe the bed of heart shaped flower petals felt cliched but we were happy to scoop them up and decorate the bath with flowers. The surrounding nature and scenes were idyllic, butterflies flit between flowers, tropical birds yelp. If I did have to quibble it was the heat of the plunge pool, a touch cold.
Poolside Dining
After a month of splurging it was unfortunately time to tighten purse strings. We eat in our open-air poolside pavilion making do with the locally produced Rose (Hattens) from the minibar. This was very wrong, I dislike Rose at the best of times and this only furthered my dislike. There was a wine list but, as with wine in Bali, it was expensive and on occasions like this we should really have smuggled in our own stash. I make up for our bad decision with locally produced Arrack cocktails. We keep the food simple with a Dry Beef Rendang and another unimaginative dish and while everything was high quality the food failed to wow me. By this day we had been spoiled with Ubud’s best foods, the bar was undoubtedly high and while it wasn’t our best of meals it was more of a wasted opportunity on my part.
The Villa at Night
You’d be hard pressed to find a bed more luxurious, yet I don’t sleep well, excited like a kid on Christmas constantly waking to admire the luxury around me, sneaking glimpses to the plunge pool and poolside pavilion which I keep lit-up on the veranda. I sneak my ear out the door to hear the deafening call of Ubud’s valley beasts. Komaneka Tanggayuda is remote, a good 10 minute drive finds the central Ubud town, there is nothing which surrounds us but jungle and nature.
Morning Breakfast
I wake first and as always ridiculously early, 5am maybe 6. With hotel stays I do similar often forced onto the streets to avoid waking Fanfan. At Komaneka Tanggayuda I stretch, potter across the room, grab the fruit bowl, coffee set, the complimentary homemade cookies and go lounge at the pool for sunrise. I cut fresh Indonesian passion fruit (markisa) and wait for the morning nature to call. For me this is the perfect breakfast but I’m not one to turn down a feast. Fanfan joins and the plates arrive; waffles, green pancakes, a chicken thing, Bubur Ayam (Indonesian Porridge), some of the best coffee I’ve tasted. Maybe this was the perfect breakfast. Here for booking details and best price >>
