If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD243.24), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
The emerald-green views from Stone House Bali are so enchanting that the owners have rented the surrounding rice paddies to ensure nothing obstructs your outlook (or interrupts the complete and utter tropical tranquillity). A river meanders its way through the property’s tangle of coconut trees and swaying palms, and marigold-petal-strewn pathways lead to the indoor-outdoor villas – some are set on stilts, others have swinging sofas at treetop level, and they’re all eco-friendly to the core. The owners are in the furniture business, so you can expect to eat, sleep, and sunbathe on beautifully-crafted and upcycled pieces at every turn. Ubud is a tempting 10-minute drive from this restful retreat, but you’ll soon find yourself making excuses to stay put.
11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 2pm.
Prices
Double rooms from £235.68 ($294), including tax at 21 per cent.
More details
Rates include a homemade breakfast using farm-fresh ingredients, including a tropical fruit platter, smoothie bowl, granola, jam, crumpets, eggs-any-way, coconut water, and just-squeezed juices.
Also
Unfortunately the terraced stone steps which lead to the rooms make this property unsuitable for guests with mobility issues.
At the hotel
Organic vegetable garden, mosquito repellent, charged laundry service, plug adaptors, and free WiFi. In rooms: air-conditioning, minibar, flashlight, yoga mats, pool towels, sarongs, straw shopping baskets, and Sensatia Botanical bath products.
Our favourite rooms
‘Room’ doesn’t quite come close to describing the fantastical sleeping quarters at Stone House – each is individually designed, with giant canopy beds, freestanding tubs, and outdoor decks taking centre stage. Crafted entirely from bamboo and open to the elements, the Treehouse is best for embracing the tropical surroundings – there are no doors or windows, just oversized outdoor curtains to keep balmy breezes drifting through (and a statement copper tub on the upper terrace to soak it all up from). Standing on seven-metre stilts above a fish pond and jutting into the jungle, the Longhouse feels the most secluded (and comes with some of the best views across the paddy fields from its three porches). Families should book both the Sky View Up and Sky View Down to spread out across the two-storey villa, and the more rustically-inclined will be happiest in the Farmhouse – accessed via its own bridge over a gently flowing river running through the property (you’ll often hear ducks quacking as they follow the farmers downstream).
Poolside
At first glance, the infinity pool (open daily from 8am to 8pm) at Stone House could easily be a natural spring cocooned by tropical plants on all sides. Part back the giant banana leaves and jade-green palms, and you’ll soon be swimming in what feels like the middle of the jungle. A handful of loungers and parasols are discreetly dotted around the gardens, and there’s a curved sundeck that hugs the pool’s edge.
Packing tips
Download a few episodes of 'I Dream of Jeannie' to watch on the plane – the US sitcom inspired the hotel’s Seventies-style, psychedelic public bathroom, complete with a purple tie-dye toilet seat.
Also
Private yoga classes are available on request (by the pool or in your villa), as well as in-room massages.
Children
Over-eights are welcome to stay, and babysitting can be arranged in advance (for around US$10 an hour).
Sustainability efforts
The sustainability efforts at Stone House Bali go beyond bamboo toothbrushes, extensive recycling, refillable glass bottles, and banning single-use plastic (though these initiatives are very much in place). Every element of the property has either been salvaged or upcycled and given new life, including reclaimed railway tracks which now run through the walls, Javanese telephone poles have become beams in the Longhouse, and ancient murals from a palace in Surakarta now decorate the hotel’s Java Suite. The entire Farmhouse was relocated from Java, ensuring a traditional Indonesian joglo didn’t go to ruin. Dining is an equally eco-friendly affair, as most of what you’ll eat is grown and handpicked from the on-site organic vegetable garden, or sourced from local farmers and fishermen.
The Great Room’s communal table if you’re feeling sociable, or the secluded table for two overlooking the pool for some torch-lit romance.
Dress Code
Tropical prints and floaty fabrics will look most at home here.
Hotel restaurant
Dining in the Great Room at Stone House is intimate and low-key. It’s a chance to swap holiday stories with fellow guests at the shared table, where homegrown dishes are made-to-order in the open kitchen just steps away. Banana leaves are spread across the rustic table like linens, and meal times can be flexible if you’re planning a sunrise hike or prefer to dine late.
Hotel bar
There’s no bar per se, but the team can always rustle up a refreshing fruit smoothie or fresh coconut water for you to sip by the pool or in your villa. We like the mocktail with dragonfruit, watermelon, coconut water and juice from local oranges; virgin mojito; and the lemongrass tea with lime, pandan leaf and honey. And, if you prefer your fruit juice a little stronger, the hotel sells wine by the bottle.
Last orders
Breakfast starts from 7am (with all-day brunch options), and dinner is from 6pm to 8pm.
Room service
The full menu is available to order to your villa from 7am to 8pm.
Just over a mile north of central Ubud, Stone House Bali is on the city’s rural outskirts tucked between giant palms and frangipani trees.
Planes
The closest airport is Ngurah Rai International (near Denpasar), around 90 minutes’ drive from the hotel. Stone House Bali can help with transfers, starting at around US$50 (one-way).
Automobiles
Car rentals are available at Ngurah Rai if you’re looking to explore further afield, or you’re a short scooter-ride away from Ubud if you’d prefer to get around on two wheels. There’s free secure parking at the hotel.
Worth getting out of bed for
Just a 10-minute drive from the buzzing centre of Ubud, Stone House Bali perfectly places guests to explore the island’s cultural capital. The hotel can organise jewellery-making and ceramic workshops, batik weaving, cooking classes, and ancient temple tours, and point you in the best direction for gamelan concerts and traditional dance performances. Tap into the city’s world-famous wellness scene (whether just for some pampering or to kick-start a spiritual awakening), and rejuvenate both body and mind through meditation, sound healing, tarot reading, pilates, reiki, craniosacral therapy, or a mood-boosting cacao ceremony. Beyond Ubud, there’s countryside hiking through paddy fields and past volcanoes, winding back roads ideal for biking, and white-water rafting along crystal-clear rivers to uncover cascading waterfalls and wild swimming spots deep in the jungle.
Local restaurants
If authentic Indonesian flavours are front of mind, Nusantara brings together traditional dishes from Sulawesi to Sumatra (and everywhere in between). Share a few of the small plates like the moringa leaves and coconut cooked over an open wood fire, then work your way up to the garang asem coconut chicken curry (infused with lemongrass, salam leaves, and star fruit). Save room for the pandan pancakes which are whipped up with grated coconut and palm sugar. Try Pica for South American ceviche and seafood paella, or Hujan Locale for its extensive vegetarian menu (the green papaya salad with a zingy chilli-lime dressing is as refreshing as it sounds).
Local cafés
Tucky is quickly becoming the most sought-after brunch spot in Ubud, with its organic eggs and marinated avocado on homemade sourdough, cold-pressed juices in detox flavours like orange, ginger and turmeric, and single-origin coffee. The tea selection is sourced from a small family-run plantation in Indonesia, and the softs are bursting with fresh basil, lime, and chaat masala. Canggu’s hot café Milk & Madu now has a home in Ubud, and it’s just as in demand as its south coast sister. The daily brunch runs from 7am to 4pm, featuring cult favourites like the berry compote pancake stack, raspberry and coconut chia granola bowl, and freshly baked banana and walnut bread (make it boozy by adding a Beach Road Bellini or Watermelon Crush).
Local bars
The craft cocktails at dark and moody Night Rooster are inspired by Indonesian folk tales, like the Mbok Njendul (‘the vanishing lady’), an aromatic concoction of gin, ginger, rice water, hops, citrus seltzer, and rice cracker, which draws on a mysterious potions-seller said to have walked the streets of Ubud with her tonic basket. For tapas, artisanal spirits and late-night DJ sets (Thursdays to Saturdays), follow the neon-red arrow to the lantern-lit Boliche.
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this jungle-immersed hotel on the fringes of Ubud and unpacked their hand-dyed batiks and aromatic incense, a full account of their tropical island break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Stone House in Bali…
With an air of ‘not all those who wander are lost’, you’ll only find Stone House Bali if you really know where to look. Hidden behind a nondescript wooden door on a rural backroad leading north out of Ubud, passers by (which mostly include ambling farmers and waddling ducks) would never guess at the tropical playpen within that’s been painstakingly put together by creative couple, Wendy Kassel and Walker Zabriskie (the same team behind the eponymous Palm Beach furniture brand). There’s a gravity-defying treehouse that’s been left open to the jungle, a traditional teak limasan was lifted in all its rustic glory from Java and transported to its current idyllic setting (next to the hotel’s organic farm and vegetable garden) – and amazingly, no cranes were used during construction. Weighty columns were winched into position on beds of mud and banana leaves, and local artisans hewed the wood, carved the ornate decorations, stacked the stone walls, and wove the thatched roofs from grass by hand. This ends-of-the-earth effort runs throughout the Stone House experience, whether it’s organising a Balinese flower bath at sunset, a cacao ceremony amid the coconut trees, or a poolside yoga class – no stone is ever left unturned here.
