Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

Tanah Gajah

Price per night from$520.24

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (IDR9,322,499.99), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Tanah Gajah Photos

Style

A brush with paradise

Setting

Rice, rice baby

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There’s a painting-like quality to Tanah Gajah, a boutique resort just outside Ubud where swans glide on lotus ponds and hibiscuses bloom daily. Once, this was the family retreat of an art connoisseur; now, cherry-picked pieces from his collection adorn traditional Balinese villas, framed by tropical gardens and rice paddies. Sketch out romantic days from dawn hot air balloon rides to candlelit Indonesian dinners, with two peaceful pools and a frangipani-scented spa to complete the composition.

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A curated playlist with relaxing tea and incense on arrival

Facilities

Photos Tanah Gajah facilities

Need to know

Rooms

24, including seven suites.

Check–Out

Noon, and check-in is at 2pm. Check-in is flexible, on request and subject to availability; there’s an extra fee (50 per cent of your room rate) for late check-out until 6pm.

More details

Rates include an à la carte breakfast served in Tempayan or your room, as well as daily afternoon tea, sunset cocktails, butler service and private car transfers to the centre of Ubud.

Also

A One-Bedroom Club Suite has been adapted for guests with limited mobility. Several villas are wheelchair accessible, as are the common areas of the hotel, with buggies on stand-by too.

At the hotel

Tennis court, free laundry service and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: TV, Bose Bluetooth speaker, coffee- and tea-making kit, free minibar, free bottled water, bathrobes, slippers and local bath products.

Our favourite rooms

There’s no such thing as a short straw at Tanah Gajah — each suite and villa is adorned with hand-chosen pieces of original art, and the villas all have private pools, too. The Two-Bedroom Club Pool Villa will work especially well for families.

Poolside

Mount Agung rises in the distance behind the hotel’s main pool, making an atmospheric backdrop for a swim or some shuteye on a sunlounger. Children are welcome, but there’s also a family pool with a shallow end that might be more suitable for younger Smiths. Both pools are open from 7am to 7pm.

Spa

ptions at the spa run the gamut from luxury treatments by skincare wizards Pevonia to those influenced by traditional Balinese practices. The signature Pevonia facial is infused with caviar and pearl, and there’s a menu of massages, body polishes and outdoor bath soaks working restful wonders with lemongrass, ginger and frangipani, too. You can further ground yourself with a reiki session, chakra alignment, sound healing or palm reading — whichever way your wellness inclinations lean, we see relaxation and sweeping rice paddy views in your future.

Packing tips

Bring a hair scarf for top-down tours in a vintage convertible.

Also

Tanah Gajah means Land of the Elephants — keep an eye out for long-trunked statues that dot the estate, or book a photoshoot or private dinner under the spectacular stone elephant gate.

Pet‐friendly

Pets are not allowed at Tanah Gajah. See more pet-friendly hotels in Ubud, Bali.

Children

All ages are welcome. There’s a kids’ art room and activities for little ones from kite-flying to fishing. Babysitting and nannying can be arranged on request (from IDR200,000 an hour plus tax for a minimum of three hours).

Sustainability efforts

Tanah Gajah avoids single-use plastic, instead using glass bottles and straws made of rice paddy remnants, and car transfers all use electric vehicles. The restaurant works with fair-trade, sustainable suppliers and homegrown rice, and composts food waste to fertilise the gardens.

Food and Drink

Photos Tanah Gajah food and drink

Top Table

You can eye the paddies from every table at Tempayan; if you’re feeling especially louche, nab a table with a day-bed and recline as you nibble.

Dress Code

Something floaty and natural will feel at home here, as will jewel-toned batik patterns.

Hotel restaurant

During candle-flickered dinners at Tempayan, watch the light fade over the rice paddies and jungle that surround the restaurant’s traditional, open-sided pavilion. The menu spans both Balinese and Western classics, with signature dishes ranging from mie goreng and traditional spiced duck slow cooked under coconut husk and coffee wood to organic chicken confit. Underpinning it all is the estate’s rice harvest, alongside organic produce from regional farmers and fishers. Chef Dean Nor is equally happy to head off-piste — hand him the reins with a five-course omakase, or give him 24 hours’ notice to develop a fully personalised menu.

Afternoon tea is served daily in a separate pavilion lounge. Tuck into Balinese-spiced tuna satay, finger sandwiches, jackfruit fritters and Valrhona chocolate cake over rice paddy and jungle views. 

There’s also an outpost of beloved Kyoto café Kurasu to keep you in matcha and craft coffee. It’s set under a pagoda-style tiered roof, with an inviting veranda and sweeping views across the gardens and paddies.

Hotel bar

There’s no separate bar, but rock up to Tempayan’s rice paddy-gazing veranda every evening from 6pm to 7pm for free sunset cocktails.

Last orders

Breakfast is from 7am to 11am at Tempayan, which stays open until 9pm, and Kurasu from 7am to 7pm. Afternoon tea is served from 4pm to 6pm.

Room service

You can order dishes to your room until 11pm.

Location

Photos Tanah Gajah location
Address
Tanah Gajah
Jalan Goa Gajah Tengkulak Kaja Ubud Gianyar
Bali
80571
Indonesia

Tanah Gajah is set on a tropical estate amid rice paddies just outside Ubud, in the highlands of Bali.

Planes

The hotel is around a 90-minute drive from Ngurah Rai International Airport. Staff can arrange airport transfers on request (IDR968,000 each way for up to three passengers).

Automobiles

Free transfers into the centre of Ubud run daily, so you’re unlikely to need your own wheels. If you do bring a car, there’s free private parking at the hotel.

Worth getting out of bed for

Ubud and the surrounding uplands are often considered the cultural heart of Bali, home to ancient temples, heritage crafts and stunning scenery. The hotel can sort all kinds of guided adventures to help you explore the region, from paddy treks charting the traditional rice-growing process to UTV buggy rides through river-run bamboo forests. A private driving tour in a vintage VW Safari convertible will take in lesser-known cultural highlights, with visits to secluded temples followed by a stop at a hidden waterfall or a local market. Fresh perspectives come by way of dawn hot air balloon rides or rowing-boat picnics on a jungle-fringed lake. Take a cookery class, try a Balinese craft workshop, then sit down to a romantic private dinner among the rice paddies. Or, take a seat in the hotel’s outdoor theatre on a Tuesday or Friday evening to watch a kecak dance by local performers.

Local restaurants

If you let the small plates at Nusantara tempt you into Ubud for dinner, you can expect a refined exploration of Indonesian cuisine from across the archipelago. Helmed by a Chilean chef, the open kitchen at Pica transforms local seafood and produce into South American favourites from ceviche and empanadas to hearty chupe soup made with the catch of the day. Hujan Locale is the place for polished Indonesian street food, including rich, coconutty curries, fiery sambals and plenty of vegetarian options.

Local cafés

Cult-favourite café Tucky pairs single-origin coffee with Asian-influenced brunch classics, from organic fried egg, bacon, curry leaf and tomato relish sandwiches to homemade granola with Bedugul-grown berries and brioche with pandan jam.

Local bars

Indonesian folk tales are the basis of the menu at sultry cocktail bar Night Rooster — our eyes are on the ‘Do Not Enter’, a hair-raising blend of gin, nutmeg liqueur, long pepper syrup and Java plum inspired by a story of a haunted house. A neon red arrow points the way to Boliche, a weekend-only spot for tapas, artisanal spirits and DJ sets.

Reviews

Photos Tanah Gajah reviews

Anonymous review

By Mr & Mrs Smith

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 art-filled hotel in Bali and unpacked their sambal and bakit fabrics, a full account of their tropical break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Tanah Gajah in Ubud… 

Each suite and villa is a miniature gallery at Tanah Gajah. In a past life, this intimate luxury hotel was the private home of architect and art collector Hendra Hadiprana; now, you’ll find cherry-picked works from his personal collection throughout, alongside handcrafted pieces from his design house.

In fact, there’s a personal touch woven across all six green hectares of the estate. The tropical gardens were hand-labelled by Hadiprana himself, grown originally for his own family. Beyond, palms and frangipani give way to lush rice paddies, cultivated by local villagers and forming the backbone of the restaurant’s regional menu. Kecak dances, craft workshops and a spa guided by Bali’s wellness heritage all foster a distinct sense of place, so that by the time you’re back in your villa, pouring a double of your favourite spirit from the cut-crystal decanter, you’d be hard-pushed not to feel entirely at home.

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Price per night from $520.24

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