The Oberoi Beach Resort, Bali: a calm retreat in the heart of Seminyak

Arriving at the Oberoi in Bali is a study in contrasts. One moment you are weaving through Seminyak, past hip cafés, knock-off designer goods stalls, surprisingly elegant homeware boutiques and the endless spider’s web of electricity wires that hint at Bali’s anarchic charm. The next, you are ushered into a hushed world of clipped lawns, fragrant frangipani, lily-strewn ponds with a cold drink in hand. The shift is abrupt and deliberate, marking the threshold between Seminyak’s glorious disorder and the calm seclusion of the Oberoi Beach Resort, Bali.

Why stay here?

Most Balinese resorts sell isolation in the form of remote clifftops, jungle retreats or private coves. The Oberoi does the opposite. It sits not far from the madding crowd but rather beside it, in the beating heart of Seminyak, where the sensory overload is half the fun.

The location alone is a draw. You can leave the resort on foot and be at a stylish restaurant or a bustling street market within minutes. And Seminyak’s eclecticism is part of its appeal: surfers padding barefoot into smoothie bars, designers browsing fabric stalls, tourists haggling over sunglasses, and locals perched on stools beside petrol-filled glass bottles for scooters, which doesn’t exactly scream “health and safety”.

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But the instant you return to the Oberoi, the bustle evaporates. The gardens are wide, old and shaded and the design is classic Balinese. Think stone pathways, textured wood, quiet courtyards and villas spaced cleverly so that none of them overlooks one another. There is a feeling of heritage here; the resort has been in Seminyak longer than most of its neighbours, and that longevity shows in the meeting of tradition and modernity.

All the villas and rooms are fitted with the modern technology you would expect, including TVs, coffee machines and air con throughout that immediately rescues you from the tropical Balinese heat outside. However, the technology is tucked away elegantly into the walls, leaving you with the impression you are in your own classical Balinese thatched cottage. In our room we had a broad sunken marble bath that looked out to our own private garden, plus loungers with an umbrella soundtracked by the trickle of our very own fish pond and fountain.

Venture beyond your room, though, and you can wander barefoot around the manicured gardens, or lounge by the pool. Every morning there is free yoga on the lawn and every evening you can enjoy an afternoon tea of snacks and drinks in the resort’s very own amphitheatre, where local performers play traditional music as the sun sets over the beach beyond.

Eating and drinking

The Oberoi takes a considered approach to dining. Rather than a sprawl of themed restaurants, it keeps its offering focused, with two main restaurants: the more casual Frangipani Cafe, where you have breakfast and lunch; and the more formal Kura Kura restaurant for dinner. The final dining option is the bar, which serves its own menu of snacks and light bites throughout the day and into the evening.

Frangipani overlooks the ocean and gardens and offers Western classics alongside Balinese and Indonesian fare. The pastries are light, the fruit is ripe and sometimes fascinatingly unfamiliar. Have you ever had a snake fruit? It was certainly new to me. Beneath its scaly skin the flesh is incredibly sweet, something like a cross between a pineapple, an apple and a banana – delicious. Local menu options are also available. The nasi goreng is a perfect warm-weather lunch, though the soto ayam, a kind of chicken soup, was a little on the salty side for my taste.

In the evening, Kura Kura is transformed by lanterns and the fading light of the setting sun. Balinese sunsets can be explosively brilliant, and light rippling on the sea provides a fitting backdrop for a menu that is seafood forward, with grilled fish, prawns and squid prepared in the unfussy, flavour-first style that Bali excels at.

For those seeking something richer, Oberoi, true to its Indian roots, also offers a wide range of slow-cooked curries. Our tandoori chicken was rich and creamy. And if you are missing home (somehow), there is also an extensive selection of pizzas, pasta and Western dishes. The Australian Wagyu beef tenderloin with potato gratin and cauliflower puree, while not a dish I expected to be eating in the heart of Southeast Asia, was excellent.

Cocktails here are well executed and lean towards tropical classics: fresh, not syrupy, and the bar itself is low-key but elegant. If Seminyak’s nightlife becomes overpowering, this is the antidote: a quiet drink under palm silhouettes with waves breaking just beyond the lawn.

Things to do

While the resort encourages relaxation above all, there is plenty to fill your days should you want more than to lie on a sunbed with your book. The pool area is expansive without feeling overly designed; a few aged stone turtles trickle water into the pool, which is surrounded by loungers that are made up for you specifically as you arrive. At regular intervals pool attendants also bring round ice-cream and fruit skewers to keep your energy levels up. And sporadically a team member comes by to clean your sunglasses to ensure you have a perfect view, if you can prevent yourself from being lulled to sleep by the softly crashing ocean waves.

The spa leans traditional, focusing on Balinese treatments, long-flowing massage sequences and calming aromatics. Rooms are serene, soundtracked with soothing Gamelan music. Some hotel spas can feel like they were designed like a clinical hospital ward on a futuristic spaceship. The Oberoi’s feels of its place, with roughly hewn stone walls and plenty of lush green vegetation. For active travellers, the resort also offers yoga, tennis and a fully equipped gym, though for all our good intentions we left the dumbbells entirely unbothered during our stay.

And then, of course, there is Seminyak itself. Step outside the gates and explore its patchwork of tailors, bars and markets. It is worth strolling out from time to time if only to remind yourself that a) you are in Bali, and b) you can retreat from it whenever you wish.

The verdict

The Oberoi Beach Resort, Bali, offers something increasingly rare in Seminyak: true tranquillity without sacrificing proximity to one of the island’s most vibrant areas. Rather than going for showy excess, this is a resort of heritage-tinged restraint, with a form of luxury that largely exists in its serenity rather than spectacle. If you want an escape but dislike feeling marooned, this is your sweet spot: a resort close to the action, but blissfully insulated from it.

Arion was a guest of the Oberoi Beach Resort, Bali, oberoihotels.com