Mandarin Oriental Bali

Mandarin Oriental, Bali is a cliff-top resort planned for the Bukit peninsula on the island’s southern coast, with access to a protected white-sand beach below. Mandarin Oriental and local developer Harmoni Bali announced it in July 2024 for a 2027 opening. It brings a strong design team to the Bukit, with Bill Bensley on the landscape.

The setting

The resort sits on a plateau above the Indian Ocean, next to Bukit Pandawa Golf Course and a few minutes from Bali National Golf Club. The brand puts it about 30 minutes from Ngurah Rai International Airport, and a similar distance from Jimbaran, Uluwatu and Sanur, which makes it easy to combine beach time with the south’s restaurants and surf breaks.

The building and design

Design Lab is the architect, Jeffrey Wilkes is the interior designer and Bensley is handling the landscaping. The brief is Balinese heritage combined with Mandarin Oriental’s service standards. Above the hotel, 68 branded residence villas of three to six bedrooms will sit on an eight-hectare site with their own clubhouse, pool and gym.

The resort will have 110 suites and villas, most with private pools and their own terraces or gardens. Other announced facilities include:

• A cliff-edge restaurant and bar, a Chinese specialty restaurant and a speakeasy
• A beach club with water sports
• A spa with heat and water therapies and Balinese-inspired treatments
• A kids’ club, tennis and padel courts, an organic garden and a sustainability lab

What it means for advisors

Bali is a core market for Australian and New Zealand clients, and this adds a big-brand luxury option on the Bukit for travellers who want privacy and a pool villa without being cut off from Uluwatu and Jimbaran. The kids’ club and multi-bedroom residences point to families, while the golf next door helps with groups. The drier months, roughly April to October, are the busiest.

Opening status

The July 2024 announcement, published by Mandarin Oriental’s parent company Jardines, gave 2027 as the opening year. No month or booking date has been released. Note that some trade headlines describe the hotel as already open; it is not.

Sources: jardines.com, tophotel.news, luxurytraveladvisor.com