#8 in Top 20 Bali for A Wellness Retreat · ★★★★★
Hanging Gardens of Bali
The jungle resort above the Ayung River near Ubud, built around one of the most photographed infinity pools on earth.
The jungle resort above the Ayung River near Ubud, built around one of the most photographed infinity pools on earth.
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Scored on our six-point framework, weighted for a wellness retreat. See our methodology.
Hanging Gardens of Bali earns its #8 place for a Bali wellness retreat on setting and privacy rather than on a structured medical programme. The resort is built down a steep jungle hillside above the Ayung River in Desa Buahan, north of Ubud, and every one of its roughly forty villas has its own private pool and a rainforest outlook. For a wellness traveller, the appeal is immersion: you wake to birdsong and river sound, swim in your own pool, and move between spa, yoga and the famous main pool with the gorge falling away below you. It is a retreat that heals through place and quiet rather than through diagnostics.
That is also why it sits at #8 rather than at the very top of a wellness list. Hanging Gardens is best understood as an immersive, romantic nature resort with a serious spa and yoga offering, not a clinical detox estate with resident doctors and a fixed curriculum. For couples and solo travellers who want to reset in the rainforest, spend long mornings in a private pool and take spa and movement at their own pace, that is exactly the point. Travellers who want measured, programme-led wellness will find the more clinical estates elsewhere on the list a closer fit.
Every villa at Hanging Gardens comes with its own private infinity-edge pool, so the real decision is about position and outlook rather than whether you get a pool at all. The villas step down the hillside in timber and thatch, with open-sided living space, a canopy bed and a bathroom that opens to the jungle, all designed so that the rainforest is the main event. Because the resort has only around forty villas, it keeps an intimate, hidden feel even when full.
For a wellness stay, the single most useful request is a villa high enough to give you a clear valley view and privacy from neighbours, and, if stairs are a concern, one positioned close to the spa and yoga so you are not constantly climbing. Ask at booking rather than on arrival, since the best-placed villas go first. The trade-off of the design is honest to note: open-sided rooms in a jungle mean humidity and the occasional insect, which is part of the setting rather than a fault.
Book a sunrise slot at the main two-tier pool before the day's guests arrive; the light on the gorge and the empty water are the reason the pool is so photographed. Follow it with a riverside spa treatment and a morning yoga session, then use the funicular rather than the stairs to save your legs for the walk between villa and pool later in the day.
The image that made this resort is its two-tier cascading infinity pool, one of the most photographed pools in the world, which appears to pour off the hillside toward the Ayung River gorge and faces the Dalem Segara temple on the far side of the valley. It is a genuine highlight and a large part of why guests choose Hanging Gardens for a milestone wellness escape: floating at the edge with the jungle stretching out below is the kind of moment the resort is built around.
Because it is a shared feature rather than a private one, the pool is best enjoyed early. A dawn swim buys you the view, the quiet and the photographs before the day gets going, and it pairs naturally with a wellness routine that starts the day slowly. Later, the private pool in your own villa is where the real solitude lives, so most guests split their swimming between the icon and their own terrace.
The wellness core here is the riverside spa and the yoga and movement programme, set against the sound of the Ayung River. Treatments lean on Balinese traditions and local botanicals, and the setting, low over the water and open to the jungle, does much of the work before a therapist even begins. Yoga and guided sessions give the stay some structure without turning it into a fixed schedule, so you can build a retreat that is as active or as restful as you want.
What Hanging Gardens does not try to be is a medical wellness clinic. There is no doctor-led diagnostic intake or enforced detox timetable, which is a feature for travellers who want to unwind rather than be assessed, and a limitation for those who want measurable, programme-driven results. Being clear about that distinction is the fairest way to set expectations: this is restorative, place-led wellness, not clinical intervention.
The resort sits in the Payangan area of the Gianyar Regency, roughly half an hour north of central Ubud, deep enough into the countryside to feel remote while still within reach of Ubud's temples, markets and restaurants for a day out. The defining practical feature is the terrain: the property tumbles down a jungle gorge, and an inclined funicular carries guests between reception, the villas and the pool level, which is both a novelty and a genuine help on such a steep site.
Even with the funicular, there are stairs and slopes to manage, so this is a resort that rewards reasonable mobility. The transfer from Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport is about ninety minutes to two hours depending on traffic, and the resort can arrange a car. Because getting here takes effort and the setting is all-consuming, most guests settle in for several nights and treat Ubud as an occasional excursion rather than a daily trip.
Our counter-recommendation: for a structured, estate-scale wellness programme with resident experts, book COMO Shambhala Estate; for a design-led riverside retreat with a famous spa, Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan is the pick. Choose Hanging Gardens when the private pool, the jungle immersion and that iconic view matter more than a clinical curriculum.
Within our Top 20 Hotels in Bali for a Wellness Retreat, Hanging Gardens of Bali ranks #8 with an aggregate editorial score of 9.5 out of 10. It leads its neighbours on setting, on private-pool villas and on that signature pool; the estates around it lead on structured programmes, flatter terrain or beach access. For the full field, see the Bali wellness list.
| Hotel | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Hanging Gardens of Bali | Private-pool jungle villas and an iconic two-tier infinity pool | Steep terrain; not a clinical retreat; remote and inland |
| COMO Shambhala Estate | A structured, estate-scale wellness programme with resident experts | More clinical and less romantic; higher commitment |
| Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan | A design landmark on the Ayung with a Sacred River spa | Larger and pricier; less hidden than a jungle villa |
| Fivelements Retreat Puri Ahimsa | A plant-based healing retreat with a strong wellness focus | Smaller and more ascetic; less resort comfort |
Yes, for a couple or solo traveller who wants a private, nature-led reset rather than a clinical wellness programme. Hanging Gardens of Bali is a jungle resort above the Ayung River near Ubud with private-pool villas, a riverside spa, yoga and daily wellness rituals set against the rainforest. It is more of an immersive, romantic wellness escape than a structured medical retreat, so travellers wanting doctor-led diagnostics or a fixed detox curriculum should look at a dedicated wellness estate instead.
It sits in Desa Buahan, in the Payangan area of the Gianyar Regency, on a steep hillside above the Ayung River roughly half an hour north of central Ubud. Because the resort is built down a jungle gorge, an inclined funicular carries guests between the reception, the villas and the pool level, though there are still stairs and slopes to navigate. It is a car transfer of about ninety minutes to two hours from Bali's Ngurah Rai airport.
The two-tier cascading infinity pool is one of the most photographed pools in the world and the resort's signature image. It appears to spill into the jungle gorge and faces the Dalem Segara temple across the valley. It is a genuine highlight, though it is a shared feature, so quieter early mornings are the best time for a swim and photographs before the day's guests arrive.
Every villa has its own private pool, so the choice is really about position and view. For a wellness retreat, request a villa high enough for a clear valley outlook and privacy, and ask about the villas closest to the spa and yoga if you want to minimise stairs. The resort has around forty villas, so a specific request at booking, rather than after arrival, is the way to secure the outlook you want.
It is a challenging site for anyone with mobility limits. Although a funicular links the main levels, the resort is built down a steep jungle hillside with steps and slopes between villas, the pool and dining. Guests who need step-free access should discuss the layout with the resort before booking and consider a flatter Ubud wellness property instead.
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