Bambu Indah wasn’t just our favorite hotel in Bali, it was our favorite place we stayed during our entire 2026 Asia trip. Hidden in the jungle outside Ubud, this resort felt like a real-life fairytale made of bamboo villas, winding stone paths, natural spring pools, river pods, flower baths, and open-air rooms that made you feel completely immersed in nature. We stayed in both the New Moon and Copper House, celebrated my 40th birthday with breakfast above the river, a private Balinese blessing ceremony, relaxing in our private pool, and ended the night with one of the best dinners of the trip. It was magical, intimate, wildly unique, and the kind of place that makes every other hotel feel a little ordinary afterward.
💡 Tips
- 🌿 Treat Bambu Indah Like the Main Experience: Do not use it only as a place to sleep. Build in time for the natural pools, river paths, jungle views, restaurants, and quiet corners around the property. We had already planned a full day here but ended up freeing even more time just to enjoy the resort.
- 🏡 Choose Your House Carefully: Each house has a completely different design and level of openness to nature. We stayed in both New Moon and Copper House, but New Moon was our favorite and made an incredible backdrop for my birthday photoshoot.
- 🌹 Book the Special Experiences: The rose petal bath, river pod breakfast, Balinese blessing ceremony, private riverside dinners, and Balinese Night Banquet were a huge part of what made our stay so memorable. Some are a bit pricey but worth it.
- 🥣 Reserve the Pod Breakfast: Breakfast in the river pod was one of the most unique meals we had in Bali and was included for free with your stay.
- 🌺 Tell Them If You’re Celebrating: Bambu Indah is an incredible place for a birthday. Mention it in advance and consider adding a flower bath, blessing ceremony, private dinner, or photoshoot.
- 🏊 Make Time for the Natural Pools: The spring-fed pools are one of the best parts of Bambu Indah and feel completely different from a typical hotel pool. Leave open time to swim, wander, and enjoy the jungle setting.
- 🎋 Explore Beyond Your Room: Some of the resort’s coolest features are hidden around the property, including its hand-built bamboo elevator descending through a 20-meter earthen shaft to the riverside area. Wandering the resort was genuinely part of the experience.
- 🦟 Take Mosquito Protection Seriously: Bambu Indah is lush, open-air, and deeply connected to nature, which also means mosquitoes are part of the experience. They provide repellent so use it often, especially around dinner, the river, and evening walks.
- 👟 Pack for a Jungle Resort: Expect natural paths, stairs, uneven areas, humidity, and open-air spaces. Comfortable shoes, breathable clothes, swimsuits, coverups, and bug protection will make the stay much easier.
🔄 A 360° Journey Through Bambu Indah
🛗 Bamboo Elevator
The bamboo elevator isn’t just one of Bambu Indah’s quirkiest features. The hand-built lift descends through a 20-meter earthen shaft, connecting the resort’s upper ridge to the spring-fed pools and river far below. Bambu Indah calls it the only bamboo elevator of its kind in the world, and its construction helped transform the previously difficult-to-reach riverside into one of the resort’s most magical areas. Once the elevator made the journey down easier, the natural ponds were restored into swimming pools and River Warung eventually followed.
🎥 Check out the viral bamboo elevator: Reel, TikTok, Short, YouTube 360
🛖 Houses
Bambu Indah has so many stunning houses to choose from that we decided to split our stay between two: New Moon House and Copper House. We loved getting to experience both, but New Moon House was our favorite. The hobbit-hole-like design felt completely magical, the interior was fully air-conditioned, and having our own private natural pool made it feel extra special. It was also much more convenient, with easy access to the natural pools, spa, and River Warung, without having to climb all the stairs required for Copper House. Copper House was beautiful in its own way, but New Moon felt more comfortable, iconic, and easier to enjoy.
🌙 New Moon House
New Moon House was the kind of room that instantly made Bambu Indah feel like the most magical place we stayed on our entire Asia trip. It was sculptural, wildly photogenic, and completely unlike anywhere we had ever stayed. The curved bamboo design made it feel like a jungle hideaway, but the real showstopper was the private spring-fed pool right outside the room. You can even jump into it from the round window, which instantly turned New Moon House from “beautiful hotel room” into “favorite birthday stay of all time.” Between the private pool, jungle views, and dreamy architecture, it was the perfect house for a celebration and an incredible backdrop for my birthday photoshoot.
🎥 Insta360 New Moon Tour, YouTube Short, TikTok, Reel
🔄 360 Photo: Click and drag to look around
🛁 Copper House
Perched high above the resort, Copper House offered a completely different experience from New Moon, with a mind-bending open-air bamboo design that felt fully immersed in the jungle. The highlight was absolutely the copper tub, where you could soak in rose petals while taking in gorgeous jungle views. Even the air-conditioning was unlike anything we had seen, with cool air piped through bamboo directly into the bed, perfectly capturing Bambu Indah’s wildly creative approach to design.
🎥 Insta360 Copper House Tour, TikTok, Reel
🔄 360 Photo: Click and drag to look around
🍽️ Meal Experiences
The food at Bambu Indah felt special because it was so connected to the land around us. Much of what they serve is sourced from their own gardens, so the meals tasted fresh, seasonal, and intentional instead of overly polished or generic. From breakfast in a floating river pod to lunch surrounded by jungle at Tembaga and dinners inside bamboo pavilions set amongst the natural pools, the food felt like an extension of the resort itself: natural, thoughtful, and rooted in the place we were staying.
☕️ Pod Breakfast over River Warung
The pod breakfast over River Warung was the perfect way to start my 40th birthday! The pod experience is free for hotel guests since breakfast is already included, but reservations are required. When you arrive, you choose your breakfast from the River Warung menu or the available buffet items, and while they prepare everything, they lead you down to your floating river pod. You then get to curl up on cushions and gently swing over the water, surrounded by jungle. Once everything is ready, breakfast is delivered straight to your little riverside hideaway, turning breakfast into a dreamy, only-in-Bali birthday memory.
🎥 TikTok
🔄 360 Photo: Click and drag to look around
🎉 Keong Bale
Keong Bale was where we celebrated my 40th birthday, and it ended up being one of the most unforgettable meals of our entire Asia trip. Tucked beside the river and surrounded by jungle, the private dinner takes place inside a stunning bamboo pavilion with floor-cushion seating, making it feel intimate and completely unique to Bambu Indah. The team made the night feel extra special with a beautiful fresh flower birthday arrangement, a cake, and the entire staff joining in to sing happy birthday. For ~$85 per person, the dinner included four courses from the River Warung menu, two cocktails, and the special flower décor. The food was exceptional, with fresh local ingredients, many harvested directly from Bambu Indah’s gardens. Our favorite dish was the chicken satay with peanut sauce, served on skewers over a mini charcoal grill. If you are celebrating a special occasion, this is one Bambu Indah experience I would book again without hesitation.
🔄 360 Photo
Click and drag to look around
💦 Javanese Bale
The Javanese Bale sits on a floating antique structure surrounded by water, creating one of Bambu Indah’s most immersive dining experiences. As waterfalls cascaded nearby, we enjoyed a private four-course meal with dishes also selected from the River Warung menu, along with cocktails and a smaller flower arrangement laid out on the floor. We experienced two of our favorite dishes – the traditional Indonesian dish Nasi Campur, a colorful sampler with rice, tempeh, vegetables, sambals, and egg, and the chicken satay, served over a mini charcoal grill with rich peanut sauce. Both were absolutely fabulous and easily among the best dishes we had during our stay. At ~$85 per person, it costs the same as the Keong Bale experience, but with a completely different setting. Both bale dining experiences were memorable, but Keong Bale was our favorite thanks to its larger seating area, more dramatic bamboo design, and overall “wow” factor.
🎥 YouTube: Javanese Bale at Bambu Indah – A Magical Floating Dinner in Bali, TikTok
🔄 360 Photo: Click and drag to look around
🐖 Balinese Night Banquet at River Warung Restaurant
Balinese Night Banquet was one of the best food experiences we had at Bambu Indah and such a fun way to try a huge variety of local dishes without leaving the resort. The buffet was set up beautifully with banana leaves, colorful fruit, traditional desserts, grilled corn, satay, curries, rice dishes, vegetables, and even a whole roasted pig. Everything felt fresh, abundant, and tied to the setting, with many dishes served from clay pots over open flames. It was the kind of meal where you keep going back for “just one more bite” because there is so much to try. After a full day of exploring, this was the perfect low-effort dinner: casual, flavorful, and completely immersed in the open-air bamboo atmosphere of River Warung.
🎋 Tembaga
Tembaga was a great lunch spot at Bambu Indah because the food was just as creative as the bamboo setting (menu). I had the Timbungan Rendang, a Balinese-style rendang slow-cooked in bamboo and served with grilled rice and sambals, while Scott had the Black Garlic Ayam, grilled chicken with fermented black garlic sambal, leafy greens, and fried roots. We also tried traditional Balinese arak, served from a hollowed fruit shell, which made the whole meal feel even more memorable. Scott finished with a cheesecake-style dessert, and between the presentation, fresh flavors, and open-air jungle atmosphere, lunch felt like another Bambu Indah experience rather than just a meal.
🔄 360 Photo: Click and drag to look around
🌅 Sunset Bar
Sunset Bar was a great place to pause before dinner. It had that perfect end-of-day feeling, with rice terrace views, cocktails, and a slower pace as the light changed over the valley. I especially loved the dramatic circular entrance. Even if you are not planning a big night, it is worth stopping here for a drink just to soak in the setting.
🎥 Check out the viral bamboo elevator: Reel, TikTok, Short, YouTube 360
🌊 Spring-Fed Pools
The natural spring-fed pools were one of the most magical parts of Bambu Indah and a huge reason the resort felt so different from anywhere else we stayed. With crystal-clear spring water, trickling waterfalls, rotating bamboo platforms, lush tropical surroundings, hanging chairs, comfy day beds, and views of the surrounding bamboo structures, the whole area felt more like a hidden jungle playground than a typical hotel pool. We loved having time to wander between the pools, cool off, lounge under the trees, and just soak in the setting, which is why I would absolutely leave unstructured time in your itinerary to enjoy them.
🎥 Explore the Natural Spring Pools with us
🔄 360 Photo: Click and drag to look around
🌸 Balinese Blessing Ceremony
The Balinese blessing ceremony was one of the most meaningful, memorable, and accidentally hilarious experiences we had at Bambu Indah. This sacred tradition is meant to invite harmony, prosperity, protection, and positive energy through offerings, prayers, water blessings, and flower rituals led by a local priest. Before the ceremony, they provided traditional Balinese garments for us to wear, which made the experience feel even more special and immersive. Ours was held in the Keong Bale, which surprised me because I had pictured the whole thing happening dramatically beside a water feature like a spiritual jungle movie scene. Instead, it started with me splashing water on myself with very little explanation, so I just committed and hoped I looked blessed instead of confused. The priest chanted, tossed flowers and water, adorned me with a flowered headband, placed rice on my head, and tied a Tridatu bracelet around my wrist, a sacred three-colored thread bracelet representing Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva that symbolizes protection, balance, and spiritual harmony. Because the priest did not speak English, everything went through a translator, which led to my favorite awkward moment: I thought she said “spit,” so I spit toward the priest, but she had actually said “split,” as in split apart the bamboo basket. Very different instructions. Very different energy. The whole ceremony lasted almost 30 minutes and was peaceful, beautiful, slightly awkward, and absolutely unforgettable.
🎥 Traditional Blessing Ceremony at Bambu Indah
📸 More Resort Pictures
Bambu Indah was packed with little details that made wandering the property half the fun, from winding stone paths, bamboo walkways, and tucked-away bridges to the resort’s sculptural buildings, natural pools, and River Warung overlooking the jungle. We also included a few of our favorites from our photoshoot, which captured how beautifully all of those elements come together and why simply exploring the resort felt like an experience of its own.
📞 Reservations & Experience Info
Reserve Bambu Indah special experiences and dining by email before your stay, then coordinate timing and details through WhatsApp once onsite.
- 🌺 Balinese Blessing Ceremony: $65 private blessing ceremony with a local Balinese priest in the Keong Bale.
- 🍽️ Private Dining: Reserve special meals such as the Keong and Javanese Bale in advance, especially for birthdays or other celebrations. Both Bales were 1,250,000 IDR per person before 21% tax/service, (~$85 USD per person after fees) and included a four-course dinner, two cocktails per person or one bottle of house wine per couple, and flower decor. Keong Bale was our favorite of the two.
- 🌹 Rose Petal Bath: Arrange through the resort in advance because the petals have to be ordered and coordinate the exact timing once onsite.
- 🥭 River Pod Breakfast: Reserve the private breakfast pod overlooking River Warung once onsite via WhatsApp. The experience is free for hotel guests since breakfast is included.
- 📸 Photoshoot: Some house packages include a 30-minute photoshoot with one photo included. Additional photo packages are available for ~$70 and included edited and raw photos.
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[…] 🏝️ Balance Adventure With Atmosphere: The magic of Bali was not just checking off sights. It was the mix of jungle lodging, rice terraces, monkeys, art, ceremonies, special meals, and slow resort moments. The best itinerary leaves space for both exploring and simply being there.For more tips, check out our blog for Staying at Bambu Indah in Ubud: Bali’s Jungle Dream Resort. […]