Bambu Indah
Ubud, Bali — Indonesia
Bambu Indah
Ubud, Bali
Boutique hotel · $$$
24 houses · Year-round
- 20+ spring-fed pools, chlorine-free
- Local bamboo and reclaimed Javanese teak
- Organic farm and full compost loop
Welcome to Bambu Indah
Twenty-four units share the slope, no two alike. The Teak Houses are eleven antique Javanese bridal homes (Gladaks), each over a century old, relocated from Java since 2005. The Bamboo Houses are built in structural bamboo, with live bamboo shoots emerging through the floors in some rooms. Nests & Tents sit smaller and lower on the slope, closer to the canopy. Each unit sleeps two to six.
Two restaurants share the property. By the Ayung, the Riverside Warung serves Indonesian dishes from the farm and the gardens. Higher up, Tembaga runs a refined menu around a long communal table. A bamboo elevator descends the slope to the Sunset Bar above the gorge.
The spa offers traditional Balinese massage, Watsu (water-based bodywork), sound healing and hydrotherapy. A hand-dug meditation cave and an open-air yoga pavilion sit elsewhere on the grounds. Other activities include guided bird walks identifying 100+ local species, rice planting and harvesting in the property's paddies, riverbank Trash Walks along the Ayung, and bamboo-building tours of the neighbouring Green Village and Green School.
Listed in TIME's World's Greatest Places 2024 and TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Best of the Best 2025.
On Sayan Ridge, about 15 minutes by car from central Ubud, above the Ayung river gorge. The surrounding land is rice paddies, river forest and Sayan village. The Hardys' Green School and Green Village are within walking distance, built in the same bamboo tradition.
Accommodation
24 houses
Capacity
2–6 guests per unit
Availability
Year-round
Price range
$$$
Amenities
Pool · Spa · Restaurant · Wi-Fi · No pets
Included
Breakfast included · Yoga and meditation pavilion access
Getting there
Bus station · 7 km
Ubud
About 15 minutes by car. Shuttle service between Sayan and Ubud centre available.
Airport · 30 km
Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS)
Around 1h to 1h30 by car depending on Denpasar traffic. The property offers a private airport shuttle.
Good to know
No door locks, no televisions, by design.
Many stairs and level changes across the sloped grounds, challenging for reduced mobility or sensitive knees.
Location
Why it's a Positive Escape
24 antique-teak and bamboo houses above the Ayung river, set in a working organic farm.
Bambu Indah began in 2005 when John and Cynthia Hardy started moving eleven antique Javanese bridal homes above the Ayung river. Three years later the same family founded Green School Bali, and their daughter Elora Hardy went on to launch IBUKU, the bamboo architecture studio behind the resort's bamboo houses. The three projects grew together.
The property calls itself an experiment in regenerative hospitality: antique teak and structural bamboo, twenty-plus spring-fed natural pools, kitchen scraps composted back into the garden.
Sustainability in action
Community
Part of Sayan's Green School network
the resort sits within walking distance of Green School Bali and the IBUKU bamboo studio, sharing staff, builders and ideas
Local artisan workshops
bamboo-building and weaving workshops led by local craftspeople
Local staff
the property describes its team as "most of whom come from Bali and Indonesia"
Energy
Air-conditioned bed
AC limited to the mosquito net around the bed instead of the full room, lowering energy use
LED and candlelight throughout
lighting kept low across the property
Solar power on new bamboo houses
five new bamboo houses run on solar systems
Water
20+ spring-fed natural pools
fed by underground aquifers, filtered through volcanic rock and sand, chlorine-free
Reverse osmosis tap water
spring water made potable on-site, guests drink the tap water
Greywater reuse
filtered wastewater redirected to irrigate the gardens and the rice fields
Saltwater pool
the swimming pool by the Elevator Sunset Bar uses saltwater filtration
Food
On-site organic farm
vegetables, rice, eggs, mushrooms and tropical fruits grown on the property and served at the two restaurants
Goat milk from a neighbouring farm
sourced from across the Ayung river
Farm-to-compost loop
kitchen scraps feed the pigs and the compost, the compost feeds the garden beds that feed the kitchen
Waste
No-plastic policy
banana leaves used as plates, papaya stems as straws
Used cooking oil reused
kitchen oil fuels the path lamps after dark
100% natural bath products
private-label and biodegradable, safe for the greywater irrigation system
Trash Walk
guided guest cleanups on the Ayung riverbanks, using bamboo spears to collect plastic
Materials & Construction
Reclaimed 100-year-old Javanese teak
the eleven Teak Houses are antique Javanese bridal homes (Gladaks), relocated from Java to Bali starting in 2005
Locally sourced structural bamboo
the Bamboo Houses, designed and built by IBUKU bamboo architecture studio, use locally sourced bamboo
Upcycled chopstick table at Tembaga
the Tembaga restaurant communal table is made from 70,000 reclaimed chopsticks
Transparency
Self-published practices
the property documents its environmental practices in detail on its own pages
Photos · © Bambu Indah
Last verified: July 2026
