Buahan Opens in Bali With No Walls and No Doors

Buahan, a Banyan Tree Escape opened on 14 June 2022 near the village of Buahan Kaja in Payangan, about 40 minutes north of Ubud in Bali. It is the first property of a new Banyan Tree concept, and it has 16 villas, called balés, built without walls or doors.

The naked experience

The balé is the open pavilion of the Balinese house and village, a roof on posts where people rest, work and gather. Buahan applies the form to a hotel room. Each villa is a timber platform under a tall roof, open on all sides to the forest. The bed is enclosed at night by a net and by curtains; the bathroom has a hand-beaten copper tub; a private pool sits at the edge of the deck. There is no glass and no air-conditioning. Guests sleep with the sound of the river and the insects, and wake to mist in the valley.

The resort is for adults only, and the design asks something of them. It suits travellers who are comfortable with heat, rain and the presence of small wildlife, and it is not for everyone. Banyan Tree calls the idea the naked experience.

How it was built

The design is by Dharmali Kusumadi, Banyan Tree’s head of architecture, with the Balinese architect Gede Kresna, who is known for his work with traditional building methods. The structures use ironwood salvaged from old boat jetties, and roofs and details made by craftsmen from nearby villages. The buildings follow the slope and were placed among existing trees.

The site looks across the valley of the Ayung River to a line of volcanic peaks, seven of which can be seen on a clear morning. A path leads down to a waterfall in the forest that guests have largely to themselves.

Food and spa

The Open Kitchen and the Living Room are the shared spaces, set up as a kitchen and lounge with no formal restaurant. The menu was developed with the team behind Locavore in Ubud. About 70 per cent of it is plant-based, and ingredients come from within an hour’s drive, including the resort’s own garden and neighbouring farms. The Botanist Bar works with local herbs and arak. The Toja Spa offers treatments in garden pavilions, with therapists trained by Banyan Tree’s academy.

Where it fits

Ubud’s hotels have moved steadily north into the upper Ayung valley in search of quiet. Capella Ubud, Bill Bensley’s tented camp, is the theatrical version of that move. Buahan is the austere one. The long-established Amandari and Four Seasons Sayan remain closer to town.