Seminyak is a fancy and dynamic place, home to rows after rows of designer boutiques, hipster cafes, world-class restaurants, big-name clubs, creative galleries, and of course, luxury hotels. In other words, Seminyak is bustling, and if you’re looking to escape from civilisation in Bali, better cast your sights elsewhere quieter and less crowded…
Or not. Because we always like having the best of both worlds: being at the heart of all the glitzy action (where there’s plenty to eat, do, and shop at your doorstep), yet feeling miles away. Well, luxury boutique resort One Eleven is exactly that, and boy oh boy, it’s super sexy, too.
Facade
Pathway to our villa
The Look
A short walk away from the painfully hip Laksmana Street (home to Café Bali, Wild Ginger and Ku De Ta), One Eleven is the epitome of discreet luxury. Its minimalist, low-key façade, clad in warm wood, concrete and some greenery, reveals little of what lies beyond – nine (yes, only nine) 350 square-metre one-bedroom pool villas – and no thanks to the small, inconspicuous signage at the front.
The austere, Japanese-inspired design extends inwards to each glorious villa, albeit more polished, with clean lines, multi-hued wood walls, concrete pathways, and marbled surfaces. Every unit is also gifted with a jaw-dropping 14-metre pool you can actually swim in, a spa gazebo (a range of treatments are available), and a fully equipped kitchen. All these mean you really don’t have to step out of your villa an inch, because everything is right there within your swish confines. In many ways, it embodies the kind of home people dream of.
Living Area
Bedroom and bathroom
The Hospitality
Privacy is paramount at One Eleven, so intrusions are kept at the absolute minimal. If you’re stepping out to explore, leave your breakfast choices at the reception for the next morning (they always ask), and the super-efficient service staff will make up and turn down your villa in your absence. Even better, the resort provides car service within Seminyak. In the morning, your chef arrives with a service entourage to make you breakfast and spruce up your space at the same time, so you eat in perfect peace.
One of the greatest thing about staying at One Eleven is its the top-notch personal butler service to take care of our every single need. Some of our requests were a little unusual – like inflating our massive swan pool float and delivering babi guling to our door – but all very well met with a smile, no less.
Shiro
The Food
If you’re a fan of Japanese cuisine, you must drop in at Shiro, One Eleven’s sushi and sake bar helmed by Chef Shiro-San. To savour the best that the restaurant has to offer, go for the extravagant but reasonably priced omakase sets (again, the best of both worlds!), where you’ll be served an appetizer, top-notch sashimi, divine cooked dishes, sublime sushi, a soup and dessert. Even if you’re not putting up at the resort, Shiro’s totally worth pursuing while in Bali.
The Verdict
Though we can’t rave more about One Eleven, there are some downsides (which hardly affects our love for the beautiful resort). This is Bali, so pesky mosquitoes are hard to avoid when you’re lounging in the open-concept living area despite provision of repellents. There’s no gym at the property, so the in-villa pool and no-equipment exercise are your best bets if you need to work out. Other than that, we dare say the experience is faultless, and we wished we never had to leave.
One Eleven, Jl. Pangkung Sari No. 3, Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia. Book via Mr & Mrs Smith to enjoy a one-hour spa treatment for two.