The Balé in exclusive Nusa Dua is a luxurious and romantic boutique resort with spectacular modern Balinese architecture, unbelievable food and private villas to die for. It's the perfect location for your honeymoon in Bali.
Described as a "rare gem", the calming white walkways and tiered water features are your first glimpse into a world of pampering by a friendly team dedicated to your pleasure and relaxation.
The Balé, although it has a feel of a much larger resort, is restricted to 29 private villas. It means that it feels like you have the place to yourself. It's also an adults only experience, so couples and honeymooners can reconnect, relax and re-energise.
Our pavilion and garden was more like a luxurious private house, one I'd be happy to move into forever. With a beautiful water feature in the entry way, an outdoor relaxation area with full sized bed and a private pool, you'll honestly never want to leave. It really feels like your own private sanctuary.
The rest of the villa is beautifully appointed inside, with a platform bed, working area, large flat screen TV and complimentary wifi throughout. The bathroom is almost ridiculously generous with a large stone tub, his and hers sinks and glass double doors opening to stairs that lead straight down into the pool.
I only actually used the beautiful indoor shower a few times because the outdoor rain-forest shower was such a unique experience. How often do you get to have a shower in the open air? Don't worry, it's private, so nobody can overlook your shower.
Every morning we ordered breakfast straight to our room, but when we could tear ourselves away from our pool, the restaurant is a cool and funky experience. Set beside the main hotel pool with an open kitchen, breezy music and ceiling fans overhead, it feels like an exclusive member's club. At night we relaxed on the loungers in the chill out area with cocktails and admired the illuminated azure pool.
Food is quite simply, stunning. The menu has some similar elements to sister resort, the Amala and we were thrilled to enjoy the famous quinoa salad again.
Every meal starts with a complimentary bread basket with a perfectly baked loaf, bread sticks, olives and a different veggie dip every day. Each course is imaginative, with healthy options such as raw cashew hummus and yellow pepper golden gazpacho. Seafood is a specialty and is served with fresh and organic vegetables.
Fresh juices and cocktails accompany the meal, and desserts are healthy enough to indulge in every night. For a light option, the fruit plate is a range of exotic mango, mangosteen, passion fruit, papaya and watermelon.
The restaurant is gorgeous, but it's fairly easy to spend hours in the privacy of your own pavilion. At times, we ate in the restaurant, but then ordered our dessert to be served in our room. There's no extra charge to order room service, so you could in fact eat all meals in private.
Romance is their business, and they do it very well. We experienced a very romantic dinner in our own courtyard, complete with candle lanterns surrounding our table and strung up in our frangipani tree. Staff can also arrange a romantic candle-lit rose petal bath complete with chilled champagne.
Couples should also experience a massage or spa treatment in the wellness centre, as relaxing all day can be very stressful. We had an aromatherapy massage in the couple's room which has a beautiful stone open air jacuzzi. For this reason, we'd recommend an evening massage so you can soak up the atmosphere under the stars.
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The beach is just five minutes walk away, but if you don't feel like exercise, the concierge can arrange to drop you and pick you up in the air-conditioned van.
Although the beach is public, the Balé has a section with loungers and umbrellas reserved for guests and complimentary water and sun lotion served alongside a room service menu. Alternatively there is a relaxed beach side cafe for lunch which can be charged to your room.
The beach is relaxed, and isn't the usual crowded tourist beach, but instead has local children playing and selling jewellery as well as fishermen bringing in their boats and setting nets.
The concierge can also drop you to the local shopping street for clothes, traditional souvenirs or famous Balinese artwork and sculptures to take home.
As well as being a perfect honeymoon resort, the Balé can create a beautiful and romantic wedding ceremony for you too. The team helped us with our Guinness Record attempt for Most Married Couple, by turning the grounds into an exotic destination wedding paradise.
Our wedding ceremony was very sweet and themed around my favourite flower, the frangipani! The wedding team made me an incredible frangipani bouquet, I had them in my hair (from our own tree) and our aisle was created with perfectly placed flowers - it was so lovely that we didn't want to walk on it and ruin the effect.
A flowered arch, pretty covered chairs and the beautiful, natural surroundings made it a lovely ceremony, attended by staff and performed by Operations Manager Marcus. It was definitely a memorable occasion and the Balé would be an incredible backdrop if you're considering your own destination wedding.
A honeymoon at the Balé is a dream come true for couples who appreciate quality and exclusivity, and want a unique and utterly relaxing experience after a hectic wedding. We had a wonderful stay here and would come back anytime.
Many thanks to Lifestyle Retreats and China Airlines for sponsoring our trip to the Balé. Runaway Bride and Groom can help you organise your entire package to Bali for a wedding or honeymoon including flights, transfers, insurance and activities.
Want to get married in Bali?
We did three vow renewals in Bali, including one at the Balé. Bali is a fantastic place to get married, guests will love to come and have a tropical holiday, and you're already on honeymoon!
Check out our weddings in Bali
This is our last resort we're visiting in the Lifestyle Retreats family. Check out our reviews of the Amala and the Menjangan resort too.
