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Located next to the Uluwatu temple on the southern Bukit Peninsula, Bulgari is Bali’s latest and greatest property. Opened in October 2006, it comprises fifty-nine villas built of tropical woods and volcanic stone with thatched roofs (request an ocean-view villa near the bar for eye-popping sunsets), with sunken baths and private plunge pools. Guests are assigned butlers who organize such details as a buggy pickup or a massage at the spa, housed in an intricately carved Javanese building (at night it glows like a lantern). There’s plenty of diversion on the property: a mile-long private beach and beach club (both are reached via an inclined elevator); an open-air bar and two restaurants, one Italian and the other Indonesian; though guests who are restless can take advantage of the resort’s on-site helicopter and vintage Harley-Davidsons. One-bedroom villas from $1,250.

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Although the Ubud Hanging Gardens resort has received a lot of press—and its position over a gorge is stunning—its location, a nearly thirty-minute drive from Ubud, is not ideal; I prefer the Chedi Club at Tanah Gajah, the sister property of the Legian in Seminyak. (Guests who are staying at both are accompanied by personal butlers.) Once the estate of Indonesian architect Hendra Hadiprana, the Chedi Club has expanded to encompass several villas and a small but excellent spa. At first glance, the buildings and furnishings seemed somewhat dated, but the hotel quickly grew on me. With its backdrop of lily ponds, rare birds, stone carvings and rice fields, the Chedi Club is a unique Indonesian property. Of the twenty suites and villas, Pool Villa Six has the best views. Rooms from $330.