If you're after 5-star refinement in a tropical rainforest, this internationally acclaimed resort fits the bill, with impeccably slick and luxurious lodgings trickling down the lush Sayan Ridge right alongside the River Agung in Ubud's Sayan district. Breathtaking views set the scene upon arrival, with guests greeted by a spectacular helipad-style circular rooftop lotus pond, which provides 360-degree rainforest valley views. It's the top level of a multi-story, center stage resort hub that houses the lobby, bar, restaurant, spa, and some accommodations.

Electric carts are available to whiz guests around, but take a leisurely stroll among the gobsmackingly gorgeous seven hectare (18 acre) grounds, filled with coconut trees, rice paddies, lotus ponds, exotic blooms, herb gardens cultivated daily by locals, and hundreds of bird species. Recently renovated accommodations are elegantly appointed with teak furnishings, including carved-wood four-posted beds that are illuminated at nighttime, and super-indulgent terrazzo-tiled bathrooms. Suites, including Duplex and Family Suites, are located in the central resort complex, but opt for one of the 42 villas, with private garden, plunge pool, and outdoor tropical shower. Especially ultra-private Riverfront Villas totter on the riverbank; the one-bedroom villas are fab for honeymooners, and the sensational three-bedroom Royal Villa is a surprisingly good value.

Resort facilities include dinners at the Riverside Café, edging the contoured two-tier swimming pool and gushing river; an outdoor hot plunge pool on an elevated balcony amongst the treetops; and Balinese-focused holistic treatments in sumptuous self-contained spa villas, seemingly floating over a lotus pond, which itself looks lifted from a Monet painting. Be sure to join in the resort's complimentary culture- and nature-orientated daily activities, covering village rice field early-morning walks, sunset yoga sessions on the rooftop lotus pond, and weekly traditional dance performances, authentically performed by Sayan villagers, in the colonial-inspired bar-lounge.