Ubud Sari Health Resort

The day at Ubud Sari Health Resort starts outdoors. The retreat programs open with a sunrise walk, and the resort suggests a morning stroll through the rice fields that border its grounds. Basic yoga and meditation follow. It is a quiet routine, kept deliberately simple.

The resort has operated since 1996 on Jalan Kajeng, about five minutes from the centre of Ubud. From the beginning it set out to be both a retreat centre and a hotel, with a way of living in harmony with nature and with other people. That aim comes from Tri Hita Karana, the Balinese Hindu philosophy of three connected relationships: with God, with the environment, and with others. The resort says this idea shapes how it is run, and it also shapes the buildings. The rooms are built on a theme of simplicity and Zen. The cottages are finished in Borneo hardwoods, and the Riverside Room puts guests beside the sound of the water. The Deluxe rooms sit on the resort's right wing next to the green rice fields. Guests also have access to swimming pools, a Japanese-style jacuzzi, a steam room and a sauna.

The retreat programs run from a minimum of three days up to two weeks. They combine cleansing, fasting, raw food and spa treatments with daily yoga and meditation. The Raw Food and Beauty Intensive lasts four nights and includes raw food classes. The Raw Health Rejuvenation Week pairs three days of juice fasting with four days of tropical fruit and live food. Body, Mind and Spirit Rejuvenation is a six-night cleansing program, and Healing Week in Bali is a seven-day residential retreat of cleansing, fasting and other health activities. Packages also include a holy water purification journey and an evening Balinese performance.

Outside the retreats, the resort holds a beginners' yoga class on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Private Hatha sessions, meditation sessions and a raw food cooking class are available by arrangement. Balinese offering workshops and cycling routes through the countryside are also on offer.