When it comes to successful and stylish high-end resorts across Asia and the far East there are a few different names we could mention. Ask around, though, and you’ll find consistent high marks awarded to the Alila group. They’re not the most decadent resorts in the world, but their sophisticated semi-urban design sense and their relentlessly friendly staff have helped them build a reputation for accessible luxury — though they’re unmistakably high-end they’re never aloof or intimidating, whether in Thailand, Laos, the Maldives, or around Indonesia, where they’ve just put the finishing touches to the Alila Villas Uluwatu, on the south coast of the Bukit Peninsula.
From inside any of the 65 villas you’d be hard pressed to place them in the island-villa genre at all — there’s so little tropical kitsch and so much sophisticated apartment-life functionality. Still, there’s no mistaking the setting, visible through glass walls, of which you’ve got at least one, if not two or three. An infinity-edge pool and a fitness center are absolute musts in this segment of the market, and a pair of restaurants see to it that you don’t have to leave the grounds. If you’re flush, you can splash out for the two-bedroom or the three-bedroom cliffside villas, both with private pools — and if you’re really doing well, they’re available for sale.
author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com
