We were kneeling on bamboo mats facing the Indian Ocean at sunrise when the Balinese priest clad in a white sarong began the Melukat, a Hindu soul-cleansing ritual. Offerings of fruit, baked goods and rice were spread out on the sand.
After praising the god of the ocean, the Hindu holy man cleansed our hands, faces and mouths with holy water. He anointed us with rice and flowers and then tied a three-color strand of string around our wrists, symbolizing the eternal quest for balance, harmony and understanding.
Bali is known around the world for offering visitors a spiritual journey. With the opening earlier this year of the Ritz-Carlton Bali, that journey can include the Ritz's trademark pampering along with the Indonesian island's culture and food and the graciousness of its people.
The Pool Pavilion Villa offers direct access to the lagoon pool. The villa also features private soaking tubs and showers outside. Photo Credit: Barbara Redding
The 313-room resort on Bali's southern shore in Nusa Dua delivers the idyllic island on many levels, starting in the resort's cliff-side foyer. From an open-air balcony, guests can take in a 180-degree view of the Indian Ocean. The expansive resort sprawls over 30-plus acres, from the limestone ledge down to the soft, white sand on the beach.
A glass-enclosed elevator descends 230 feet to sea level in just a few seconds, and the transition is as dramatic.
Golf carts whisk guests around the lush grounds, terraced with tropical plants and water gardens, to individual villas or to suites in multistory buildings along the perimeter.
Most of the 34 villas are near the beach, but a few of the larger units perch on the cliff. The villas, some of which have splash pools, are modeled after traditional steep-roofed Bali bungalows.
Villas and suites are spacious (starting at 1,000 square feet) and decorated simply but elegantly in soothing pastel colors and rich fabrics.
Each room comes with the latest electronics — satellite TV, iHome entertainment system and WiFi — plus an espresso machine.
Marble bathrooms, stocked with Asprey body and hair products, feature separate rainfall showers and soaking tubs. Villas with pools also have private soaking tubs and showers outside.
No need to bring beach attire: straw hats, slippers and beach bags are provided along with soft robes for lounging.
Room service is personal and attentive; the sumptuous Champagne breakfast served in your room is highly recommended.
Lounging beds on the beach at the Ritz-Carlton Bali. Guests can enjoy a true island experience at the resort with a Balinese cleansing ceremony, sunrise yoga, meditation sessions or an evening barbecue on the beach with local dancers. Photo Credit: Barbara Redding
The resort grounds are equally inviting. From the negative-edge pool, designed to resemble a Balinese rice paddy, you can watch the ocean's turquoise waves while sipping the milk of a freshly cut coconut. A gelato cart is parked in the shade nearby.
Six restaurants provide ample dining options. The classy Bejana, the resort's signature restaurant, extends over the cliff on several levels. Dishes are inventive as well as traditional, including an Indonesian rijsttafel, or rice table. Master chef I Made Suriana, whose jovial style reminded me of TV chef Mario Batali, teaches guests to make gado-gado (a dish containing eggs and tofu and served with a peanut sauce) in an open kitchen called the Cave.
Also on the cliff is Raku, an intimate Japanese lounge and bar where you can savor wagyu beef, seafood and sushi.
Riding a camel on the beach at the Ritz-Carlton Bali. The expansive resort sprawls over 30-plus acres. Most of the 34 villas are near the beach, but a few of the larger units perch on a cliff. Photo Credit: Barbara Redding
On the beach level, Senses has a vast breakfast buffet and varied fare all day long. The Ritz Lounge & Bar serves light fare and tea in the afternoon. Breezes is the place to imbibe classic cocktails and tapas on the beach. Club Level guests also have access to an exclusive restaurant with a pool and business center.
The resort's state-of-the-art spa opened this month with 14 treatment rooms, including several villas for couples and/or families with ocean views and a Balinese bathing pool. Though the spa was still under construction during my visit, I enjoyed a blissful Bali-inspired treatment called the Tropical Marine Pleasure.
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A chapel enclosed in glass offers an unforgettable site for a destination wedding. The resort's meetings rooms hold up to 200. For families traveling with young children, Ritz Kids provides youngsters with a separate play area, a pool and kite-making lessons.
The Ritz also brings Bali to guests who don't have the time or inclination to explore the island.
In addition to the Balinese cleansing ceremony, resort staff can arrange sunrise yoga, meditation sessions or an evening barbecue on the beach with local dancers. At the resort's L'Atelier Perfume, guests can mix the scent of Balinese flowers with other ingredients to create a personal fragrance reminiscent of Bali.
If you decide to venture off the resort, excursions include a tour to Uluwatu Temple to watch a touristy but still fascinating Kecak dance performance at sunset.
Not to be missed is the rainforest town of Ubud, the island's cultural center known for its traditional Balinese crafts. We shopped for masks at a wood carving shop and sarongs at a Batik gallery. If there's time, visit a hillside rice terrace or admire the paintings and sculpture at the Agung Rai Museum of Art.
On our daylong Ubud excursion, we also fit in a six-course dinner with wine pairings in a candlelit, tropical garden at trendy Mozaic restaurant. En route back to the Ritz, we all fell asleep in the van.
That's the Bali dilemma: You want to experience it all and achieve that ever-elusive balance.
Visit www.ritzcarlton.com/bali.