Where is it? If you've ever suspected you have a long-lost artistic side, you may find it has taken itself off to Ubud, Bali's spiritual and cultural engine. More specifically, you may (re)discover it towards the end of the main road heading north out of town, where Uma Ubud stands peering over the Tjampuhan Valley and river Oos.
What is it? One of Christina Ong's Como hotels and a cousin of the more boisterous Metropolitans in Bangkok and London, Uma Ubud is a cool, crisp, serene sanctuary exuding Zen-flavoured tranquillity. It offers a hearty welcome to the landscape, whose contours and flora, instead of finding themselves locked out, help give the boutique property its 'face'.
And when you are to set out on that voyage of artistic self-realisation, you could hardly choose better-positioned digs: at the front gate begins a veritable chain-gang of galleries, museums and craft shops of all stripes.
And the accommodation? Each of the 29 rooms and suites offers a private courtyard or terrace designed to let the surroundings - as well as the fresh air - into the hotel. The suites, from which vertiginous valley views come as standard, have their own infinity pools. Much of the decor is off-white and many of the materials are natural, be they solid wood, wicker, unglazed brick, tile or cotton. The suggestion is one of Balinese components having set up home in an English country house.
What is there to do? The property's swimming pool and adjoining bar constitute its most obvious focal point. When you've had your fill of the various types of exercise therein it's time to flex your cultural muscles: Uma Ubud staff are the go-to people for arranging visits to untold temples, museums and art outlets, as well as white-water rafting, forest trekking, mountain biking, volcano climbing, yoga, meditation and a sweep of spa-based holistic therapies.
What's on the menu? Perched on the edge of a wide, shaded koi pond, open-air restaurant Kemiri serves fresh, healthy, Balinese-influenced international cuisine. The director of culinary operations is Australian executive chef Chris Miller, an alumnus of Sydney's Rockpool restaurant, where he studied under the globally renowned Neil Perry.