Amankila
Bali, Indonesia
Aman's Balinese classic, with a three-tiered infinity pool cascading toward the sea.
While the crowds pile into Seminyak and Ubud, Amankila keeps to itself on Bali's serene east coast. Its thatched suites are scattered down a forested cliff, connected by walkways and linked to a private beach club at the bottom, so you feel gloriously alone with the sea.
The signature is that pool: three turquoise tiers stepping toward the horizon, one of the images that launched a thousand imitations. Beyond it lie the water palaces of Karangasem and some of the island's least spoiled temples and villages.
The Verdict
The Bali of the imagination, on the quiet side of the island. For romance and privacy it is hard to beat anywhere in Southeast Asia.
The three-tiered infinity pool at dawn, each level spilling into the next and the whole thing seeming to pour off the cliff into the Lombok Strait.
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