My top 5 picks for Bali's most editorial stays
When the brief is 'somewhere beautiful enough to shoot,' these are the five I keep coming back to — starting with Amankila.
"Cliffside infinity pool, banyan trees as old as the temple below. Bali at its most editorial."
I shoot Bali a lot. The brief is almost always the same: warm, considered, quiet luxury, no clichés. These are the five resorts I rotate.
1. Amankila. The three-tiered infinity pool is the postcard, but the real story is the suites — palm-thatched, dark teak, no televisions, the kind of room that photographs itself.
2. Como Shambhala. Different mood, jungle and river, but Bali's most spiritually serious stay.
3. Nihi Sumba. Technically not Bali, but on every shortlist for a reason. Horses on the beach at sunset, end of story.
4. Bambu Indah. Bamboo architecture you'll keep on a moodboard forever. Idiosyncratic and worth it for one or two nights.
5. The Slow, Canggu. The smallest of the five. Twelve rooms above the most considered breakfast on the island.
Start with Amankila. Everything else makes more sense after.