HOTEL REVIEW · BUAHAN KAJA, BALI
Sixteen open-air bales above the Balinese rainforest, each with a private pool and almost nothing separating the bed from the landscape. After four nights at Buahan, the question was no longer why anyone would choose to sleep without walls. It was whether walls were necessary at all.
Most hotels try to bring nature into the room through larger windows, wider terraces and carefully framed views.
Buahan, a Banyan Tree Escape, takes a different approach. It removes the walls altogether.
Set in the highlands north of Ubud, this adults-only retreat has just 16 bales, inspired by traditional Balinese open pavilions. There are no conventional exterior walls or doors separating the bedroom from the surrounding rainforest.
It is an unusual proposition, particularly at this price.
We spent four nights here. The absence of walls never became a problem. Instead, some of our strongest memories came from the simplest moments: looking at the stars at night and waking up to the valley in the morning.
A different side of Bali
Buahan sits north of central Ubud, in the green highlands of Payangan.
The landscape is a large part of the reason to come. Forested hills, valleys and distant mountain ridges replace the busier streets and developed surroundings of southern Bali.
The resort is spread across a wooded hillside, with its 16 bales positioned among the vegetation. Open-sided communal buildings, timber pathways and pools connect the different parts of the property.
This is not a hotel designed around easy access to Bali’s restaurants, shops and nightlife.
The destination is largely the hotel itself, and the landscape that surrounds it.
Four nights gave us time to appreciate that distinction. Buahan is a place where the experience does not depend on leaving the property every morning.
Sleeping without walls
The central idea is simple. Each bale is an open-air living space with a large roof, timber floors, curtains, a bed, a bathroom, an outdoor terrace and a private pool.
There is no conventional boundary between bedroom and landscape.
On paper, this raises obvious questions.
Would it be too warm? Would insects become a problem? Would the sounds of the jungle make sleeping difficult? And could a room without walls really feel private?
During our stay, none of these concerns became an issue.
The temperature was comfortable, the sounds of the night were pleasant, and insects did not trouble us. Despite the openness of the architecture, the positioning of our bale meant that we felt properly secluded, with no neighbouring room looking into ours.
The bed itself was extraordinarily comfortable.
That last detail matters. It would be easy to forgive an uncomfortable room for a night because of an unusual architectural concept. Four nights are a more meaningful test.
The best part of the room was outside it
Buahan’s architecture is deliberately restrained. Timber, woven materials, white curtains and a large roof create a space that feels substantial without visually separating it from the forest.
The private pool and terrace extend the living area into the landscape. Even the bathtub is positioned to keep the view close.
Yet the feature we remember most was not an individual piece of furniture or a design detail.
It was the view.
At night, the stars became part of the experience. In the morning, the valley was there before we had even left the bed.
Without a window frame, the landscape felt less like something we were observing and more like the space we were staying in.
That is Buahan’s strongest idea, and one that photographs can only partly explain.
Food worth staying in for
A remote hotel has to take its food seriously. At Buahan, going elsewhere for dinner is not the natural rhythm of the stay.
The main restaurant, Open Kitchen, focuses on Indonesian flavours, seasonal produce and locally sourced ingredients. The Botanist Bar offers another open-air setting, with drinks inspired by regional herbs, fruits and spices.
We had both breakfast and dinner during our four nights, and the food was one of the strongest parts of the experience.
Both were excellent, with enough variety to remain interesting across the stay.
That variety matters more here than it might at a city hotel. When the restaurant is part of the reason to stay, rather than simply somewhere convenient to eat, repetition becomes much harder to overlook.
The pool, spa and life beyond the bale
Buahan has a main infinity pool overlooking the forest, alongside the private pools belonging to each bale.
The property also has an open-air spa, Toja Spa, and offers wellness and nature-based activities designed around the surrounding landscape.
We explored the resort’s facilities and activities during our stay and enjoyed everything we tried.
What distinguishes these spaces is their setting. The main pool opens towards the valley, the spa draws on its outdoor surroundings, and the communal buildings remain visually connected to the forest.
The views are not reserved for the most expensive bale or the most prominent terrace.
They are present throughout the property.
Looking back, this was our strongest impression of Buahan as a whole. Wherever we went, the landscape remained part of the experience.
What gives us pause
There is one clear reservation.
The price.
Buahan is an expensive place to spend four nights. Its small scale, unusual architecture and secluded setting help explain the proposition, but they do not make the cost insignificant.
And while we found the open-air concept remarkably comfortable, that experience cannot be guaranteed in every season or for every traveller.
The absence of walls means accepting a closer relationship with temperature, weather, light and the sounds of nature. Guests who need a fully enclosed, tightly controlled bedroom may not enjoy that compromise as much as we did.
The location also requires commitment. This is not the most convenient base for exploring different parts of Bali every day.
These are reasons to choose carefully, not reasons to dismiss the hotel.
The more difficult question is whether its difference justifies the price.
Who should come
Come if you travel for unusual places, appreciate thoughtful architecture and want the natural setting to become part of the stay rather than remain outside the room.
Buahan makes particular sense for couples seeking privacy, travellers who enjoy nature without wanting to sacrifice comfort, and anyone happy to spend several days in one place.
Think twice if you need an enclosed, climate-controlled bedroom, are uncomfortable with outdoor sounds, want a busy Bali itinerary, or cannot justify spending a substantial amount on the hotel itself.
Buahan is adults-only, welcoming guests aged 18 and over.
The Voyage Rare take
A hotel without walls could easily have been an architectural experiment that works better in photographs than in practice.
That was not our experience.
Across four nights, the things that might have made the concept difficult – temperature, insects, privacy and sleep – did not become problems. The bed was remarkably comfortable, the food was excellent and varied, and we enjoyed the facilities and activities we tried.
Above all, the landscape stayed with us.
The stars at night. The view from bed in the morning. The way the valley appeared again from the pool, the restaurant and almost every other part of the property.
Buahan does not offer more in the conventional hotel sense.
It removes something fundamental, then makes a convincing argument that it was never needed.
The price is the reservation. The experience is the reason to consider paying it.
For Voyage Rare, that is a distinction worth travelling for.
The file
Location: Buahan Kaja, Payangan, Bali, Indonesia
Rooms: 16 open-air bales, each with a private pool
Best for: Couples, architecture, nature, privacy and slow stays
Think twice if: You prefer enclosed rooms, easy access to central Ubud or a lower hotel budget
Food: Open Kitchen and The Botanist Bar
Pool / spa: Private bale pools, main infinity pool and Toja Spa
Children: Adults only, 18+
Getting there: Road transfer to Buahan Kaja, north of Ubud
Voyage Rare stayed: 4 nights
Stay was: Paid