Bisma Eight Hotel. Ubud

Michelin 1 key

Telegraph Article

Bisma Eight is on the west side of Ubud, just down the road from the Sacred Monkey Forest and 700 metres from the front of Bisma Street. The hotel sits perched over a vast jungle:. The pool is an almost-too-sultry infinity number looking out over the lush Ubud greenery. A small bar and restaurant, along with loungers for 12 couples, sits at the edge of the water.

Built from a mix of raw concrete and organic materials, Balinese Bisma Eight is an industrial-style retreat with an organic garden and modern restaurant helmed by chef Yuni Artha. Tropical, teak-accented suites smell of frangipani and incense, and serene standalone villas give guests a private pool and sun-kissed indoor-outdoor living spaces; guests can partake in cultural activities (Balinese cookery, jammu making, building floral sacred offerings) for free; and close by are the cheeky macaques of Ubud Monkey Forest. We’re plunging into the sultry jungle-view swimming pool first.

If you fancy stepping from bed directly out onto your private jungle-view balcony, go for a spacious Forest Suite: you’ll wake to the sun glimmering through your curtains and squirrels chasing each other among the trees. Forest Suites are also spacious, with a separate living area. Forest Suite. 50sq m sunset-facing treehouse-like suite set near the Pool Pavilion. Panoramic views of the Ubud forests . Private balcony. These modern minimalist suites are decorated in earth tones with natural materials. Partitioned living space with a sofa and rustic wooden desk.| Bathroom separated by a Sungkai wood partition wall, with a large wooden Japanese soaking tub and a separate rainfall shower

From the lobby, a staircase leads up to Copper Kitchen & Bar, helmed by chef Yuni Artha. The menu is full of traditional and international dishes made from locally-sourced ingredients, including the hotel’s organic garden. For lunch, start with the Thai pomelo salad, with chilli, peanuts, watermelon and grilled prawns; or the seared tuna and sambal pizza. At dinner, go for the shrimp with sun-dried pineapple and coconut dressing, seared barramundi with lemon foam or Balinese-spiced duck leg, and end with the mango-mousse-topped meringue with lychee granita, dragonfruit, sugar bark and basil. Open-air Embers – where you can watch the organic garden’s seedlings grow – has a Mediterranean menu with the likes of braised chicken, bacon, artichoke and sumac yoghurt; butternut-squash risotto with sage and nutmeg, and panna cotta with orange blossom, crushed pistachio, mint and honey. You can take your breakfast anywhere you’d like; choose from waffles with yuzu parfait, ricotta dumplings, poached eggs, fresh pastries and more, with freshly squeezed juices, herbal teas and coffee to wash it down.

The Copper Kitchen’s bar cranks out some serious cocktails. Try the rose-infused vodka Pinky Malinky; tamarillo-based Tamariloco; rum, cherry and beet juice Le Purpinkle; or the refreshingly citrusy Lemongrass 75. There are cocktail-, mocktail- and jammu- (a traditional turmeric and ginger drink) making classes here too. And those creative fire keep burning at Embers where drinks are packed with flavour; say the Rosita with apple raki, dry vermouth, honey-and-lime cordial, and rose-and-wine tincture; or the Bara Bara: pineapple liqueur and agave cordial and hazelnut, garnished with pineapple charcoal. You can also order ice-cold drinks and after-swim cocktails and nibbles throughout the day at the Pool Pavilion, and the Library Café, where you can enjoy a cup of coffee (or cocktail) with a book from the hotel’s collection, is at the far end of the lobby. The cafe brews Kintamani-grown Arabica coffee from local Tetap Happy Coffee Roasters.

If you like to stay active on holiday. Daily yoga classes are held from 8am to 9am (or 9.30am to 10.30am at the Villas Rooftop Hall); or master the art of mocktail shaking on Tuesdays and Fridays at Copper Bar (3pm to 4pm) or Sundays at Embers (3pm to 4pm and 4pm to 5pm). Cocktail-making sessions are available for an extra charge). Learn some Balinese culinary magic at a cookery class, every Thursday from 11.30am to 12.30pm at Copper Rooftop Bar and 1pm to 2pm at Embers Rooftop Hall (vegetarian classes are held at the same times on a Monday). Or express yourself through the method of Balinese dance at Copper’s free class every Tuesday (1pm to 2pm); heal through sound on Wednesdays (30pm to 5.30pm) at the Villas Rooftop Hall; and learn how to make a beautiful Canangsari (floral sacred offering) on Fridays, from 11am to noon at the Copper Rooftop Bar.

Bisma Eight is well positioned for Ubud adventures, too: the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary is only one kilometre away. Ubud is full of boutiques if you fancy a spot of shopping: check out Kevala for covetable ceramics, Kou Cuisine for spices and homemade jams, Ikat Batik for gloriously patterned and coloured textiles, or the Threads of Life gallery which works directly with more than 1,000 female Balinese weavers, and Ubud Art Market for something to display on your mantel. Venture further afield to the mesmerising Tegalalang Ceking Rice Terraces in Jalan Raya Tegalalang.

Local Restaurants.

• Syrco BASÈ Best in area but would need a cab. Their web site and Conde Nast Traveller and
• Alchemy Restaurant; To feel ridiculously healthy (and a little bit smug) check out the tasty offerings at vegan and raw
• Liap Liap, try modern Indonesian dining at where traditional exotic grilling and smoking techniques are employed for dishes such as tuna satay skewers with raw sambal, chicken taliwang (soaked in lime and coconut oil) with pickled green papaya, or lamb chops in a peanut sauce.
• And in the stylish jungle-green dining room of Hujan Locale, the grazing menu has small plates of grouper and garlic-chive dumplings with smoked dashi and ginger-shallot broth, rabbit and pork dumplings with charred kimchi and sweet soy sauce, and beef curry.
• Room 4 Dessert is located in Sanggingan, about a 10-minute drive northwest of central Ubud, led by pastry chef Will Goldfarb. Multi-course dessert tasting menu paired with savory bites and cocktails.is one of those lasting dining experiences, set in the leafiest of patches atop a hill, where you’ll dine amid vast nursery and apothecary gardenss. These change seasonally, but might include tiger prawns with chayote and coconut emulsion, or wagyu tartare with banana heart and aioli flavoured like a traditional rawon stew. Save room for dessert: panna cotta with snakefruit and sorghum; smoked-butter brioche with green-grass jelly and mascarpone flavoured with the bilimbi fruit; or pineapple with sourdough nougatine .Room4Desser
• Apéritif, A majestic Dutch colonial-style bungalow perched on top a coconut tree-fringed valley in Ubud. , The restaurant occupies a verdant vantage point in the luxury Viceroy Bali resort, which specially built the sprawling 1,000-square-metre complex for its ambitious fine-dining project. The 60-seat restaurant, which was set up at a cost of S$2.7 million (US$2 million) and took about 18 months to complete. It boasts an imaginative menu, guéridon service, extravagant settings, an international team and a greenhouse that is home to more than 30 vegetables. The restaurant begins its meals with an aperitif. Lounge on a Chesterfield leather sofa surrounded by tall bookshelves in the bar. Sip on local-inspired cocktails such as kemangi (lemon basil) cooler and negroni concocted with tangy tamarillo fruit. Approx a 15-minute drive northeast of central Ubud.
• Mozaic is situated in Penestanan/Sanggingan, about a 10-minute drive northwest of central Ubud. It is a pioneer of Bali's fine-dining scene led by Chef Blake Thornley and founder Chris Salans.
• Kubu at Mandapa is situated inside the Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Kedewatan, roughly a 15-minute drive northwest of central Ubud. It is in Marriott hotel
• Hujan Locale is located on Jalan Sri Wedari in central Ubud, a short 5- to 10-minute drive from Jalan Bisma. Cuisine: Modern Indonesian & Southeast Asian regional street food elevated for casual fine dining.

Local Cafes

• Folk Pool and Gardens for brunch, order eggs many ways, freshly-baked breads, fruit-filled smoothies and lychee iced tea, where you can take a gentle swim too; it’s a little over a kilometre away from Bisma Eight on Jalan Monkey Forest Road.
• Café Lotus is the place for local dishes with a side of traditional Balinese dancing.
• Seniman Coffee Indonesian roasteryhas a wide selection of single-origin coffees from across the country, Central America and Africa. The knowledgeable baristas can brew your coffee pretty much any way, and you can watch the roasting workshop or even make your own blend. If you’re in need of sustenance, too, you can’t go wrong with a decadent moka-nut waffle.
• Rüsters has done much to percolate Ubud’s coffee culture, but it doubles, triples and quadruples up as a cocktail bar, pottery and furniture studio and concept store.

Local Bars

• On Friday afternoons, wine bar Divine hosts regionally themed tastings with canapé pairings and live acoustic music on the terrace. Reservations are recommended for the tasting masterclasses, held in the wine cellar at 5.30pm.
• No Más Bar has a lively – if eclectic – soundtrack of rock, salsa and hip-hop, and a friendly crew who ‘take no responsibility for bad decision-making’, which means most punters probably do want – and have – más.
• For a late night in an intimate lounge, head to enigmatic Boliche, which was Ubud’s first bar back in the 1970s, and still hosts a great night today.

Walking tour of Ubud

On Google Maps

This self-guided circular walking tour covers approximately 5.5 km (3.4 miles) and takes about 3 to 4 hours at a relaxed pace, taking in Ubud’s main cultural sites, nature paths, and markets starting and ending at Bisma Eight. Route Overview & Map Flow. Best Time to Start: Early morning (between 7:00 AM and 8:00 AM) to avoid peak midday heat and high tourist traffic on the Campuhan Ridge and at the Monkey Forest.

• Start: Bisma Eight (Jalan Bisma)
• Stop 1: Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary . Interact with long-tailed macaques in their natural habitat in the peaceful ambience of Bali’s lush forests. The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary is home to over 1,200 monkeys. As you walk alongside them, you can also check out all the elaborate temples in the area. While guides are always on watch, keep an eye on your belongings and avoid bringing both food and water bottles along. The sanctuary is open daily and an entrance fee is required. You might want to combine your visit to the sanctuary with other attractions in Ubud, including the rice terraces and ancient landmarks. – Tripadvisor
• Stop 2: Ubud Art Market is one of Bali’s best markets, selling a variety of authentic and artisanal goods by the locals. You'll be able to find unique silk scarves, handmade crockery, and woven bags—perfect as a souvenir of Bali. Head to the market’s east for a more traditional Indonesian experience, where you’ll find locals buying fresh produce and groceries. – Tripadvisor
• & Ubud Palace
• Stop 3: Pura Taman Kemuda Saraswati (Water Palace)
• Stop 4: Campuhan Ridge
• Walk Finish: Return to Bisma Eight via Jalan Bisma

Leg 1: Bisma Eight to Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary (1.2 km / 15 mins)

• Head south down Jalan Bisma to the bottom of the street
• then follow the quiet connector path east toward Jalan Monkey Forest.
• Turn right and walk directly to the entrance of Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary.
• Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary Fee: IDR 130,000 (~$8.50 USD) for foreign adults; Payment: Cash or credit/debit card at the self-service kiosks and ticket counters.
• Highlights: Walk through ancient banyan trees, moss-covered stone carvings, and three 14th-century Hindu temples populated by over 1,000 Balinese long-tailed macaques.

Leg 2: Sacred Monkey Forest to Ubud Palace & Art Market (1.3 km / 18 mins)

• Route: Head north straight up Jalan Monkey Forest. This bustling street is lined with boutiques, cafes, and galleries.
• Three Monkeys Cafe - Ask for a table in back for rice field views. Go from 4-7pm for 2-for-1 cocktails.
• Continue until you reach the main crossroad at Jalan Raya Ubud.
• Highlights: Ubud Palace (Puri Saren Agung): The royal family residence featuring traditional Balinese court architecture and carved stone gateways.
• Free entry to the main courtyard and grounds during the day. (Paid tickets are only required for evening dance performances).
• Ubud Art Market: Directly opposite the palace, offering woven bags, silk scarves, woodcarvings, and handicrafts: Free entry to browse.
• Anomali Coffee Ubud is located on Jalan Raya Ubud, just east of the main palace intersection

Leg 3: Ubud Palace to Saraswati Temple (250 meters / 3 mins)

• Route: Walk west along Jalan Raya Ubud for about two blocks.
• Highlights: Pura Taman Kemuda Saraswati (Water Palace) is dedicated to the Hindu goddess of learning and arts.
• The walkway leading to the temple entrance is bordered by lotus ponds. Free entry to view the lotus ponds and outer temple grounds.
• Cafe Lotus is situated directly adjacent to Saraswati Temple on Jalan Raya Ubud.

Leg 4: Saraswati Temple to Campuhan Ridge Walk (800 meters / 10 mins)

• Route: Continue west on Jalan Raya Ubud, crossing the bridge over the West Woos River.
• Take the paved driveway on your right down toward the Warwick Ibah hotel, following the sign for "Campuhan Ridge Walk / Temple."
• Highlights: The Campuhan Ridge Walk follows a hilltop trail between two river valleys, providing panoramic view of the jungle and hillsides.Free entry.
• Then walk as far as you want along the ridge, Karsa Kafe is located at the top end of the Campuhan Ridge Walk trail. The walk from the start of the Campuhan Ridge Walk trail (near the Warwick Ibah entrance) north to Karsa Kafe is 1.8 km (1.1 miles) one-way. and is extra distance

Leg 5: Campuhan Ridge Walk back to Bisma Eight (1.8 km / 25 mins)

• Route: Retrace your steps back down the ridge to Jalan Raya Ubud.
• Walk east back toward central Ubud,
• then turn right onto Jalan Bisma.
• Walk south down Jalan Bisma to return to Bisma Eight

Outside Ubud

Negotiating directly with a Grab driver is common, but it is not the only or most reliable approach. Depending on how much structure, convenience, or flexibility you prefer, here are the main ways to secure a private driver in Bali:

Option 1: Hotel Concierge at Bisma Eight (Easiest & Most Reliable)

• How it works: Ask the front desk or concierge at Bisma Eight to arrange a private driver for a half-day or full-day tour.

• Pros: Highly vetted, reliable, fluent English speakers, and zero hassle with payment or communication. The driver will pick you up directly at the resort lobby.

• Cons: Slightly higher price compared to booking independently, but worth it for convenience and peace of mind.

Option 2: The Official Grab App (Fixed Hourly Charter)

• How it works: Rather than bargaining off-app, you can book a GrabRent / Rent by Hour directly within the Grab app.

• How to book:

  1. Open the Grab app and tap Car.

  2. Look for the "Rent" / "Hourly" option in the vehicle types (available for 4, 6, 8, or 10 hours).

  3. Enter your starting point and duration.

• Pros: Fixed upfront pricing with no cash bargaining, tracked by GPS for safety, and backed by Grab's customer support.

• Cons: The meter/timer runs strictly within the booked hours, and fuel/parking fees are usually paid separately in cash.

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