InterContinental Hotels Group has officially revealed the project renderings for the Kimpton Ubud Santai Hotel in Bali. This highly anticipated luxury lifestyle hotel is set to debut later this year, marking the first entry of the Kimpton brand into Indonesia. The hotel will blend Bali’s rich artistic heritage with Kimpton’s signature people-centric hospitality philosophy, offering guests thoughtful service and inspiring design spaces that encourage exploration and connection.
Hotel Location and Features
The Kimpton Ubud Santai Hotel is located on Jalan Bisma in the heart of Ubud, within walking distance to many iconic attractions, including the Ubud Art Market, the historic Ubud Palace, and the Water Palace designed by Balinese master artist I Gusti Nyoman Lempadace.
Kimpton’s signature offerings include the “Forgot It, We’ve Got It!” service, providing carefully curated travel essentials for guests; the Kimpton Kickstart morning wake-up service, which offers complimentary coffee, tea, and snacks daily; and the popular Kimpton Social, creating an interactive space for relaxed conversations and connections.
Hotel Facilities and Services
Hotel General Manager Austin Jones brings extensive operational experience with the Kimpton brand and a deep understanding of lifestyle-focused hotel service. He has been involved in the development of nearly ten Kimpton properties and is now leading the brand’s debut in Indonesia.
Jones stated, “Ubud is rich in cultural heritage and vibrant creativity, and I am honoured to introduce the Kimpton brand to the Indonesian market here. The hotel’s open and spacious design conveys a sense of warmth while focusing on both internal and external connections: integrating with the surrounding natural environment and establishing ties with the local community and visiting guests. We hope the hotel will become a vibrant gathering place where both travellers and locals can experience Bali in a relaxed, personalised, and unrestrained manner.”
The Kimpton Ubud Santai Hotel features 101 thoughtfully designed rooms, including standard rooms, spacious pool suites, and unique private pool villas. The hotel will offer five distinctive dining venues, dedicated to providing a rich and diverse culinary experience.
Culinary Experiences and Wellness Facilities
The main restaurant, Imamura Ubud, offers a serene and private chef’s table (Omakase) dining experience, overseen by Michelin-starred chef Hirofumi Imamura. Another restaurant under his direction, Shaku by Imamura, elegantly reinterprets Japanese izakaya culture.
Known globally for its retreat and wellness experiences, the Kimpton Ubud Santai Hotel will offer unique lifestyle and therapy experiences: the hotel features a two-storey gym and dedicated recovery space, providing modern fitness classes and hot-cold therapy experiences; the Sakshi Spa will draw on traditional Balinese healing wisdom to create a series of restorative rituals that help guests regain physical vitality and restore inner balance.
Design Philosophy and Future Outlook
The hotel name “Suntaya” (pronounced: SOON-TIE-yah) embodies both local heritage and the brand’s core philosophy. The name derives from the Sanskrit root, where Suniya means tranquility, and Taya represents vitality, perfectly capturing the unique rhythm of life in Ubud — balancing retreat with socialising, self-reflection with interaction.
Situated next to the Wos River, the hotel’s design is inspired by the serene power of flowing water and the enduring natural rhythms of the land. This sense of tranquility and vitality permeates the overall experience of the hotel, reflected in the architectural design, interior spaces, and the pathways guests take within the hotel.
The architectural design draws inspiration from traditional Balinese ceremonial processions, reinterpreted through contemporary architectural language, incorporating the fluidity, rhythm, and communal cohesion of the procession into the spatial experience.
Since its establishment in 1981, the Kimpton brand has rapidly expanded globally and achieved significant success in the Asian market. The opening of the Kimpton Ubud Santai Hotel will further strengthen the brand’s influence in Indonesia and provide guests with a unique accommodation experience.