Hello fellow travelers,

I am trying to organise a surprise getaway for my boyfriend's 40th birthday, and Bali is the destination. I have booked the Chedi Ubud for 3 nights, and am now looking for a fabulous hotel destination beach-side for another 3-5 nights. I want something luxurious with an ocean view from the room (so we can hang around the room without feeling like we could be anywhere), plus a private plunge pool (quite frankly, if I'm hanging out in a bikini, I'd prefer to do it without being surrounded by beautiful 25 year olds all day!! ). Amazing food is a big priority (inside and and outside of the hotel bubble...yes, I'm that person that loves a $2 Nasi Campur as much as a Michelin-starred degustation). Access to a nice bar to enjoy ocean-side or poolside cocktails would be great (happy to traverse outside the hotel for this given we'd be enjoying champagne on our delightful balcony the rest of the time!), as would access to local spas, rather than having to resort to premium hotel pricing on treatments every day. I'm not at all familiar with towns beyond Seminyak and Ubud (and have only been to these places once before also), and am struggling to get my head around the best options to tick off as many boxes as possible, without spending Aman levels. I'm thinking the maximum budget I'd like to spend per night is around $1200.

I've looked at the Amans, but as much as I'd love to spend the money, I'm trying to be a bit sensible (I've been drooling over their website, but I know how lackluster a standard 5 star hotel is likely to feel afterwards, and I think we're better off saving that for something major like a honeymoon...fingers crossed that's not going to be too far off...I did catch the bridal bouquet at a wedding last week, so Aman here I come!! ). The Legain is highly recommended on here, however I believe their rooms with private pools don't have ocean views. Sigh.

My boyfriend worked for the Four Seasons group as a teenager and has held them in high regard ever since, but has never got around to staying with them. However, the reviews for the Bali beach site aren't great.

I stayed at the Seminyak Beach Resort several months ago, and it was lovely, and I think that level of "luxury" would suffice if I could find something similar that ticked all the boxes (I didn't dine at the restaurants, except for breakfast which I thought was a wonderful spread). I can't say I loved Seminyak, particularly after spending time beforehand in Ubud which felt a lot less commercial (I was there for the Writer's Festival and was lucky enough to have one of the event organisers telling us the best local places to feast, get treatments and shop. Hearing "Cold Chisel" in bars full of Aussies wasn't really my cup of tea, but the hotel breakfast was amazing, and I had some nice local fare. And I will confess to having enjoyed a few cocktails at the W and Potato Head (although was glad to escape all the "cool" people once I'd done enough people watching).

I would love the opinion of those who appreciate high-end luxury, but know of lesser alternatives to an that will have a reasonably lux feel on a lesser budget? I'm Hilton Gold if that's of any help? Some of the other places I've seen include Double Six (the rooms don't look quite as nice as the Seminyak Beach Resort, but otherwise is well within budget), ruled out Bulgari (not great reviews on here), ruled out Alila (no plunge pools except in too-expensive penthouse). I feel like I've read every post in here about Bali, and still am struggling. Thank you for getting to this point!!! Any advice would be so greatly appreciated.

Thank you!