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Introduction Tanah Gajah was until 2019, known as The Chedi Club Tanah Gajah. Tanah Gajah's connection to GHM actually goes a long way. The hotel's original owner was the late Indonesian architect, Hendra Hadiprana, who built the estate to be a private residence. After a few decades, he entrusted the estate to GHM's Adrian Zecha, for it to be turned into a 20-room hotel. After Hadiprana's passing and the subsequent lapse of the management contract with GHM, his family decided to take the hotel independent and dedicated it to his legacy (whilst maintaining marketing with the Legendary Hotels of the World).The hotel is called as such (Tanah Gajah, lit. Elephant Land) due to the estate's proximity to the ancient Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave), a 9th-century Hindu-Buddhist temple still revered by the local population. Additionally, bear in mind that the hotel is currently also a bubble-quarantine hotel option to those travelling to Bali. Check In The hotel is located some 10 minutes east of Ubud. The hotel's entrance itself is rather small and easy to miss. We arrived early at 10 am after notifying the hotel of our early arrival the day prior. We actually came to the hotel the day prior to make our reservations, which was promptly arranged by the head of their reservations team. On both days, we arrived at the hotel to find it completely devoid of guests. We later learned that we were the only guests at the hotel. Since we paid "in advance" and settled the registrations during our reservation, our butler took us immediately to our villa upon our arrival (whilst showing us the hotel's amenities). This was as a result, probably the most seamless check-in experience I have ever had in my 15 years of worldwide travel.Entrance to Tanah GajahFountain Room Our room, a One-Bedroom Club Pool Villa, had been deep cleaned before our stay and was evident from the impressive absence of dust in every nook and cranny in the room. We were driven to our room on a golf cart, and shortly afterward, our luggage was delivered and cleaned with a UV light sanitising tool of some sort.The villa was rather impressive, particularly with its rice terrace facing infinity pool that offered incredible views. As standard at the hotel, our room came with various club amenities, which included daily laundry, afternoon tea, evening cocktails, as well as complimentary mini-bar. PoolPoolDaybed by the poolSpectacular views beyond our villaWe were greeted with a couple rather sweet-tasting welcome drinks (which reminded me of the welcome drink at Amankila, only much sweeter), along with some delicious fried plantains and other dry snacks.Welcome amenity - fried plantains and snacksAt 280 sqm, the "villa compound" was rather impressive, although I personally found the space inside the bedroom itself to be a bit "cramped". The room looked wonderful and was beautifully furnished, but it just felt like the indoor space wasn't proportioned very well. I felt that there was a significant amount of wasted space in the bathroom and closet/storage sections that could have been utilised better. BedroomBedroomHuge closet area behind bedDespite that, I also found the bathroom to be equally beautiful. I am especially fond of the shower and toilet's terrazzo flooring that reminded me a lot of Amankila's. Toiletries came in reusable containers and appeared to be unbranded (smelled like frangipani and jasmine). The bathroom's water pressure was rather low and thus left a bit to be desired, but the water temperatures were great. Sink and ShowerShowerToilet and sinkOutdoor bathtub Service Service was attentive and very personalised. We weren't sure if this was a result of us being the only in-house guests, but the fact that the hotel used to be The Chedi Club also made an argument against that assumption (there were also a handful of outside visitors who paid to ride the hotel's hot air balloon). Everyone knew wherever we went in the hotel, and our room was refreshed according to our movements (amazing!). The staff was additionally very friendly, and our butlers were in particular very warm and charming (great at making conversation without being too intrusive). To make things even easier, the hotel set up a WhatsApp group between us and our butlers, and the duty manager. This ended up being very useful in practice since all communications became much simpler and our requests were promptly taken cared-of. Dining Given the hotel's low occupancy (even that is an overstatement), all meals were served either in-villa or at the hotel's main dining venue and only restaurant, The Tempayan. The restaurant itself looked impressive and viewed the rice fields. Tempayan RestaurantWe went for the complimentary afternoon tea on both afternoons of our stay, and the selection of cakes and snacks was identical. The entire set tasted good, though it occurred to me that a couple of the cakes seemed to be outsourced. I might be wrong about this, though. Throughout the meal, we were proactively offered refills on our beverages. The rather significant portion of the set meant that we were stuffed by the time we were done, and ended up not having dinner.Afternoon Tea setThe hotel actually has a dedicated afternoon tea/bar space called the Panen Padi Lounge, although the place does not seem to be used at the moment and is unstaffed. Panen Padi LoungeWe opted to have our breakfast at the restaurant as well, and the choices were basically between three sets: the Indonesian breakfast (includes fruits and Nasi Goreng fried rice, Mie Goreng fried noodles, or Bubur Ayam rice congee), the Western breakfast (fruits and eggs any style or pancakes), or the healthy breakfast (cereal or oatmeal, a lean sandwich, and yogurt). Bear in mind that the hotel isn't serving pastries at the moment.Over the course of our stay, we tried the Omelette, Scrambled Eggs, Bubur Ayam rice congee, and the Mie Goreng fried noodles. Food quality was overall high, and I'd have to call the Mie Goreng fried noodles the best of the dishes we had. The noodles were steaming hot, very fluffy and flavourful and packed with vegetables and seafood; this easily made it delicious, and perhaps the best fried noodles I've ever had. The other options tasted good as well, although didn't compare to the fried noodles. FruitsScrambled EggsFried NoodlesFried NoodlesOmeletteRice congeeWe were also proactively offered drink refills, which included the juices and smoothies. The mango smoothie I'd have to say was particularly delicious, being light, and both sweet and sour. Location and Amenities As mentioned above, the hotel is located around 10-15 minutes drive from the centre of Ubud. It is around 2-minutes away from the Goa Gajah and a 5-minute drive from the popular Bebek Tepi Sawah restaurant. The hotel does provide a scheduled transfer shuttle to Ubud, although we did not partake in this offering since we had our own means of transport. As such, the hotel isn't exactly suited to those opting to explore on foot, but it still can be done with the help of the hotel's shuttle.The hotel is set on 5-hectares of sprawling gardens and rice fields, and the grounds are meticulously kept each day. I was honestly very impressed by this, even with the low occupancy of the hotel. The grounds were very beautiful and pictures do not do justice to how great the place looked (this hotel is one of those places that looks better in real life than in pictures).Pond and gardensLibraryIn addition to the in-villa pool, the hotel has two additional pools, although the smaller pool is cordoned off solely for use by quarantine guests. The main pool is located next to the expansive pond and fountain and was sized perfectly for one to swim several laps. Main PoolAdditionally, there is also a small gym at was open on a reservations-only basis (where an hour is blocked off for the personal use of one guest) and cleaned afterward. It was a great setup during our stay, although I wonder how it would be when the hotel has more guests... That said, the gym equipment was rather old and aging. View of the spa and gym from The Tempayan restaurantGym Overall Overall, despite not being a Chedi anymore, the Tanah Gajah remains an exceptional hotel. From the beautiful hotel grounds to the great service, I'm very happy to recommend this hotel and would come back in a heartbeat.