This glamorous new Bali resort is giving all-inclusive travel a major glow-up
I’m standing barefoot beneath swaying coconut palms in Nusa Dua, watching a Balinese woman weave intricate patterns from coconut leaves with impossible speed and precision. Around me, incense curls lazily into the humid afternoon air while the distant sound of gamelan music drifts across the resort gardens. Someone hands me a chilled lemongrass towel and a drink the colour of a tropical sunset, and suddenly the pace of ordinary life feels very far away. This is Paradisus by Meliá Bali, the newly transformed all-inclusive luxury resort that is redefining what a Bali holiday can look like. And unlike the loud, buffet-heavy image many people still associate with all-inclusive travel, this feels elegant, deeply cultural and surprisingly soulful. Set on the white sands of Nusa Dua, the sprawling beachfront sanctuary recently reopened following an extensive transformation into the first Paradisus property in Asia. The result is something far more elevated than I expected: part wellness retreat, part cultural immersion, part luxury escape. Paths lined with towering palms snake through lush gardens filled with frangipani trees, koi …
