Ubud has long been a preferred escape for Bali-bound wellness travelers, and one high-end property on its outskirts excels at harnessing its ancient magic to create a restorative stay. Set in a lush valley carved out by the island’s longest and most sacred river, Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan offers weary city-dwellers a tranquil haven for relaxation and reconnecting with their inner selves. Its relaunched destination spa and well-equipped Fitness Hub complement insider excursions that showcase Balinese traditions and spiritual practices. In this story, a DestinAsian staff editor recounts his recent mini-wellness escape in Sayan.

Phone: +62 361 201 6000
Email: reservations.bali@fourseasons.com
Address: Sayan, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Website: fourseasons.com/sayan

The Dharma Shanti Yoga Pavilion at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan on an evening lit by a full moon.

The first thing that hits me about the ice bath is the shock of the numbing cold. “Remember to breathe,” fitness instructor Wayan Suwitra tells me calmly from the edge of the deep tub. The water temperature of 7°C may not sound especially chilly, but clad in nothing but my swimming trunks, it might as well be the Arctic Ocean. “Some people shout or scream. Other people cry,” Wayan recalls as I repeatedly yowl about the cold. “Just release your emotions. This is a safe space—I am here for you.” Clinging desperately onto the sides of the tub, I can think only of getting out. But Wayan has set a stopwatch and I’m meant to stay neck-deep in the freezing water for two minutes. I last just 37 seconds before calling it quits.

The ice bath is my surprise introduction to a much-needed wellness break at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan, hidden in the verdant Ayung River valley outside Ubud. I can’t think of a more fitting locale for a two-night reset: its 18 suites and 42 villas are carefully slotted into the terrain, spread across a tropical Eden of swaying coconut palms, flowering plants, and ripening paddy fields. Against the backdrop of a jungled slope on the Ayung’s opposite bank, white-water rafters occasionally float past, waving in unison from their inflatable vessels. It’s a calming scene and a far cry from the clamor of big-city life.

Wayan and I have come to the recovery room at the resort’s Fitness Hub for the 90-minute Pulih Batin session. Breathwork exercises act as the prelude to contrast therapy, with the ice bath being an integral part of the latter. I’m told professional athletes use it to reduce muscle tension, aid their physical recovery, and improve circulation while clearing the mind—something I discover for myself later on.

Following the initial plunge, Wayan takes me through stretches to warm up and loosen the body, and I must mentally prepare myself for a second round in the dreaded ice bath. How long do people usually last? “Some guests can stay for four minutes—they already do ice baths in their home countries,” Wayan replies earnestly. Embarrassed by this revelation, I resolve to stay submerged for the full two minutes. This time I go in slowly, giving my limbs and my core time to adjust. Consciously inhaling and exhaling while sitting in the piercingly cold water proves an oddly meditative experience. The 20 minutes I spend alone in the steam room afterward, stretched out against a blue-tiled wall, is pure bliss.

Chef Suta unwrapping a whole slow-roasted duck (bebek betutu) at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan.

A view of Sokasi, the riverside chef’s table restaurant and cooking school at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan.

Connecting over Heritage Cuisine

If I had thought a wellness-oriented stay meant culinary deprivation, I couldn’t have been more wrong. My reward for surviving the ice bath is a seven-course Chef’s Table Dinner at Sokasi, a bamboo-built riverside pavilion named for the woven square baskets used in Bali for carrying cooked rice and temple offerings. I join eight other diners at a counter around the open kitchen, where head chef Wayan “Suta” Sutariawan and his team are preparing the grill for the first course.

Soon, Chef Suta holds up a ruby red bird’s-eye chili for all of us to see. “We use these small, hot chilies in Balinese food. But for this dinner we are using the big ones—they’re not so spicy.” The heat may be modulated for international palates, but each dish comes packed with flavor. Our dinner features local classics like bebek betutu—a whole duck stuffed with spices and baked in an underground oven—and Bali’s famed spit-roasted suckling pig, babi guling. Chef Suta is also committed to spreading the word about rare heritage recipes and ingredients that are sadly falling out of fashion. We’re served plates of ayam timbungan, or chicken baked inside bamboo on an open fire, and another featuring klengis, the protein-rich pulp leftover from the traditional coconut oil–making process. “Less and less people make klengis now,” he tells us wistfully. “You can’t find it in restaurants.” Tonight, Chef Suta has applied klengis as a marinade for barramundi chargrilled in corn husk, infusing the fish with a concentrated sweet-savory flavor.

Beyond the soulful Balinese fare, it is heartening to witness strangers from disparate parts of the globe gathering as one small community for several brief hours, dining at the same counter, exchanging stories, and laughing together. A few of us linger after dessert, but I’m in the mood for an early night. I eschew the buggy in favor of a languid stroll back to my villa, where I fall into a deep, uninterrupted sleep.

Guests at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan can explore the surrounding countryside in an open-top jeep.

An Intimate Glimpse of Local Life

The next morning, I meet Rai Hendrayana, a young guide from the resort’s recreation team, for the intriguingly named “Can You Keep a Secret?” Tour. We hop into an orange open-top jeep, bound for a village that has so far escaped the attention of tourists. I carefully follow the instructions spelled out on my itinerary:

“We ask you to resist the temptation to tag/name this village and its temple, out of respect for the village’s wish to preserve the tranquility and remain off traveler bucket lists.”

Marigold garlands adorn the steps of the village temple when we arrive; it’s the lead-up to a major religious celebration and the atmosphere is already festive. Inside a high-ceilinged wantilan pavilion, Rai and I walk among papier-mâché statues of Balinese Hindu deities sitting astride mythical creatures, and partially decorated penjor—graceful bamboo poles festooned with checkered cloth and coconut leaves shaped into curling patterns. “These are all made by the young people of the village,” Rai says. “They come every afternoon and work until late at night.”

Down the street, we walk through an open gate into the compound of a blacksmithing family. Rai leads me to the back for a Balinese custom. “When we arrive at someone’s home, our feet should touch the [raised] floor outside the kitchen to burn the negative energy we carry from outside.” We spend a few minutes taking in the ornately carved shrines of the family temple, where I spot yellow coconuts meant for religious ceremonies ripening on the nearby palms. Then, Rai and I sit cross-legged in an open pavilion at the center of the compound, assembling canang sari floral offerings in dainty palm-leaf trays. I’m taught to overlay the hand-cut sampian uras—a compass symbolizing the wheel of life—with blossoms in four different colors (each representing both a god and a cardinal direction) and a bundle of thinly shredded pandan leaves. Even if mine looks a bit unbalanced, the family matriarch nods approvingly as Rai bags the offerings for our next destination.

Local temple visits can be arranged as part of a stay at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan.

Washed by Bali’s Purifying Waters

From the village, the orange jeep takes us to a less-visited water temple where I undergo a melukat purification ritual. This is not something I take lightly. On previous visits to Bali, I kept such practices at a respectable distance, choosing to be an observer rather than a participant. But Rai assures me I don’t have to be a Balinese Hindu to take part. “It doesn’t matter what you believe in. We welcome people of all faiths, as long as you have good intentions.” We’ve come on a weekday and, much to my surprise, I have the entire ritual pool to myself. Rai has advised me to say a prayer or make a wish at each of its 11 spouts, corresponding to different gods and goddesses in the Balinese Hindu pantheon.

Standing barefoot on the slick pebbles and bathed in the cool, pure water flowing from mountain springs, I make wishes for my family and my own hopes and dreams—things too private to be shared in any travel piece. Then I wish for Rai’s happiness and wisdom in carrying on age-old ancestral traditions. As the eldest son, he will eventually inherit the lifelong responsibility of maintaining his family’s ancestral temples and leading religious rituals. After drying off and a change of clothes, I receive a blessing from the temple priest, who presses bija rice grains on my holy water–splashed forehead before tying a Tridatu bracelet around my wrist. I leave feeling at peace with myself and the world at large.

The hourlong Sacred Nap is a signature wellness experience at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan.

A Peaceful Sayan Slumber

That afternoon, I join a handful of fellow guests for one of Four Seasons Sayan’s signature wellness experiences: the hour-long Sacred Nap. Devised by resident wellness mentor Ibu Heny “Fera” Ferawati, a former Buddhist nun, it takes place in the thatched-roof Dharma Satya pavilion overlooking the Ayung River.

I remove my footwear at the entrance and leave my phone on a counter well out of arm’s reach. One by one, we settle in to cocoon-like silk hammocks hung from the sturdy beams spanning the width of the bamboo structure. Cool towels placed over our eyes, we surrender to the gentle swaying and a soothing soundtrack: forest birdsong, the Ayung gushing through the rapids far below, and Ibu Fera’s soft, melodious voice. Slowly, purposefully, she narrates the life story of Gautama Buddha before serenading us with sweet lullabies. I’m lulled into a state of suspended animation between wakefulness and sleep. When the eye towels eventually come off, Ibu Fera’s smiling face enters my field of vision. “Good morning!” she chirps. “Isn’t it nice to be a baby again?”

A view of the recently relaunched Sacred River Spa on the grounds of Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan.

Traditional instruments and coins are used in the Restu Bumi treatment at The Sacred River Spa.

Inside the breezy reception area at The Sacred River Spa.

Staying Grounded by the Sacred River

An hour after breakfast on my final morning at Sayan, I follow the quiet stone pathway stepping down to The Sacred River Spa. Ensconced in dense greenery on the resort’s fringe, where thatched pavilions and treatment rooms (including a trio of spa villas) sit between placid lotus ponds, it was redesigned and relaunched at the end of 2024.

I’m here for the two-hour Restu Bumi treatment—the name poetically translates to “Blessing of the Earth.” It begins with a foot bath of curcuma rice wine, betel leaves, and river stones, and when I’m supine on the massage bed, the therapist carefully tucks a netted bag of cool kepeng coins into the blanket above my chest. Eyes closed, I hear her hit a gong at regular intervals, varying the intensity from soft to loud and back to soft, the vibrations echoing through the room. Up next is a full-body massage, using fragrant coconut oil infused with ylang-ylang, jasmine, sandalwood, and moringa. I sink blissfully into the massage bed as the therapist kneads out knots with a pair of smooth gemstones carved from Indonesian moss agate: one unexpectedly hot, the other ice-cold for a stimulating contrast.

Two hours pass all too soon, and after bidding the therapist farewell I must pick up my bags at the villa and depart the resort. This rejuvenating stay has offered me a timely lesson in being present, and an opportunity to experience the restorative power of this Indonesian island, its deep-rooted spirituality, and its singular culture. I don’t think I would change a thing about my time at Four Seasons Sayan—except another round in the ice bath. Next time, I’ll challenge myself to a three-minute soak.

—James Louie

This article was brought to you by DestinAsian and Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan.

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