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The Mandapa is unquestionably one of the best resorts in the world, but only certain travelers will really enjoy it.
It leans hard into one type of trip for one type of guest: A zen-like, jungle retreat, with yoga, cooking classes, luxurious accommodation, and private butler service for big-budget guests who want to relax, eat healthily, and get away from it all. The resort is on a hill deep in a river valley, so you are constantly driven around in electric golf carts. If you are that guest, looking for a natural experience, you’ll love it, and few other hotels in the world will recreate the experience. But if you want a beach, want excitement or parties, are on a budget, or want to spend serious time outside of the resort, it’s not going to really be for you. As a result, the Mandapa just might be the very best in the world at the specific thing it does. But that means you should be sure you want what the Mandapa offers.
What is the Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve?
The Mandapa is a remote jungle retreat in Ubud. Like the Ritz-Carlton Nusa Dua, it has an epic scale with the lobby on a cliff, and the resort below. In this case, the Mandapa is near a river, instead of a beach, as in the Ritz Nusa Dua. Unlike the Ritz-Carlton Nusa Dua, it belongs to the rarefied Ritz-Carlton Reserve series of hotels, which are a level above standard Ritz-Carltons. At the Mandapa, there is butler service in every room, and the smallest room is a suite, and about half the “rooms” are pool villas. We had the Mandapa suite, which is the larger of two suite options. This was a free upgrade from a standard suite, thanks to Titanium, or just the graciousness of the hotel. As mentioned, you are driven everywhere on electric golf carts. I ran the resort, and it was about 1K, uphill, from the gym to the lobby.
The Mandapa is basically a luxury Indonesian jungle retreat, with yoga, sound healing, local cooking classes, and a beautiful, picturesque, pristine, quiet, relaxing vibe. It’s relaxing to the max, and quiet and comfortable in a rustic luxury way. It’s great if you want to disconnect and enjoy a resort in the jungle.
But its high cost means it’s not for most budgets, and that same cost it’s a poor place to use as a base for other adventures, unless you have a truly huge amount of money to spend.
You need to ask yourself: would you enjoy being in the jungle, with yoga classes, local Indonesian food, a world-class gym and spa, and the peaceful sounds of a river? Does that sound awesome? To me, it does. But many people travel to Bali for parties, or for cheap eats on the beach. And this is not a place to party, not a place to go to the beach, and certainly not cheap. Anyway, you get it. The Mandapa does one experience flawlessly.
I booked the cheapest room, which is still a suite with butler service, months in advance, for 125,600 points, and received a free upgrade to the Mandapa suite (corner room). The room otherwise would’ve cost around $1,400 USD. This upgrade was nice, but it might have been the opposite of a blessing in disguise as I was told someone else had the room the next day, and thus the latest checkout I could get, despite being Titanium, and usually getting 4PM checkouts, was 1PM. Despite that we were able to continue to relax at the resort after leaving, so we left the room at 1PM and went to the spa for a few hours.
What is the Mandapa Suite like?
The Mandapa Suite is huge, tasteful, and beautiful. If it had a kitchen, you could live there and be extremely happy. It has great views of the resort, almost all of which is forested jungle. You can see rice fields, and the whole setup is super tasteful. Inside the room you have a huge premium bathtub, quality amenities, and two large mirrors. You can see in the gallery below, just how premium it feels. Still, the Mandapa does not try to wow you with brands. Instead, essentials are wrapped in rough paper, befitting the natural vibe.
The bedroom is huge as is the bed itself. Everything is comfortable, everything is in its right place. There’s a dark aesthetic to the suite, dark wood grain, etc. The living room has a comfortable couch large enough to sleep on, but clearly not designed for guests. There is ample space to work or relax. It’s one of the best suites, probably the best, I’ve ever stayed in. The large outdoor deck area is great, with two tables. It really is a huge suite.
What is included, and how is breakfast?
The Mandapa is a very luxurious, all-suites and villas resort, in the jungle, with local food cooking classes, yoga sessions, sound healing, and more—some included in the price of staying there. About the price, it is substantial, with rates going at $1,000 USD or more per night. There are two main restaurants, Kubu and Sawah Terrace. Kubu, by the river, features a menu which is almost entirely sourced from within a 100 km radius. There is a breakfast buffet that is very high quality, although limited in scope for a resort of this cost. It’s more organic/healthy/local than the buffet at the St. Regis, the W, or the Ritz-Carlton Nusa Dua, but it’s also smaller.
We did a complimentary cooking class, making a pandan flavored pancake wrap, which was actually super fun and a nice way to meet other guests. We also did a class called quantum healing, which was really just sound healing, where you lie down and someone uses bowls to make zen sounds, and says stuff like “release the tension within you”.
We saw a lot of people from the cooking class there, and I think if you stay here, you want to do the activities since you’re sort of living in this dream world. About the other guests. To my surprise, I saw zero people over the age of 65. Everyone in the cooking class or the quantum healing class seemed to be in their late twenties to very early forties. I was actually shocked how young everyone was. By contrast, you see a lot of older people at the St. Regis, even if there are many younger people too. I think the heavy nature aesthetic attracts a certain kind of customer.
How is Breakfast at the Mandapa?
Breakfast is included with your room and is impressive, although not clearly superior to other top hotels e.g. Ritz-Carlton Nusa Dua, W, St. Regis, etc. It was clearly well above lower-tier Marriott properties such as the Aloft or Westin, however. (Those hotels have very nice buffets given their prices, however). I appreciated the Mandapa cold brew, which tasted like Chocolate and was one of the best cold brews I’ve had. The selection leaned heavily towards healthy food, although you could get pancakes or sweets if you wanted to. The pastries were fine but no better than those at the W. My cappuccino was genuinely good, and a step above the Westin Ubud. They have a menu with a la carte options, and if you mention you’re vegan or something, they seemed very willing and understanding about making you something specific. If I were Vegan and Gluten free, or something, I would’ve loved to be here. Of course, there is still plenty of meat, but you can see the vegetarian health food influence strongly here.
Iit was nice to be able to eat while looking out over the river. Honestly, that river anchors most of my memories of the resort. And you see and viscerally feel how calming it is to live by a flowing river, and always have that sound in your mind. The food was good, with nice Indonesian dishes which I appreciated, in addition to all the western and Chinese staples. The selection was more limited than even the St. Regis, barely, though, and it was far more limited than the enormous Ritz-Carlton Nusa Dua Buffet.
How is Lunch at Sawah Terrance?
Great Indonesian food. This was possibly the highlight of the trip. I honestly liked this more than Kubu’s fine dining. The food was flavorful, healthy, and featured a great view of the river. It was honestly great, and very affordably priced. Sawah Terrace is the underrated gem restaurant here.
How is the gym and spa?
There is a spa with massage treatment huts near the river. It must be fantastically relaxing, but I did not get a massage during my visit. I will say that the massage at the St. Regis was one of the best of my life, and I bet the Mandapa is similarly well done.
There is a couples relaxation area near the river stocked with Indonesian desserts and tea, which is great. It was super relaxing.
There are two cold plunges near a dedicated spa pool. This is in addition to the main pool which is large, but not really any nicer than the pool at the Westin Ubud. The gym was well stocked, with modern equipment and a dark aesthetic. In some ways there is not much to say. It had all the nice machines, and if you wanted a workout, you could get one.
How is the butler service?
The butler service is very good, but slightly more limited than the St. Regis, in interesting ways. At the St. Regis, our butler told us if we wanted tea or coffee, we could make it in the room, but we should not do that, and instead we should call them to bring freshly made tea and coffee (which always came with cookies) to our room. At the Mandapa, I asked about them bringing me a decaf coffee, and I was told there was a machine in our room. I later realized that the Mandapa is so hilly that it’s probably impractical for them to bring people tea and coffee while at the St. Regis it’s totally flat. That sounds like I’m super picky, but I had only asked since I was so emphatically told at the St. Regis to have them bring me coffee—and secretly, because I wanted some cookies.
But, at the Mandapa, I was given four coke zeros when I asked for one, and not charged for them. At the St. Regis coffee was free but I had to pay for a coke. So, look, it’s not about the money, but about different service expectations and pricing situations. The butler service is similar, but not the same. Ultimately both have a very high level of service. The Mandapa’s butler is more built around giving you everything you need to have in your own little world, then letting you enjoy it. The St. Regis is more active, with more things brought to you, more check-ins, etc. Neither is wrong, and both are high-level services.
How is Kubu?
We had a 9 course meal in a cocoon by the river. Since it was a ‘special occasion’ (my girlfriend’s belated birthday) they had flowers on the floor. Which was a nice touch. The waiter said they do it for any special occasion. So, if you’re going and it’s a date, you should ask. It was a nice touch. The food was sort of what you’d expect from fine dining. Small portions, nice flavor. In this case, the twist is that almost all of it is from the surrounding 100km area. Which is very Mandapa. There’s even a map showing where certain ingredients are from.
We got a non-alcoholic pairing, which was basically kombucha or somewhat fermented juices/tonics. It was good, but kind of unnecessary, and I only got it so I could review a pairing for this site. The wine pairing looked good, but it was five glasses, which by my standards, is a huge amount of alcohol.
The cocoons are special, and it does feel cool. The price is about 1.2 million IDR, which is maybe 60-70 USD per person. So it’s affordable compared to what you get. But that price easily balloons if you add wine pairings or optional add ons. Still, it’s very affordable for what it is, given everything. I’m super glad I went once, but if I never go back, I’ll honestly be fine. Bejana, at the Ritz-Carlton Nusa Dua, in some ways was a more fun experience even though it’s not fine dining, and it’s not in a private cocoon by the river. I dunno, maybe fine dining just isn’t my style.
The local stingless bee honey though, was fantastic, and was a unique local standout. Thats definitely worth trying.
On Kubu, and insects in the jungle
Kubu is a nice fine dining experience, but you need to accept that you are dining next to a river in the jungle. At night, this means that it’s inevitable that there will be small bugs attracted to the candles on the table. These small bugs entered my girlfriend’s drink twice, while leaving mine totally untouched. Which just goes to show everyone likes her more than me.
But, being serious, I’m from the American South, so I get it. I would still recommend it. But if I were from a city and totally didn’t get what night in the country means, I might be unhappy with it. They offer mosquito spray for a reason at the resort, but I never found it much of a problem. Someone who absolutely hates bugs will not enjoy the experience, though. That’s not a dig about the Mandapa, this is going to happen at any tropical resort ever. And of course, what you’re getting in return is being in a totally beautiful natural place. You can’t be in nature without nature.
This is something that happens across Bali. At the Ritz-Carlton Nusa Dua they even have a flyer saying they fumigate for bugs around 4 PM or something. I didn’t find it bad, but if you’re really picky about insects, you should remember you’re going into the jungle. That said, I saw no bugs inside our suite, at either the Ritz-Carlton Nusa Dua, The St. Regis, or the Mandapa. So I think the hotels must have a pretty serious anti-bug operation in the rooms, and these resorts, themselves.
Perfection has a price
You don’t notice it at first, but if you step back, you’ll see just how perfect the plants are. It doesn’t look like an English garden, but a wild jungle where everything just happens to be in the right place. If you have any garden experience, you realize that for things to get to the right place, it must have taken a huge amount of work. And you see men—they are always men— around the resort working on things. Anyone with a house in the country knows even getting rid of weeds is a huge amount of work. So the maintenance here must be huge.
One of the problems with perfect things is that any small imperfection sticks out. At the Mandapa, you are in this all encompassing jungle retreat with nothing but forest around you except for one persons house, which a staff member said is someone’s AirBnb, which is in the middle of the view, and very noticeable at night. Now, complaining about a single house interrupting your view is 100% a first-world problem. But it does break the illusion a little bit, and I’m honestly surprised the Ritz-Carlton didn’t find some way to buy them out. Ironically, the Westin Ubud has no other house in its jungle view, despite being much cheaper.
Who is Mandapa for?
I hate to lean into stereotypes but, I am part of this stereotype, so here we go. If you are long-haired guy who likes meditation or yoga, is interested in organic Indonesian food, and likes the idea of going to the jungle and reading, then this is like your dream resort. If you’re a rich burnt out executive who wants to go somewhere that has great internet, but feels like you can’t be reached, this is a great place to go. If you are a couple on their honeymoon into nature and local food, this is a great hotel. If you want to party, prefer skyscrapers to trees, this is not the place to go.
The Mandapa has a big kids area, and I think kids who are self-directed or very happy in nature might like the resort, but it’s honestly hard to imagine most modern kids preferring the Mandapa to the Ritz-Carlton Nusa Dua or the St. Regis, both of which have great pools and beaches. The Mandapa is so quiet that it makes the St. Regis, which is itself quiet, feel exciting.
I think pretty much everyone would enjoy the Mandapa for a night or two, but it would take a certain personality to spend a week here. And I don’t mean that in a bad way, since, being honest, I am one of the people who would enjoy it.
How much do points redemptions at Mandapa cost?
Years ago I saw points redemptions as low as around 100,000, but I haven’t seen anything lower than 124,000 points recently, and that is for weekdays booked months in advance. Last-minute bookings come in around 160,000 points. Average bookings with some advance notice seem to be around 145,000 points. This of course means that you can’t use 85,000-point free-night certificates for these redemptions that you’d get from the American Express Bonvoy Brilliant (our review here) or Chase Ritz-Carlton Card (our review here) cards. This is because you can add a maximum of 25,000 points to an 85,000-point certificate, meaning the highest redemption possible with certificates and points is 110,000.
I briefly considered booking another night at the Mandapa, but at 162,000 points, versus 94,000 for the St. Regis, its hard to justify the Mandapa premium when both have the same high level of service. I ended up going to the W for around 90,000 points, and that was actually great.
What Travel Essentials do you Recommend?
First, protect your skin with a nice sunscreen: This is non-negotiable if you’re going to be in the sun, even at the Mandapa. You want something that feels nice, isn’t sticky or pasty, and actually works. I’ve tried a ton and prefer to use Elta MD or La Roche Posay
Second, capture the memories that matter with a high quality camera. You can use your iPhone, but the Insta360 Luna Ultra (full review here) is our recommendation for a great travel camera. The Luna Pro, or DJI Osmo Pocket series of cameras is a great alternative.
Third, choose luggage that is light but well made. I recommend, and personally use, the Samsonite Proxis for a checked luggage, paired with the Cotopaxi Allpa 28L backpack as a carry on.
Is Mandapa better than the St. Regis?
The Mandapa and St. Regis Bali both have butler service, but offer a very different, albeit equally luxurious, experience. Mandapa is a remote retreat in Ubud that feels like its own jungle paradise. The St. Regis is a much more balanced quiet luxury beachside resort, filled with something for everyone, and incredible service. I think most travelers will prefer the St. Regis, but the Mandapa is a more unique experience, offering cooking classes, yoga, sound healing, and other zen/yoga/organic activities. If you gave me one week at either, I would probably choose the Mandapa, but only barely. If you asked me to choose where most people I know would prefer to spend a week, it would be the St. Regis, hands down. The breakfast buffet is better and larger at the St. Regis, and much larger at the Ritz-Carlton Nusa Dua.
Is Mandapa better than the Ritz-Carlton Nusa Dua?
Yes, it’s “better” but I think most families, and beach lovers, will actually prefer the Ritz-Carlton Nusa Dua, given its more extensive network of pools and beach access. The Mandapa is superior on paper, and clearly better if you want a zen-like jungle experience. Someone who wants to 100% check out from civilization and embrace nature, zen, and yoga, will prefer the Mandapa. A celebrity or Billionaire who needs the utmost privacy will prefer the Mandapa. Average travelers wondering whether to spend $1,000 USD for three nights at the Ritz-Carlton Nusa Dua, or $1300 for one night at the Mandapa, should spend three nights at the Ritz-Carlton Nusa Dua.
Is Manadpa better than the Westin Ubud?
Yes, it’s better, but less than you might think. If you book the best room at the Westin, you have a pool villa for around $550 USD. That’s basically 1/3rd of what you pay at the Mandapa for a standard (albeit awesome) suite. The Westin’s pool is just as good, although the breakfast buffet at the Mandapa is great, and the Westin Breakfast buffet is just good. If you are a billionaire you are going to choose the Mandapa every time. But if you have a budget, I actually would prefer spending 3 nights at the Westin pool villa, with one day exploring Ubud, to only one night at the Mandapa. One fun trivia note; the Westin and the Mandapa (and the St. Regis) give you free thatched purses/bags. The Westin’s bag, and the Mandapa’s bag, are identical, except for the branding.
Is Mandapa better than the W Bali?
W Bali is actually better if you want to party, love the beach, or want to be in the city. Going to the city is just impractical from the Mandapa. By contrast, the Mandapa is clearly superior if you want attentive butler service, yoga/cooking classes, and the feeling that you are in your own special world. The breakfast buffets were about the same. The Mandapa’s might have been slightly higher quality, but that was more than equaled by the insanely larger W spread, which features custom juices, and which has essentially every cuisine imaginable, with a beautiful beach view.
Is Mandapa better than the Bvlgari?
I’ve never been to the Bvlgari, but I have read it is a luxury cliffside resort with great service and food, with fantastic views—but, as a result of being perched on a cliff, only minor beach access. Our Butler at the St. Regis mentioned the Bvlgari sends guests to the St. Regis beach. I thought the Bvlgari had no beach at all, but then I checked their site and there is a small beach, accessed via stairs at the bottom of the cliff. I haven’t been, but based on the photo, the St. Regis Beach appears much better, albeit less private. Based on my limited knowledge, I think the St. Regis is likely the King of Marriott luxury resorts in Bali, when you combine all factors that most people care about. But, if you love views of the ocean but don’t like beaches or swimming I could see the Bvlgari pulling ahead.
How to earn cash back on Marriott bookings with Rakuten (+$50 signup bonus)
I always book direct with Marriott to earn the most points. BUT, I just learned Americans can book direct and earn extra cash back (usually 1.5-4%) with Rakuten. At the Ritz-Carlton Nusa Dua, it’s easy to spend $1000+ on a hotel booking (and it’s worth it, in my opinion). That means even a 4% cashback is worth $40. And, since new users can earn a $50 signup bonus after a qualifying $50 purchase, you can easily get $50+ of value even on a modestly priced stay. For more info, check out my review of Rakuten and how it’s valuable for cash back on purchases you would already make. Obviously, check the terms and conditions to verify any current offer.
Final verdict: is Mandapa worth it?
The Mandapa is not more luxurious than rival offerings, although it is genuinely luxurious. It’s more unique, more in touch with nature, and more natural feeling than perhaps any luxury resort I’ve ever been to.
I had sky-high expectations of the Mandapa, and it basically met them, for me. But all throughout my stay I was thinking whether I would recommend my family members stay here. And I felt confident that a relative I have who is super into yoga, and is vegan, would absolutely love it, much more than I did. But some other relatives of mine I just know would prefer a more standard hotel experience.
I’m pretty confident that most travelers will prefer a week at the St. Regis to a week at the Mandapa. (And most travelers in their twenties looking for excitement would prefer the W to either.) Both based on price, and personality, the Mandapa is not for everyone. But for those who click with its zen-like nature, the Mandapa might just be your favorite hotel of all time.
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