Wellness Escape in Ubud: Pilates, Yoga & Balinese Spa Week

Days start early because that's when Ubud is at its best. The first class runs from 7 to 8:30, held on an open wooden deck that looks over the rice terraces, back towards the jungle. Most mornings it's Pilates first — mat work on Monday and Wednesday, small equipment like rings, bands and light weights on Tuesday and Friday — with a Hatha or Vinyasa yoga class on the other days. Teachers adjust the class to whoever's in the room, so a group of beginners gets a different session from a group of regulars.

Breakfast follows straight after: fresh fruit, black rice pudding, eggs, toast, Balinese coffee, herbal teas. Then there's a gap until lunch, which is when people tend to walk. There's a marked path through the paddy fields just past the resort gate, and most guests do it at least once a day — it takes about 45 minutes and comes out near a couple of warungs. Lunch is served back at the resort around 1pm, usually rice, tempeh or tofu, a vegetable curry, sambal, and something fresh.

Afternoons are deliberately light. Four of the six days include a spa treatment: a 60-minute Balinese massage, a coconut and rice exfoliation, a flower bath, or a facial. The therapists work out of the resort's own spa, which is two open-air rooms with stone baths. On the free afternoon there's an organised walk to a nearby temple and, depending on the week, a cooking session where you learn to make base genep — the paste that underpins most Balinese dishes — and a coconut pancake called laklak.

The second movement session runs from 5 to 6:30, usually yoga, sometimes a stretch-and-mobility class if the group has been sore. Dinner is at 7, eaten together, mostly vegetable-based with fish or chicken a couple of nights. Nobody's expected to stay up — most people are in bed by 9:30 because they're up at 6:30 again.

What separates this from the dozens of other Ubud wellness weeks is that the spa element is genuinely built into the price and the calendar rather than dangled as an optional extra. Four treatments across six days is a lot for a package at this level, and it's why the week reads as restorative rather than as a fitness camp. The other difference is size: with six to twelve guests, the teachers know your name and your knees by Tuesday.

What's included

- 6 nights accommodation in a private or twin-share room - Daily breakfast, lunch and dinner - Daily Pilates and yoga classes (two sessions per day) - 4 spa treatments (massages, scrub, facial or flower bath) - Guided rice paddy walk - Temple visit and offering-making session - Balinese cooking class with base genep paste and laklak - Drinking water in rooms and at meals - Daily room cleaning - WiFi throughout the property - Use of the pool and yoga deck - Pre-arrival consultation on injuries, experience and dietary needs

What's not included

- International flights - Airport transfers (arranged at an additional cost) - Travel insurance - Visa fees and departure tax - Additional spa treatments beyond the four included - Alcoholic drinks and soft drinks outside meals - Scooter hire or external excursions on the free afternoon - Personal expenses and gratuities