Noema Resort Is a Contender for Bali’s Coolest New Hotel

Ask anyone who’s spent a decent amount of time in Bali and they’ll tell you: Pererenan is on the up. 

The neighbourhood, regarded as Asia’s coolest by some, shares an exciting restaurant scene with nearby Canggu – the bigger, flashier older sibling in the relationship. But Pererenan still feels like a village by comparison. Its black sand beach is too rough to be a major tourist magnet, and residential homes and small guest villas are still the predominant real estate. That’s why the stylish new Noema Resort feels like a big step up in the area’s ascent.

Opened officially in August, Noema is the first lifestyle hotel by Indonesian chain JHL Collection. Not that it shows. A confident design by HBA Jakarta comprises rammed earth facades and an interior palette of terrazzo flooring, pastel coral walls and timber finishes. Combined with plenty of lush greenery, it’s a refreshing change from the eccentric pastiche look of other hotels at this price point.

And, at 157 rooms, it’s now arguably the biggest hotel on Pererenan’s main drag, offering a mix of rooms, suites and penthouses for a variety of budgets. The family and pet-friendly aspect is also a strong pitch for the kind of traveller who’d gravitate towards this part of the island, which is just 5 minutes’ walk from the nearest beach and 90 minutes by car from I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport.

HBA’s Christin Castillo tells Broadsheet that Noema shares the same “creative spirit” as other brands such as The Hoxton and Ace Hotels. That’s evidenced by a few things. Check the kawaii climbing wall out the back, designed by Japanese artist Kanoko Takaya, and the 12-metre tall ship installation by Indo artist Iwan Yusuf. The biggest tell? It might be the DJ booth at reception rather than the staggering, three-storey playground by Siura Studio.

Noema hasn’t relegated its food and drink offering to an afterthought, either. The resort’s modern Indo diner Paparempa is pitched as a standalone entity and it’s worth seeking out even if you’re not a guest. The menu embraces the diversity (and heat) of the archipelago’s cuisine via dishes such as Balinese samsam guling, Javanese seafood laksa and Lombok-style beef short ribs. 

Designed by Jakarta’s Domisilium Studio, the striking double-decker building was “inspired by rice terraces and the warmth of a treehouse” according to studio founders Santi Alaysius and Hamphrey Tedja, who’ve decked the place out with hand-hewn wood, brass accents and artisan sculptures to drive home the local feel. Keep an eye out for the streetside barbeques on Friday nights.

The alternative dining option, found conveniently next to the swimming pool inside the hotel proper, is Mamaloma. There you’ll find a more international menu spanning local dishes, pasta and burgers. It’s also where to go for the classic hotel buffet experience – minus the rowdy international-hotel-in-the-morning atmosphere.

Indeed, the slower pace at Noema might be the hotel’s biggest selling point. That, and the rooftop Korean spa, Oori, which deals in signature treatments, infrared saunas and bracingly cold plunges. Noema says it’s the first spa of its kind on the Island of the Gods. The irony is, though you’re in Bali to touch grass, you’ll probably spend most of your time getting scrubbed up here. 

The writer travelled as a guest of Noema Resort. 

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