COMO Shambhala Estate — Hotel in Pulau Bali

I’ll be honest. I’ve always been really skeptical woo woo “wellness” programs being surrounded by them in California. But Como Shambhala has converted me into a believer. Coming fresh off a stress-related mental breakdown, my boss recommended I visit the Como Shambhala Estate on our first vacation to Bali. She said it’s the “real deal” which got me rolling my eyes a little on the inside. She was right.||After 25 hours of travel, we arrived at DPS. After exiting customs we walked up to the sea of drivers, taxi touts, and hotel logos laminated onto the back of clipboards. COMO. That was us. The airport transfer was cool and comfortable with fresh cold towels, ice cold waters, and snacks awaiting us before the 90-ish minute drive to the hotel. ||CHECK-IN||Once we arrived, we were met with a welcome drink of a healthy green juice and a garland of jasmine flowers. (Ahhhhh…) The grounds are stunning though the main pool and wellness center were still receiving finishing touches to their renovations. Here we met with Setiawan (a.k.a. Wan) who would be our personal assistant for our 4 night / 5 day stay. Wan buggied us down a long narrow stonewalled path until we reached a set of stairs waiting at the end. Here was Villa 6, the one-bedroom pool villa that would be our home away from home. ||THE VILLA||Calling it a ‘one-bedroom villa” is a total misnomer (There are 3 total bedrooms.) The top level houses the master bedroom with a wonderful king-sized bed overlooking a private patio. Further in, there’s the absolutely gorgeous master bathroom with a huge marble bathtub overlooking a picturesque garden you can open the windows to and an outdoor shower. Como’s bath products also smell divine. You’d mistake them for Aesop. ||Down the stairs is Level 2 where a private infinity pool and jacuzzi sidelines a comfy living space with some big comfy couches, a small kitchenette with a kombucha stocked fridge, and a full bathroom. Outside, there are some lounge chairs and a big shady umbrella for you to dry off after dips in the refreshingly cool waters of the pool.||And further still, there’s Level 3 where there happens to be ANOTHER 2 bedrooms and bathroom. Quite honestly, we spent zero time here and the extra rooms felt sparse and maybe more appropriate if you brought your kids.||THE FOOD||That evening, we had dinner at Kudus House, the on-site Indonesian restaurant where you dine inside a 150 year old Javanese pavilion overlooking the Ayung River Valley. The food was all divine with the standouts being the various sambal options you get with your starters and the beef “Rendang Sapi” that is so perfectly tender and well seasoned. Food is such a core part of the wellness theme here. Everything we ate tasted so nutritious yet delicious. Even at breakfast the next day, you’ll find favorites like the “Real Toast” which puts an even more healthy spin on avocado toast replacing the bread with a densely packed seed loaf. The Whole Meal Pancakes were absolutely delicious without feeling sickly sweet or buttery in the way traditional pancakes are done. The other restaurant, Glow also had some delicious riffs on classics. Try the “Lamb Kofta” starter if you’re a lamb fan and the “Lasagna” made of zucchini. Divine. Look. I’ll be real here. The whole menu almost feels like it’s designed to clean out your insides. I don’t think I’ve had better digestion on vacation literally ever. ||THE PROGRAMMING||This is where Como Shambhala Estate and the wellness team really shine. Even if you don’t take any of this wellness stuff seriously, the staff here very much does and is 100% committed to making you feel better as a human being in every sense of the word. They are professionals at it and likely better than you are at your job. We partook in as many of the complimentary activities every guest can participate in. But it was nice to see people on “Wellness Paths” doing private sessions.||First up, we took the 8am Deep Flow Yoga class with Mins Teo, the resident yoga and pilates instructor. The class took place at the Yoga Bale in the middle of the resort overlooking the vast green of the Ayung River Valley. For an absolute novice, I found this class the perfect bit of challenging though seasoned practitioners may want to go for a private session.||The Meridian Stretch Qi Gong class led by the Wellness Director, Kimberly Rose Kneier the next morning was a perfect entry into TCM or Traditional Chinese Medicine and some of the basic concepts. Found this incredibly educational and quite fun. I mean who doesn’t love clenching their hands like a Tiger and releasing Qi balls into the universe. ||Yoga Nidra Meditation with Prasanth V. If you have trouble sleeping, you must take this class. My wife and I regularly meditate and Prasanth imparted us with new breathing techniques and ways to body scan that we will absolutely be taking home with us. Also the proof, the couple next to us literally fell asleep.||Estate Walk. The name might imply a casual stroll through Como Shambhala’s grounds but heed this warning. This is a moderate hike down and up a slippery stone lined trail led by Yu Dian on the activities. But for those with the health and fitness, this was a magical walk through the jungle. It’s only an hour but along the way we passed waterfalls, old facilities, and the famed Kadara Spring Pools down the valley below the resort. Here we took a short break with cold towels and glasses of cold water (with lime!) The walk back up is steep but short. Well worth the trek if you’re up and active in the morning. And perfect for stirring the appetite up for breakfast.||THE MASSAGES|I happened to book the “Discover Como” package with our booking which meant 60-minute massages for each of us. Every. Single. Day. Oops. Well, next time I will absolutely be doing the same. How nice is it to just start each day you were going to get a massage? Live a little. The massage staff is out of this world good at their jobs. We got to try a range of styles from the Como Shambhala Signature Massage, Deep Tissue, Taksu, and Indonesian and I would be inclined to do them in that order again. Each massage built on the last so that by Day 4, you could nary find a knot in my shoulders. After the first massage, my wife quipped that she could see the stress melting off my body. By Day 2, I was looking into the Hyperbaric Chamber and Contrast Therapy sessions. This stuff is backed by science to make you feel better.||CONCLUSION|This place is luxury. In that quiet luxury way you expect of other brands, especially that one that starts with an A. But everything from the facilities, to the programming, and especially the staff all feels warm, genuine, and truly focused on their wellness mission. These people take what they do seriously to provide an environment where you can heal, relax, and recover. It takes a light bit of work (seriously, take the classes). If you’re coming for the gram or because you want to splurge, then great. There’s a lot of great properties in Bali that will fulfill that need and Como Shambhala Estate is absolutely one of them. But don’t miss out on the wellness programming here. It’s truly the real deal. We spent our entire stay at the estate and feel no guilt. Because quite frankly, COMO Shambhala is all I want to remember...

In January 2024, I checked into the Terrace Suite at COMO Shambhala Estate. Located close to Ubud, Bali’s cultural and spiritual centre, the 30-key designer wellness resort is set across 23 acres of land deep in the jungle overlooking the sacred Ayung Valley. The flagship property of the COMO Hotels and Resorts brand draws guests from all around the world, including the likes of Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, John Travolta and Daniel Craig.

Formerly a five-residence private estate, the lush expanse of land now serves as a designer wellness retreat dedicated to long-term wellness, fitness and spiritual development. Resident experts such as Ayurvedic doctors, Pilates instructors, traditional Chinese healers and Qigong masters are onsite to offer specialty services based on your personalised wellness requirements. In terms of wellness facilities, the retreat offers outdoor treatment spaces, a vitality pool with submerged jet beds, an outdoor lap pool, a well-equipped fitness centre, a Pilates studio, multiple yoga pavillions as well as high-tech flourishes such as sound frequency hubs for better sleep, an infrared sauna and a hyperbaric chamber to promote faster recovery from injuries.

The retreat’s accommodations are spread out across the sprawling landscaped premises. Many of the suites are organised in double-storey clusters known as “residences”, each with its own shared social spaces and infinity pool with soothing jungle views. The residence format was quite unique, and the word “commune” and “A24 films” did cross my mind on more than one occasion as I passed the couple lying on the poolside sunbeds and climbed the flight of stairs up to my suite on the upper level.

One of the resort’s headlining features is how the property is home to ‘The Source’, one of Bali's eight sacred natural springs which is located just steps from the Ayung River. Aside from supplying the water used in all the resort’s spa treatments as well as three natural rock spring pools at the foot of the estate (accessible via 2,200 stone steps cut into the hillside), The Source is also the venue where guests can partake in a traditional water blessing ritual to clear their mind and soul in the presence of a guide and a local priest.

During my stay, I had a picnic at Kedara, the resort’s hidden water garden close to the Ayung River. The journey down the 2,200 stone steps was treacherous but rewarding - it was a beautiful and rather surreal afternoon helping ourselves to the delicious savoury fare in the woven baskets (you get a choice of either refreshing snacks or Balinese fare) while watching the steady stream of white water rafts pass by as they soared down the river, its passengers hollering in excitement and joy when they spotted us above. After the picnic, we retreated to the (very deep) mineral pools nearby and sat by the graceful waterfall flowing from The Source high above the hill.

I need to dedicate air time to compliment the experience I had at Ojas Spa. I had the COMO Shambhala Massage, and it was possibly one of the best spa massage treatments I have ever had. My therapist Didi was masterful, with the different massage segments being varied and delivered with intention. It felt like her fingers were always locating and travelling along well-established pathways with expert ease as she navigated my various humps and bumps as opposed to formulaic kneading. My feet were jabbed, my inner thighs were stimulated without incident, and for this massage her hands visited places no other therapists have ever went. (Let’s not be dirty minded.)

The full review inclusive of dining experiences and photographs is available on Secret Life of Fatbacks, a luxury...

This is probably the best wellness resort in the world! COMO Shambhala Estate is a wellness resort that focused mainly on your well-being. I took the Integrated Wellness Progamme and upon check-in, I'm scheduled for a meeting with the health consultant right away. During the examination I was asked about the quality of my life for the past 3 months (Like what I usually eat, what time do I go to sleep, what kind of exercise I do, etc) and also the goal I have in the future with my body. After that, the health consultant formed a diet list based on the information that I gave him, it's customized and specifically for me. The diet list later got printed and given to my personal assistant and the restaurants. Now the restaurants know what I can eat and cannot eat. The diet list was very detailed, it was perfect! The food is surprisingly good too! I have a very low expectation of the food here because I know that healthy food usually taste bad. But not here, I can assure you that they are good!! Not only that they care about what goes into your mouth, they also care for your exercise. They have list full of activities throughout the week and you're free to choose which one you want to join. If you took the Integrated Wellness Programme like I did, then the activities are all included without an extra charge. They have morning walk, hiking, yoga, hydrotherapy, gym, and many more. Oh with the program, you also get 90 minutes massage daily! Yes, you read right. The kind of massage that you get is also being recommended by the health consultant. I haven't talked about the room and it's already this much! Hahah I stayed at the master room in Tejasuara residence. The room is spacious and luxurious, you can definitely tell from the structure and interior. They have 5 residences, each residence contains 4-5 rooms. My stay was perfect, I believe yours will be too. I recommend a long stay here (a minimum of 7 days) so that you can see the difference with your body from checking-in to checking-out. They assigned personal assistant here per room and I recommend Bu Dayu. She has worked with COMO for more than 20 years, so you're in the right hands. She's kind, professional, experienced, and she gets things done! Kudos to her! Overall stay was fabulous, the Integrated Wellness Programme is the highlight for me. COMO Shambhala Estate manages to blew me away from time to time throughout my stay. Totally...