The Sayan ridge with its sumptuous valley view and village atmosphere has been popular with visiting dancers, ambassadors, artists and anthropologists for the last seventy years: The Taman Bebek is built on the site of the former 1930s home of composer Colin ‘Music in Bali’ McPhee: it was originally my mountain home. The first bungalow was built in 1984—a Japanese Balinese hybrid conceived as a wooden box, part Wantilan, part cliff-hanger—with sliding door panels. The garden bathroom has one of the best views in Bali. As the retreat developed into a hotel I was careful to preserve the ‘tropical cotswoldes’ layout of McPhee’s original garden: the foundations of the original house could still be made out in the garden to ‘direct’ the placement of bungalows added slowly over fifteen years. The first three, inspired by the vernacular architecture of tropical Queensland, featured wide verandas, colonial detailing. The tiered roves, inspired by the Bale Gede ceremonial pavilions of Bali’s mountain settlements, act as passive cooling systems. All bungalows have valley views, and private gardens inspired by Judith Waworuntu'’s gardens of the original Tanjung Sari in coastal Sanur. A collection of esoteric Balinese and Javanese statues, some antique some by contemporary artists like Wayan Cemul, Diana Darling and Made Cangker, were added to the rambling poetic garden over the years.

Interior designers Neville Marsh and Stephen Little helped with various incarnations of the hotels roadside lobby and café which is more “ Botswana junction” country railway station than hotel lobby.

In 1990 I added a ‘presidential suite’ on neighbouring land. It was designed as a second home for Bali-besotted yuppies. Paint specialist Stephen Little invented some whimsical, neo-classical and neo-tribal paint finishes for the house’s main rooms. The garden was done in the ethic- modern style popular at the time.

In 1999 my old mud brick Balinese traditional kitchen was turned into an air-conditioned bungalow, replete Balinese Bavarian interiors, and a new Malaysian (Trengganu) style bungalow with connecting bath out house was added to the now burgeoning compound. Garden photos of the Villa Bebek of 2003 look very like those of Colin McPhee’s original compound of the 1930s, which pleases me enormously.

Taman Bebek Villas, Sayan, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
For more information:Ph: 62-361 975385 Fax: 62-361 976532, email: tbva@indo.net.id; Homepage: http://www.baliwww.com/tamanbebek/