"So, what was your first impression of this place?Walking into Hotel Tugu Bali instantly transports you to Indonesia of the past. In the dimly lit lobby, you suddenly realize you're standing under a massive carved wooden pagoda of sorts, which is in fact a 150-year-old sacred ceremonial hall that was transported piece by piece from a village in central Bali. It is one of literally thousands of priceless pieces that the owner, the biggest collector of Indonesian antiquities in the country, has installed here on the edge of Batu Bolong beach in Canggu. Elsewhere in the lobby, where you’ll sit in a deep armchair with a freshly squeezed juice while you check in, you’ll spy everything from 16th-century holy water vessels to a display of Javanese wooden puppets. At the center of it all hovers a massive statue of Garuda, the mythological king of all birds from the Hindu epic tale the Ramayana, a symbol of Indonesian independence. It’s all part of the intention of the owner—a doctor-lawyer of humble origins—to preserve Indonesia’s near-forgotten cultures (Tugu means “monument”). And it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Wow—sounds like it's one-of-a-kind.If you love the soulful feel of this hotel, it’s worth noting that the owner, Anhar Setjadibrata, has filled his other “boutique museum hotels” in Lombok and Java with much more of his stunning and massive antiques collection. Got it. Now, tell us about the digs, and specifically, your room. What type was it? How did it look, and what was it like to be there?The rooms are comprised of different villas, many of them based on Javanese wooden houses, and each of them utterly unique. I stayed in the Rejang Suite on the upper floors of a Javanese house, which had rich antique wooden floors, a carved four-poster bed, a kind of rustic sun porch lined with wood-paneled windows of colored glass that overlook the garden. Most unique of all, it has a traditional bath area with its own huge sunken hand-hammered tin bathtub and an antique day bed, making it feel I’d been transported to Indonesia of 50 years ago (shades of the movie The Year of Living Dangerously danced in my head). The view from the room used to be of rice paddies and beach, but lately there’s been a spurt of development along the shore and the view is now obstructed. It can get a little noisy at night with partying down at the beach clubs, but the hotel is working on soundproofing. Other villas I saw were the Walter Spies Pavilion, dedicated to the legendary German poet and artist who lived in Bali, which contains another unique four-poster bed and private plunge pool surrounded by a tropical garden. And the Le Mayeur Suite, which is filled with the artwork of this Belgian artist who lived for years in Bali and became obsessed with the (much-younger) Balinese dancer Ni Pollock (more on her later). Interesting—that's all good to know. How about the F&B?For a smallish hotel, Tugu’s got a pretty remarkable range of Asian cuisine, each restaurant set in a different style of regional décor. Tugu Bali is in the main building under the wood-pillared Balinese hall, which in the evening twinkles with candles that illuminate the hotel’s art collection. (If you’re lucky—and flexible—you may nab one of the seats on the floor of the hall, laid out on a traditional woven mat.) The kitchen’s focus is à la carte traditional Balinese and Javanese cuisine, with a side of continental if you need a break from all that heavy spice. (Breakfast is served here, too, with extraordinarily good omelettes and fresh-squeezed juices.) From time to time, on one of Bali’s many ceremonial holidays, you may even luck out with a traditional banquet, like one that recreates a feast of the 14th-century Majapahit Kingdom with parades of soldiers and dancers, to village dinners where Balinese lders cook in terracotta pots over wood-fired ovens. In an adjacent building are two restaurants known as Ji. Ji at Bali Sutra, on the ground floor, is built around an ornately carved 18th-century Chinese temple that was moved to Bali in its entirety (Bali was settled by waves of Chinese who stayed and intermarried). The red room dimly glows with red lanterns and is hung with Qing dynasty Chinese paintings and vintage photographs, which feels like a sultry throwback to colonial Shanghai. The cuisine here is inspired by ancient Japanese cooking traditions as well as those from other East Asian countries, with an emphasis on the classic grilling technique known as robata. Upstairs, Ji Terrace does a more modern and globalized take on Asian food, with the freshest and most inventive sushi dreamed up by Chef Colin Buchan (who’s worked for both Gordon Ramsay and Jason Atherton). Around sunset, with views of the Indian Ocean, the terrace comes alive with crowds sipping craft cocktails and bobbing along to beats spun by a DJ. Also, don’t miss the tiny and photogenic lobby bar, a midcentury-looking tiki affair dedicated to the Balinese dancer Nipolok, the famous muse of Belgian artist Le Mayeur de Merpres, whose depictions of the young dancer adorn the walls. We won't—thanks for the heads-up. How did you find the service, start to finish?The service was warm and authentic. Bonus: Every guest checking in gets a 15-minute massage as a sample of Balinese wellness culture. The owner’s daughter, Lucienne Anhar, who oversees the property, is often on hand to explain her family’s history and can give you a download on any object at the hotel—or her favorite addresses in Canggu. Her love for the staff and their passionate stewardship of this special property are palpable. Excellent. And can you tell us a little bit about the other guests?I saw couples taking Balinese cooking lessons and more than a couple families on holiday. Visitors here are looking for something historical, authentic, and low-key. Got it. What about the neighborhood, or surrounding area? Does the hotel fit in, make itself part of the scene?Tugu was the first hotel in Canggu, a pioneer in what was, at the time, just fields of rice paddies running up to the edge of the ocean. Over the last five years, however, commercial strips have gone up—and, tragically, a raft of recent waterfront development has stolen Tugu’s legendary beachfront lawn. The setting is not what it once was, for sure. But being right on Batu Bolong, it’s convenient by foot to everything in central Canggu, albeit a bit noisy at night. Noted. Is there anything you'd change?Again, better soundproofing on the villas to insulate from the beachfront revelry in the evenings. Alright. Now tell us what we missed! Something cool about turndown service, or being especially wellness-friendly? Or a tidbit that simply elevated the stay?Tugu’s got a lovely, deep blue-tiled pool at its back, surrounded by lush flower gardens and meandering paths that lead to the various villas. Each villa is unique and spectacular and you can spend time just stopping to take in the varied architecture. One of these buildings is the Tugu Spa, in which the beds are made of authentic rice containers and treatments are based around an entire herbal apothecary of indigenous ingredients like turmeric. There’s also a sweet little open-air barber shop/salon full of quirky antiques. The main hall is a museum that’s worth spending time in, and you absolutely must go see the room in an adjacent building that’s dedicated to the history of what’s referred to as the 1906 Puputan War, in which the Balinese fended off the Dutch military Intervention before committing mass ritual suicide. The room is full of Balinese and Indonesian dynastic history, as well as Chinese ceramics recovered from shipwrecks and hundreds of other discoverable treasures. Bottom line: Worth it? Why?With newly opened hipper hotels (The Slow) and more luxurious ones (Como Uma), Tugu, Canggu’s oldest hotel, is feeling a bit overshadowed. But I absolutely loved it for its soulful rusticity and tasteful nostalgia, and spent much of my time there taking in the stunning historical artifacts that are well labeled and offer fascinating context to the trip. Altogether it conjured an old-world Bali that is wholly absent at the other hotels." - Alex Postman
