Puri Lumbung Cottages sits in the hill village of Munduk in Bali's northern highlands, well inland and above the coast. The cottages are built in the style of traditional rice barns, lumbung, each with a solid wood balcony looking out over the surrounding hills and plantations.

The place is built around slow, low-key activity rather than resort facilities: a spa doing traditional Balinese massage, basic Hatha yoga and meditation classes, Balinese cooking classes, and language lessons, an unusually genuine cultural programme. Warung Kopi Bali, the restaurant, looks towards Mount Batukaru and serves Indonesian, Western, and vegetarian dishes. Munduk is cool, often misty and green, a long way from the beach in both distance and character, budget considerably longer than quoted for the airport transfer.