Need to know
Rooms
Eight villas.
Check–Out
11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 2pm.
More details
Rates include breakfast, and for stays from 10 to 20 August annually and over Christmas and New Year, a two-night minimum applies.
Also
One of Aarunya Nature Resort & Spa’s villas is wheelchair accessible, as are certain communal parts of the resort. However, the mountain terrain and stepped access to some areas of the hotel mean the resort’s not ideal if you have mobility issues.
At the hotel
Nine-acre garden estate; mountain bikes to borrow; free ironing service; paid laundry service and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: LED TV with satellite channels, Bluetooth speaker, air-conditioning, hairdryer, coffee- and tea-making kit, free bottled water, free minibar (excluding alcohol), free fruit platter with homemade chocolates, on-call butler service and bath products.
Our favourite rooms
Aarunya Nature Resort & Spa’s extra-special, top-of-the-world Sky Tented Villa takes first place for us, amid admittedly stiff competition in this incomparable location. You’ll sleep under its safari-tent-style canopy in king-size comfort, bathe outdoors in a mountain-backdropped bath tub, and bob contentedly in your own private pool. The fantastic views carry over to the open-air bathroom, where windows frame the valley in glorious snapshots.
Poolside
The outdoor, chlorinated infinity pool at the central bungalow is for adults and children aged 12 and up. Relax on a sunlounger and take in the Unesco-listed Knuckles mountain range: nothing short of spectacular.
Spa
At Aarogya Luxury Spa & Wellness Center (open 9am to 9pm daily), a menu of restorative treatments awaits, based on Balinese or Ayurvedic therapeutic techniques. Try a stress-release or hot stone massage, a calming scalp ritual, or a green tea sea-salt scrub. Traditional Ayurvedic treatments include the Shirodhara, performed using warm oils on the forehead, and the Pinda Sweda, a combination of massage and sweat therapy designed to relieve aches. There are four treatment rooms, including one for couples, plus an infrared sauna, herbal bath, body steam chair and outdoor bathhouse. Longer retreat packages, tailored to you, are available, too.
Packing tips
Take a swish sarong for temple-bound trips, and robust covered shoes for leafy mountain ascents.
Also
In-room check-in or check-out is available if arranged ahead.
Children
Families are welcome to stay at Aarunya Nature Resort & Spa, but there are no childcare facilities or services on site, and the main pool is for over-12s only. You can request an extra single bed for your villa (US$30 a night) or a cot (for free).
Sustainability efforts
Every detail of Aarunya Nature Resort & Spa has been conceived with environmental and social impact firmly in mind. No trees were felled to create what you see here, and local materials and craftspeople have been employed to give it its simple aesthetic against a magical backdrop provided by nature.
The Aarunya Nature Foundation is committed to supporting local villagers in need and the local environment. It provides underprivileged local children with annual packs of school equipment and shoes, as well as books for school libraries. Aarunya staff members come together regularly with the local community to clean up and improve the village.
All water at the resort (apart from potable water used for drinking and cooking) comes from wells on the estate, and is treated using the onsite water treatment plant. Solar-heated water powers guest showers and taps are fitted with water-saving devices. Waste water is treated or disposed of on site using natural processes. More solar panels are being installed, and there are plans to operate the site largely off grid by 2030 with the help of solar power and battery storage, plus biogas for cooking.
Electric buggies are used around the resort, which also operates a no-single-use plastics policy, as well as recycling and composting programs.
The kitchen favours local suppliers including the village’s farmers for sourcing food and drink, and chefs make good use of the resort’s own rice paddy, coconut trees and kitchen gardens. The meat, fish and seafood that make it onto your plate are organic and ethically sourced.