Almost ten years ago when Silver was just 2 months old, we visited my dear friends, the Colemans of Empire Homewares in their island abode on Nusa Labombogan, Villa Driftwood.
I had the pleasure of visiting with them again all these years later & it is as enchanting as ever with a few special design additions.
To get there, I jumped on a Rocky’s 6-engine speed boat from Mainland Bali, which takes about 40 mins on a calm day and you & your luggage are gently deposited onto their own jetty (I highly recommend that you stick with this company for ease of disembarking!)
Once on land, I was picked up by Elissa & Dom in their golf buggy and we putted back to Villa Driftwood past the timeless beauty of the seaweed farmers wading in the shallows with small wooden boats and peaked hats, through the narrow streets lined with temples & houses with black lava stone walls. As we gently manoeuvred around the daily offering of flowers, rice and cigarettes. A soft breeze blowing with fish-shaped kites hovering overhead, set the tone for a relaxing island stay.
Villa Driftwood is set in a garden oasis on the beachfront with a scattering of structures, rooms & Escape Nomad canvas tent set amongst the trees with 2 pools looking out across the water and lots of places to lull around with the signature style of Empire homewares in every room and touch point. I have coveted one of these tents for many years, and it was an absolute pleasure to sleep in!
The property sits perched on the rocky lava shoreline of petite Sandy bay, where you can walk out a bamboo gate at the edge of the lawn and stroll around to see the blow holes and listen to their musical notes of the mighty sea colliding where the land meets the sea.
A couple of doors down in the other direction, is Sandy Bay Beach Club, a very lowkey laid-back club (think Boho chill not Ibiza party) where you can have lunch or dinner and/or drinks although it’s hard to beat the heavenly villa and the lovely staff that run it but they will also deliver to the villa!
We had the villa manager book, Captain Nemo, to take us snorkelling. We jumped onto the boat via the beach and headed out. We stopped in a nondescript spot, expecting nothing. I jumped overboard and let the current lead the way as I marvelled at the most beautiful underworld I have ever seen in all my life. This was a colour and inspiration overload as I dreamt of joining the Merpeople and swam with the sea turtles and endless brightly colour tropical fish (including a pipefish!) as they feasted on the ocean floor.
I am definitely not leaving it another decade to visit and have already pencilled my name in for a week next year.
You too can stay at this magical home
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