A cottage by the sea in Bali

On Bali’s popular south coast, most of the beaches are battered by big waves and powerful currents all year round. But on the island’s little-visited north coast, the warm waters of the Bali Sea lap gently along empty beaches and dreamy coves. And unlike the south coast, which is lined with big hotels and resorts, accommodation in the north tends to take the form of quaint seaside cottages. Here are three drop-dead gorgeous places to stay on Bali’s unspoilt north coast. OCEAN PARADISE BALI About 500m from the northernmost point of Bali, on a beach where the only things one can hear are breaking waves and the rustle of palm trees, is Ocean Paradise Bali, probably the quietest hotel on the island. It is almost hidden at the end of a country road that squiggles through glassy rice fields, where a nondescript wooden gateway leads into a grass courtyard edged by eight pastel-coloured cottages. They seem quite plain from the outside but are surprisingly large and very comfortable inside, with king-size beds, large picture windows and massive outdoor bathrooms centred by plus-size bathtubs hewed from solid stone. The facilities are also spartan: there’s a restaurant with a simple menu, a yoga platform on the second floor plus an infinity pool with sunbeds and umbrellas overlooking the beach. The best thing to do here? Nothing at all. Vibe: Edge of the world Room size: 42sqm Room rate: from $100 per night Bookings: ocean-paradise-bali.com TAMAN SARI BALI RESORT & SPA On the western end of Bali’s north coast, Pemuteran is a picturesque village with a dozen-odd restaurants and about the same number of accommodation properties. The pick of the crop is Taman Sari, a family-friendly resort with wide green lawns and 66 villas and brick cottages attired with Javanese teak shutters and rustic gabled roofs. Every room has an open-air bathroom where guests can shower under the sun or stars, and the oversized private terraces are perfect for watching a movie on a laptop or reading a book. Only footsteps from your front door is the most beautiful part of Pemuteran Bay, a gently curving cove with golden sandy shores shaded by African tulip trees. There are sofas, daybeds and hammocks to catch a snooze on, an oasis-shaped pool and a restaurant that does pretty good surf and turf. While also a good place for doing nothing at all, Taman Sari offers enough activities to fill a week, from cooking classes to fishing and snorkelling trips in nearby West Bali National Park. Vibe: Summer breeze Cottage size: 20sqm Room rate: from $100 per night Bookings: tamansaribali.com SIDDHARTHA OCEANFRONT RESORT & SPA Some 150km east on the opposite end of the coast, sitting under the gaze of Mt Agung volcano, is Siddhartha Oceanfront Resort. From the towering lobby punctuated by three levels of natural coarse grass roofing, a lawn tumbles down to a pebble beach that’s no good for sunbaking or sunset strolls but excellent for swimming, snorkelling and diving — there are coral gardens and tropical fish right in front of the hotel and even a small shipwreck. As a full-service resort, Siddhartha has a luxury spa, oceanfront pool and bar plus a restaurant that serves sensational hamburgers. Accommodation options include two private villas and 30 cottages, all with natural coarse grass roofing and wide private decks. Inside the cottages look like modern hotel rooms but they are huge: nearly three times the size of your average hotel. Most of the guests who stay here are divers — there’s a fully equipped and certified dive centre and school and a small fleet of boats. But the main attraction for me was the peace and quiet; a place to stare at the ocean and do nothing at all. Vibe: Hawaii in Bali Cottage size: 55sqm Room rate: from $250 per night Bookings: siddhartha-bali.com