Music to Our Ears: Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan Named to 2020 Condé Nast Traveller’s Gold List

Award comes as Resort releases new music album by resident wellness mentor
December 19, 2019,
Bali at Sayan, Indonesia

Starting the New Year on a high note, Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan has been awarded as the only hotel in Bali on the Condé Nast Traveller 2020 Gold List, coinciding with the launch of its own wellness-inspired music album.

The highly-coveted list of top hotels and resorts globally is chosen annually by Condé Nast Traveller editors. Covering 49 countries, the 2020 Gold List recognises just 26 properties in Asia-Pacific based on the service, innovative experiences and architecture. In announcing the results, Condé Nast Traveller said, “Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan, on the banks of the Ayung River just outside arty Ubud, is still queen of the jungle … A new cooking school and refreshed wellness program are now speaking to the mindful crowd that flocks to this corner of Indonesia.”

The award comes as the Resort reveals its latest wellness innovation: an album titled The Sacred Nap with songs and mantras by resident wellness mentor Ibu Fera, a former Buddhist nun. The calming compilation is named after the experience of the same name that has struck such a chord with guests, who are rocked to sleep in aerial-silk hammocks suspended amid the rice fields while listening to Fera sing lullabies against the backdrop of the river valley’s wildlife.

“The Sacred Nap as an experience is so beautiful, so unique. The kindness and sweetness of Fera’s voice sounds like a mother singing to a child, and this appeals to us all as adults as it reminds us of a mother’s unconditional love,” says Luisa Anderson, Regional Spa Director for Four Seasons Asia-Pacific. “All guests comment on Fera’s soothing voice, saying they wished they could take it home with them. So we decided to make that possible, by creating an album inspired by the experience and sound journey.”

Luisa engaged Bali-based music producer Gus Till to record the album. Originally from Melbourne Australia, Gus’ musical background was in punk/new wave, electronic dance and trance, with stints in the 1970s and 1980s as a member of Beargarden, The Models and Michael Hutchence's alternate band Max Q. As a producer and remixer, he has worked with bands such as Jamiroquai and DJed at festivals globally.

While The Sacred Nap soundtrack required him to stay up all night, it was for a very different reason from previously. “I stayed up several nights in a row at Sayan, perched by the river to record the ambient sounds of frogs, cicadas, running water and birdsong,” says Gus. “We overlaid this against the sound of Fera’s voice and Luisa playing crystal singing bowls. It’s really quite beautiful.”

The album is available at the Resort’s Sacred River Spa Boutique for guests to take home, and another album is already in the making.

Voted #1 World's Top Hotel in the 2018 Travel + Leisure Readers’ Awards, Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan is one of Bali’s most awarded and iconic resorts. Located amid two acres (nearly a hectare) of rice fields and groves of fruit trees, vegetable and herb gardens, 42 private pool villas and 18 suites enable guests to retreat from the world and embrace the valley's healing energy. Thoughtfully-curated experiences include the world’s only hotel arrival by river raft, with guests having the option to arrive and check-in riverside after a two-hour journey down the Ayung River.

Other exclusive experiences include Balinese cooking classes at Sokasi; a traditional Megibung dinner inspired by an ancient dining ritual; the signature Day in the Life of a Balinese Rice Farmer experience; dynamic yoga and spa program; and off-site trekking, cycling and bathing rituals at hidden temples.

 



PRESS CONTACTS
Camilla Chiam
Senior Director of Public Relations and Communications

Jimbaran, 80361
Indonesia
Adrian Pardede
Assistant Director of Public Relations and Communications

Jimbaran, 80361
Indonesia