Ni Ketut Swartini
Cultural Ambassador and Guest Experience Manager
Four Seasons Tenure
- Since 1993
- First Four Seasons Assignment: Restaurant hostess, Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay
Birthplace
- Denpasar, Bali
Languages spoken
- English, Indonesian, Balinese
From a catwalk model to a priestess, Ni Ketut Swartini - known as Ibu Atik - has walked many paths in her life. As Guest Experience Manager and ambassador for the Ganesha Cultural Centre at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay, she plays a key role in helping guests to discover the many layers of Bali’s unique culture.
Upon joining the pre-opening team in 1993 at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay, she started her career as a restaurant hostess. With her strong cultural knowledge and community connections, she transferred to the Concierge team where she helped to create the engaging program of on-site and off-site activities for guests to gain deeper insights into Balinese life.
“As Bali is the only Hindu island in Indonesia, it is completely different to the rest of the country. I am proud to share our culture with guests from all over the world, as well as domestic guests, our own native Indonesians who are intrigued to learn more about this island; it’s exotic for them as well,” says Ibu Atik.
She shows guests how to make canang offerings, weave coconut leaves to make decorative ornaments (klangsah weaving), and how to write their name in traditional Sanskrit script, known as Aksara. She is a guide for on-site walking tours such as the Shrine Tour and the Art & Culture At Your Doorstep tour, which highlights the hundreds of statues and artworks around the Resort. Born into an ancestral line of priests and completing her ordainment in 2007, Ibu Atik also supports Resort Priest Ajik Ngurah to conduct temple ceremonies and blessings, and helps both guests and staff to make an offering at the ocea-front temple and shrines.
Through the Ganesha Cultural Centre program, guests can also take on-site workshops with local artists ranging from woodcarving, dance and music, to canvas or egg painting, ceramic-plate painting, batik-making, and traditional martial arts. The program is designed to preserve and celebrate Bali’s artistic heritage and support the island’s talented community of artists.
Standing well above average height in Bali at 173 centimetres tall (5”9’), Ibu Atik’s time as a catwalk model inspired her to offer on-site Balinese photography sessions for guests. She helps guests to dress up in traditional costume including hair-do and takes them on a tour of the most photogenic spots around the resort’s 14 hectares (35 acres) of botanical-style gardens - just another way for guests to truly experience a day in the life of a Balinese person.
