As one of the Europe’s oldest luxury hotel groups, the Kempinski Hotel has been known for their philosophy on combining great history with modern urban lifestyle. The group boasts an impressive portfolio of iconic 78 five-star hotels and residences in 34 countries and continues to add new properties in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The portfolio includes Kempinski Hotel Indonesia, Kempinski Ciragan Palace in Istanbul and the newly opened The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore. Moreover, the group has revived many heritage buildings and reinstated the glory and luxury back to each of the properties. In spite of this, their latest property, The Apurva Kempinski in Bali, has really caught our attention not only for their design innovation but also for the way it is being done.
Unique and magnificent, as literally translated from the Sanskrit language, are what best describe Apurva through its overall design impression. Unlike the other sister properties around the world, The Apurva Kempinski Bali, which soft launched last February, is a newly built resort but done with such a concept where the interior design has elements from historic Majapahit Kingdom era to ancient Balinese culture.
The award-winning Indonesian architect Budiman Hendropurnomo of the UK based Denton Corker Marshall architect plays a crucial role in the development of this luxurious hotel. Budiman is known for his keen interest on creating balanced environment with natural landscaping and architectural elements integrated into a unique composition.
In Apurva, he drew inspiration from Bali’s iconic rice terraces and its century-old subak irrigation system. The resort boasts the 250-step walkway, which is inspired by Bali’s sacred Pura Besakih water temple, which runs through the centre of the resort, and provides a stage for nightly rituals. As if it is “a stairway to heaven”, the 250-step walkway boasts naturally clad stones on either side, water fountains cascading the whole journey down and clusters of solobium trees, frangipanis and lush tropical gardens covering both sides of the grand stairs. Exploring more of the hotel, we also notice large structures that are covered by green bougenvillea as roofs.
At the crown of the resort is the pendopo-style lobby, which is a wide-open and welcoming space with a soaring tiered roof that draws the eye up to the cosmos. The lobby is located 55 metres above the ocean, so we are able to create an architectural composition where a series of flat green roofs cascades down the hillside, mimicking traditional Balinese rice terraces, thus gradually making its way down to the sea. It is the Madagascar granite with large pearl-like high lights that becomes the feature of the main lobby.
As you walk around the hotel, you will not miss flourishes like the intricate Javanese hand-carved gebyok partitions. These are symbolic of Indonesia’s prosperous Majapahit kingdom, when the kingdom was a hub of artistic creativity. The interior designer Rudy Dodo from Trivium Design Group’s vision was to bring the opulent nuance through the interior design by using Indonesia’s finest craftsmen and artisans to showcase the country’s rich design with a modern touch.
Located in the prestigious Nusa Dua vicinity just 15 minutes away from the airport, this magnificent resort boasts 475 room keys consisting of grand deluxe rooms, iconic suites and discreet villas. Impressively, the hotel’s design architecture innovation can be seen from the 76 Cliff Private Pool Ocean Junior Suite, each of which is spacious with a size ranging of 100 sqm. In addition, each suite offers an amazing panoramic swimming pool, allowing guests to gaze at the skyline while having a complete privacy.
To cater for the ever-increasing wedding and MICE market, this new resort also offers a 1,076 sqm pillar-free and ocean view grand ballroom as well as a wedding chapel designed based on the traditional Tongkonan house from the Toraja region of South Sulawesi. This grand resort is one of the establishments on the Island of Gods that put great attention to details from design to implementation.
Apurva is also a home to the all-day dining restaurant Pala that boasts an impressive rooftop, the unique Selasar Deli with the angkringan food cart serving traditional Indonesian signatures including the world renowned Luwak coffee and the traditional herbal tonic known as jamu. Soon, more outlets are going to open their doors, including OKU fine Japanese dining, a beach club and an underwater dining outlet.
We really can hardly wait when the development of the resort will be fully completed in the near future. So, prepare yourself for having a design moment upon your arrival at this resort while you take your time to enjoy unusual marble flooring on the lobby. This all will take your breath away! The blend of the historic and modern features constitutes the real meaning of what we call a unique and magnificent design.