Villa Marie is one of four exceptional villas that make up the Pandawa Cliff Estate – a hidden paradise located high above the ocean on Bali’s southernmost tip.
As the estate’s name suggests, the villas are positioned on the cliff top overlooking the golden sands of Pandawa Beach. This is glorious, unadulterated, spectacular Bali at its best: far from the hoi polloi of Seminyak and Kuta, yet less than half an hour’s drive from the airport and many of Bali’s top attractions, including the sacred temple of Uluwatu and the fine dining establishments of Jimbaran and Nusa Dua.
Together, The Pala, Villa Rose, Villa Markisa and Villa Marie offer a total of 21 bedrooms, capable of sleeping 42 adults. This, coupled with the superbly landscaped cliff top gardens, extensive decked areas, a huge team of professional yet personable staff and purpose-designed guest facilities, make The Pandawa Cliff Estate a wedding and special event venue par excellence. The four villas also share a sports centre with full-size tennis court, squash court, gym and spa.
Privacy is in no way compromised, however, and each villa is sweetly secluded within its own extensive walled gardens. Villa Marie’s layout is particularly family-friendly. Bedrooms are arranged around the 16-metre pool, a centrally situated living pavilion and a large barbecue balé. Four of the six bedrooms occupy a double-storey building towards the back of the villa, with two master bedrooms in stand-alone pavilions to the front. Although Villa Marie is set slightly further back than the other Pandawa Cliff Estate villas, the ocean can still be seen from most rooms.
A skilled private chef heads the estate’s staff kitchen, and he and his team prepare and serve a wide range of gastronomic delights from a restaurant-style menu. The villas are neatly maintained, inside and out, by a small army of housekeepers, gardeners and pool attendants, and guarded by a team of diligent security staff, while two seven-seater cars with drivers are on standby for guests who wish to explore this delightful corner of the Island of the Gods.
Villa Layout
Water features and wooden decks meander between the four individual buildings that make up six-bedroomed Villa Marie. Two master bedroom pavilions, each with covered terraces, face the ocean at the front of the villa’s tropical landscaped gardens; between them lies a 16-metre T-shaped swimming pool (with shallow kids pool) and a large, covered barbecue balé.
The centrally positioned living pavilion is enclosed in glass to maximise views on all sides, but can be fully opened to the pool and gardens. This big square room is divided into lounge, TV, dining and kitchen areas and makes a wonderfully convivial space – all overlooking the pool.
A deck crosses burbling pebble-lined ponds to the only two-storey building at Villa Marie, which houses the four remaining bedrooms, all ensuite and two on each floor.
Living Areas
Villa Marie’s central living pavilion houses all her indoor living space in one big, convivial area. This is a lovely room for socialising, gazing out over the pool and gardens, chilling in front of the television, enjoying a meal at the 10-seater dining table – or even cooking one in the well-equipped open-plan kitchen. This is undoubtedly the hub and the heart of the villa.
Next to the living pavilion and right beside the 16-metre T-shaped pool (with the top of the T forming a shallow swimming area especially for kids) is a spacious outdoor dining balé fitted with a built-in barbecue, wet kitchen area and a circular, all-weather-rattan table for eight.
Bedrooms
Villa Marie’s master suites occupy two luxurious pavilions towards the front of the property. Each has wide sliding glass doors on two sides – facing the ocean in one direction and the pool in the other.
The suite to the far side of the pool is accessorized with cheerful turquoise fabric and furnished with a king bed – above which is an attractive carved wood panel – and equipped with a large flat-screen TV with satellite channels and Blu-ray/DVD player. The spacious ensuite bathroom incorporates a dressing area and boasts an oval terrazzo bathtub in a sunny alcove and an outdoor rain shower. In the second master suite, a super-king bed lies below a high wood-and-rattan ceiling, and a covered ocean-view terrace to the front is furnished with a large daybed. Beyond the dressing room is a bathroom fitted with a centrally placed oval terrazzo tub and an enclosed rain shower.
A timber boardwalk over pebble-lined ponds leads from Villa Marie’s living pavilion to her four guest bedrooms. Both floors of this contemporary two-storey building contain a king bedroom and a twin bedroom that converts to king, and all rooms are virtually identical, with only minor differences in their bathrooms and outside areas (balconies for the upstairs rooms; decadent outdoor river-rock tubs for the ground floor ensuites). Floors are of warm teak framed by cool marble and bathrooms are bright and spacious – all incorporating well-designed dressing and vanity areas.