I always say that things happen for a reason and I believe that they do. Some things more obviously than others. About three days before our trip to Bali, the hotel we were due to be staying in let us down at the last minute, so I reached out to a contact of mine to see if she was working with any hotels in Bali that she could recommend. Within the hour we were booked in to stay at the Svarga Loka Wellness Resort in Ubud for four nights.
Part of the living space in our suite
Out & about in Ubud
Early morning walks with a view over the jungle – arranged and guided by a Svarga Loka member of staff
Breakfast at Yellow Flower Cafe
Located in the Penestanan area of Ubud, Bali, the Svarga Loka Wellness Resort is tucked away down a little road, set in it’s own little jungle paradise. Despite only being a minute’s walk from the main road, we felt like we were worlds away, surrounded by sounds of nature and running water from the river. The moment we set foot inside the resort and met the staff, I instantly felt calm and a sense of peacefulness washed over me as we walked the many steps up and down to the pool and spa, passing three men outside doing martial arts in silence on our way. It was picture perfect, in a way that you didn’t even want to take a picture for fear of ruining that moment.
Our rooms were beautiful, with huge bathrooms and a joining living area which we used every morning and evening to drink tea together and journal. For a full walk round of the rooms have a watch of my latest Bali vlog, where you can see exactly what we got up to.
Svarga Loka, meaning ‘Heavenly Place’, isn’t just a hotel, it is a wellness resort that along with the Ayusha wellness clinic & spa, offers many bespoke programmes focusing on both physical and mental health. You can read more about the programmes and therapists on offer here. I had the absolute pleasure of meeting healer Richard Currall and holistic health consultant Nigel McFarland, both of whom I was blown away by. Nigel McFarland is a therapist working on techniques and practices such as colon hydrotherapy, Ayurvedic Panchakarma, Indian herbalism and nutrition, with a big focus on eating disorders. Of course the details of my sessions with them both are very much personal and things I’m still on a journey with, but I am staying in touch with both of them, as I honestly felt that what they do is wonderful. The programmes available at Svarga Loka can be read about in more detail here.
My session with Nigel especially brought up a lot of things for me, things I need to figure out, questions I need to ask myself. That doesn’t meant to say I’m in a bad place, I’ve just come to realise that no matter what stage we’re at in life, no matter how happy we are, it can always help to have someone to talk to, someone who encourages you to be curious about your own life, thoughts, actions and reactions.
Along with the healing and therapy, Svarga Loka also offers yoga classes, either as part of a group or you can book in for private sessions with the visiting teacher. We did a lovely early morning Kundalini-inspired class with Khun Nok, which was such a perfect start to the day.
That got pretty deep for a moment, so let’s chat about food! 😉 The food at Svarga Loka is pretty amazing. We had dinner in our living room on the first night, fancy hey! I had some yummy carrot soup, tofu veggie cabbage wraps and banana pancakes with raw cacao sauce for pudding. Breakfast was simple, but delicious… amazing fruits with seeds, nuts and granola, salads, eggs and more traditional Balinese breakfast dishes. If you’re not doing a programme and are just enjoying Svarga Loka for the beautiful hotel that it is, then I’d recommend strolling up the road and trying out some of the local restaurants and cafes. Yellow Flower cafe was my absolute favourite – to the point that we ate there 5 times in 4 days!! We also ate at Warung Mendez, which was equally as delicious.
In summary when you arrive at the Svarga Loka Wellness Resort you honestly get an instant feel for the love and passion that was not only put into the creation of it, but also the running of it. Sure, it’s not some kind of minimalist, marble-overloaded “place to be seen” resort, but that’s why it’s so special. It gives a luxurious family feeling, somewhere you feel safe and at one with mother nature. If you stay, I hugely recommended the master suite that we stayed in, as just sitting out on the balcony at night with a cup of herbal tea, listening to the ever changing Bali weather was such a beautiful experience.
If you have any questions, please do comment below or email the team at Svarga Loka Wellness Resort directly – [email protected]
If you’d like to see more of what I got up to at Svarga Loka and in Ubud, then have a watch of my vlog below…
Like I said at the start, I truly believe things happen for a reason. It was fate that brought me to Svarga Loka wellness resort and without the original hotel letting me down I would never have met these amazing people and experienced this wonderful place.
Love, Cat x
