Kayu Aya R547

This villa is a fully staffed five-bedroom villa that counts Asia’s grandest heritage hotels as its strongest design influence, whilst including all the hi-tech facilities a twenty-first-century guest demands. A modern-day Somerset Maugham would delight in the generous open living spaces, antiques and artefacts, shaded verandas and breezy 24-hour butler service while relishing the Sonos sound system, iPod docks, home theatre, HD TVs and high-speed WiFi.

Located within the elite Laksmana Villas estate an easy stroll from the beach and Bali’s best restaurants, bars and boutiques, the villa also accords families and groups of friends a privileged ringside seat for Seminyak’s sophisticated day-into-night scene.

Two words – Raffles Hotel – conjure the romance of luxury travel in the ‘fabled east’ of the 1930s. Eighty years on, two new words – enter the lexicon of luxury travel. This stunning twenty-first century Seminyak villa– named after the pre-independence title for Jakarta – pays homage to Asia’s legendary heritage hotels such as Raffles in Singapore, Majupahat in Java, E&O in Penang and the Hotel le Royal in Cambodia.

Designed by acclaimed Balinese architect Putu Edi Semara to the exacting standards of its Swiss owners, Villa Batavia’s colonial architecture is evident in the whitewashed exteriors, chequerboard marble vestibules, colonnades, shaded verandas, high ceilings and tall shuttered windows. Throughout the villa, art deco furniture and prized antique pieces stand on polished teakwood floors burnished with oriental carpets. Copper bathtubs, brass fans, Tiffany lamps, rattan pieces and bevelled or stained glass panels deepen the heritage feel. And every surface is a canvas for the owner’s eclectic collection of objets trouvés– framed postcards, maps, letters, engravings and ceramics – that celebrate Indonesia’s rich heritage.

There’s an abundance of more contemporary luxuries too: Sonos music system with a comprehensive music library, Bose speakers, home theatre system, iPod docks and HD TVs in every room plus WiFi in every corner.

Smartly uniformed staff – unobtrusive yet at-the-ready provide the most refined, round-the-clock butler service: no need to lift a finger (other than perhaps to ring the brass bell provided). An espresso with your morning paper in the bale? Afternoon tea on the veranda served in an heirloom tea service? Sundown cocktails stretched out on an old plantation chair? A gourmet dinner with silver-plated cutlery and the finest white bone china? A post-dinner cognac and cigar at the sea-breeze-cooled bar before retiring to four-poster comfort in your air-conditioned suite?

Day-long, The villa delivers all the privileges of five-star living yet with the level of attention and privacy you simply can’t experience in a hotel. But while there may be little call to leave, it’s reassuring to know that just beyond the villa walls are Seminyak’s famed surfers beaches and a sublime choice of world-renowned bars, restaurants, boutiques and spas.