More images from the Bulgari Ball

-- Hotels, 7/1/2007

Fragrant frangipane trees suffuse Bulgari Bali with natural aromatherapy. Ocean breezes make air-conditioning feel counter-intuitive. Pools, terraces and gardens frame the public spaces as well as the resort’s 59 villas. In a setting like this, who would want to be indoors? “Prospective guests told us they wanted an indoor/outdoor experience equivalent to the luxury and comfort of their homes,” says Robert Lagerwey, general manager, Bulgari Hotels & Resorts Bali. “Beyond that, they wanted an open-air living room concept with views of the cliffs and the ocean, and they wanted authenticity—something that would be true to the Bali experience not just a picturesque representation of it.”

Ultra-luxe resorts such as the 10-month-old Bulgari Bali are leveraging guests’ preference for an indoor/outdoor lifestyle into a means of maximizing the revenue-generating potential of their entire sites. Outdoor spaces are more “designed”—both as extensions of interior spaces and as stand-alone venues—and the result are waves of new profit possibilities.