Moon Gang, Bali's most playful little hotel

Bali's luxury resorts often share the same look: warm neutrals, natural materials, calm minimalism. Moon Gang, a five-suite hotel that opened in Ubud in June 2026, takes a much more playful route. It was dreamed up by Kirsten Millbank of Firstbase Studio as a place for music, wellness and design lovers, and designed by Sydney's YSG Studio, led by Yasmine Ghoniem.

The adventure starts before you arrive. You check in at a small kiosk near the town centre, then hop on a chauffeured scooter for a three-minute ride up a car-free path through rice fields and jungle. The hotel is a rundown holiday home brought back to life rather than knocked down, with a cinnamon-coloured earth render, terracotta tiles and bright lava-stone tiles in citrus and papaya green.

Almost everything is custom-made with more than 15 Indonesian artisans: sun loungers woven from recycled plastic with playful 'mohawks', banana-leaf paper pendants, and counters made from old bottle tops. There's a vinyl listening lounge stocked with Indonesian and Japanese pop, a spa with treatments late into the night, and a pool patio. The suites each have their own character, from Midnight Runners with its own record player to a bamboo rooftop suite with a huge skylight.

There's even a telescope for moon-gazing.

Our summary of a story from Yatzer, published 10 September 2026. Read the original