By the Sea at Samabe Bali

With its inclusive offerings and clifftop location, Samabe Bali Suites & Villas was a no-fuss way to cap off two weeks of island hopping. Herein, 36 hours spent on Indonesia’s southeastern tip.

After being welcomed with frangipani leis, chilled hand towels and a sparkling cocktail, my friends and I are escorted to our suite and let out some enthusiastic, colorful expletives upon seeing our view.

We wash a day of travel dirt off, order drinks and continue to take in the view as dusk dyes the sky pastel.

Ordering dinner in, because we can, we discover the custom kimonos and bamboo slippers—the tropical versions of the terry towel hotel standard—and make it our lounge wear of choice.

The next morning we hit the pool, which is really three pools, and bask in the slightly less intense pre-noonday sun (it’s still blazing) with a succession of swimming, coconut water-ing and gazing at the ocean view.

In the afternoon, when the tide is lower, we head down to the resort’s private beach decked out with bean bag chairs and a mini, manned cocktail bar. We borrow some complimentary snorkeling gear to get a glimpse of the fishes.

The hotel has its own catamaran too and taking a ride is also complimentary, all you need to do is book a time.

While we were there at the tail end of the wet season, we had nothing but glorious sun the two days we were there. Since it was our last days in Bali, we were working hard on our tans. We took Baz Luhrmann’s advice and wore sunscreen. But between the humidity and the frequent pool dips, we went through quite the collection of protection.