20 Years After Eat, Pray, Love, Bali Is Still Worth a Wellness Trip

Even before Elizabeth Gilbert wrote about studying with a Balinese medicine man and a female Balinese traditional healer in her bestselling 2006 memoir Eat, Pray, Love, the Indonesian island was already earning a reputation as a wellness destination. Back then, yoga and meditation, powerful and intuitive massage, herbal treatments inspired by centuries-old rituals of Balinese royalty and, of course, the mysterious local energy healers known as balian drew intrepid pre–smartphone era travelers.Twenty years after the book, however, Bali is no longer a wellness destination but the definitive global destination for wellbeing—in virtually every form, woo-woo to cutting edge. The evolution was slow, until it wasn’t: In 2014, fresh off a breakup and recently laid off—embarrassingly cliché, right?—I chose Bali for my first-ever solo trip and within days was practicing chaturanga dandasana at The Yoga Barn, whispering wishes before intricately carved water spouts at Tirta Empul water temple, and getting deliciously deep massages (pijat) from sweet Balinese women for about $6.On every subsequent stay—because, yes, I was addicted to it all—I noticed an uptick in retreats, Ayurvedic to silent. Hotel spas meaningfully upped their games and dreamed up elaborate rituals cementing sense of place. When I moved to Uluwatu full-time once Bali’s COVID lockdown ended in 2022, the wellness explosion was unmissable. Injectables, lasers and reformer Pilates are now easier to find than a balian; the vibe is no longer backpacker-boho, but chic.These days, the wellness world is your oyster on Bali. During my second pregnancy, I treated myself to myofascial bodywork, weekly Balinese massage at home, acupuncture, gua sha facials, Pilates, and yin yoga stretch classes, plus the odd Balinese Hindu melukat ceremony for purification and balance and regular resort staycations for next-level TLC. It was heaven.This island calls to people, young and old; seeking emotional clarity, self improvement, stress relief, detox, physical renewal, and soulful, mystical spiritual healing. There’s nowhere else like it. And thanks in part to the sophisticated and creative offerings of luxury resorts, the wellness landscape continues to evolve. Here, are what I believe to be Bali’s nine best wellness destinations at the moment.The quiet corners at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan include gardens and thatched-roof villas. Four Seasons Resort Bali at SayanInside one of the treatment spaces at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan Four Seasons Resort Bali at SayanFour Seasons Resort Bali at SayanThe Ubud resort where Julia Roberts stayed while playing Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love has elevated spa treatments to an art form. Yes, they offer some standard massages, but the Sacred River Spa menu revolves mostly around one-of-a-kind therapies that draw from Balinese folklore, instrumentation, ritual and more, combined with vetted holistic healing practices. I’ve never experienced anything remotely like the two-hour Restu Bumi treatment that involved ancient pis bolong coins draped over my chest to capture the vibrations of hearing a Balinese ghanta temple bell and gong, and being massaged in ice-cold and fire-hot swirls with moss agate stones etched with sacred geometry. The warm tingle it produced started in my heart and radiated outward. Over years, I’ve tried chakra ceremonies meant to open my throat or heart chakra or ground me through my root chakra. Moving, feel-good rituals that seem to unlock something within are a specialty, but there is also a very robust yoga and meditation offering and visiting practitioners who keep things ever exciting. Several retreats dive deeply into all of it, with the newest option being a silent retreat led by the resort’s secret weapon, Ibu Heny Ferawati (Ibu Fera), a former Buddhist nun who is perhaps the most comforting person I've ever met and leads the peerlessly restorative Sacred Nap I can’t recommend enough—think nirvana achieved in while cocooned in a silky hammock being tenderly rocked to the sound of gentle lullabies. From $971.Letting the outside in is one of the core principles at Desa Potato Head. Adrian MorrisGroup meditation at Desa Potato Head, where two hotel options put an emphasis on detoxifying. Desa Potato HeadDesa Potato Head BaliA well-considered evolution of its own has seen Seminyak’s Desa Potato Head Bali go from beloved oceanfront beach club to pioneering zero-waste creative village with two hotels and as great an emphasis on detox as retox. My mornings have started beautifully with the Under the Rising Sun - Energy Activation and Meditation, I’ve breathed deeply through the freezing burn of an ice bath beside the beach, been rubbed down and stretched in the Desa Spa, and learned to blend my own Indonesian herbal health elixir called jamu in the (farm)acy, but I’ve not yet experienced the resort's Balinese astrological reading, pura raga healing dance ritual, incense making or had an Ayurvedic consultation. Most recently I was floored by the swelling, symphonic soundscape played on copious instruments by breathwork practitioner Justus Jonathan over 90 nervous system–regulating minutes inside the magically lit state-of-the-art nightclub Klymax. Full moon sound meditations and communal plant-based feasts happen monthly, and the third part of an immersive wellbeing series based on ancestral healing and spirituality in India, Java and Bali is being held November 19-22, led by a Balinese intuitive healer. What’s more, they practice what they preach: there are five complimentary yoga classes per day for staff, since the visionary founder Ronald Akili believes the benefits will be felt by guests and, based on much experience, I know it’s true. From $250.Looking down at the lush and leafy COMO Shambhala Estate COMO Shambhala EstateA relaxing float at COMO Shambhala Estate COMO Shambhala EstateCOMO Shambhala EstateFor 21 years this resort on 22 jungle-y acres spilling down a steep ridge to an energetic convergence of rivers outside of Ubud has focused resolutely on wellbeing, and the offerings keep growing. A redesigned Ojas, COMO Shambhala Estate's wellness center, debuted in 2025, and with additional health-tech including hyperbaric oxygen therapy (I’ve never breathed better) and infrared sauna. The extensive hydrotherapy circuit is fed by an important natural spring used by villagers for centuries, and guests are fed incredibly wholesome, nutrition-forward menus dictated for many by the particular retreat-like Wellness Program or multi-night Wellness Path they choose. Every stay is bespoke, but the latter include a one-hour consultation with the resident Ayurvedic doctor in order to prescribe an itinerary comprising daily spa, fitness and rituals. Stress relief was my focus, and a variety of massages targeted my trapezius chronically knotted with golf balls, a revelatory private Pilates session addressed posture, a fun babysitter played with my kids while I relaxed at the idyllic natural rock pools by the rushing river, and a private Balinese Hindu melukat ceremony clarified my priorities and left me feeling hopeful and at peace—as well as soaking wet. From $670 per night.A sound bath at Raffles Bali where Wellbeing Butlers are at your beck and call Vincent LerouxA quiet spot overlooking the Indian Ocean at Raffles Bali Vincent LerouxRaffles BaliWellness at this 57-acre beachfront resort that feels like an island nature reserve is as much about environment as it is physical practices. I felt my cortisol levels plummet just sitting quietly and looking out over the Indian Ocean from the oversized daybed outside my pool villa, and reveled in the sounds and sensations of Mother Nature on a calm guided butterfly and bird watching walk. Wellbeing Butlers are at your beck and call to arrange reiki, gratifyingly strong massages in open air, cleansing Balinese ceremonies at the resort temple, or sunrise qi gong on the practically private sand. But they also read the room and quietly provide additional tools for serenity, whether it’s hot herbal tea in a thermos, a crystal eye mask, or aromatherapy oils at turndown service. There’s plenty of decadence to go around, not only in the amenities and treatments but culinarily speaking—a surprise seven-course chef’s table dinner at Rumari Counter is good for the soul—and the combination is divine. From $840 per night.The pool area at The Asa Maia The Asa MaiaInside one of Asa Maia's serene treatment spaces The Asa MaiaThe Asa MaiaThis boutique-sized wellness retreat of 10 antique handmade Javanese wooden houses in Uluwatu was devised by owner Martha Brooke as a place to share many of the holistic methods and tools that helped her overcome cancer. Luxurious, eco-conscious and intimate, it’s a pretense-free haven for those seeking a spiritual or physical reset via intentional yoga practices ranging from Kundalini to yin, intensive personal training and coaching in the well-equipped gym, integrated movement and bodywork, and guided subterranean contrast therapy circuits that include an infrared sauna and open-air campfire. The spa offers a range of treatments, some like the aromatic Mandi Rempah bath drawing from Balinese history, and others pulling from traditional Chinese medicine or modern practices such as the Signature Bioenergetic Facial Alchemy. Breathwork is an key component of The Asa Maia’s ethos for its miraculous healing capabilities, and in a single session of immune-boosting ancient Tibetan Tummo breathing with the guide who has also coached GOAT surfer Kelly Slater here, I wavered between ecstatic, frozen, dizzy and tense before landing, by the end, on “I want to do this again.” From $500 per night.Indoor-outdoor principles guide the design at Buahan, a Banyan Tree Escape Buahan, a Banyan Tree EscapeWall-less treatment spaces at Buahan, a Banyan Tree Escape let in fresh air and light Buahan, a Banyan Tree EscapeBuahan, a Banyan Tree EscapeThe approach at this wall-less adults-only retreat in the somewhat remote, un-touristed village of Buahan is organic, holistic and rooted in nature. It’s the kind of place where the Balinese spa practitioner might open a treatment as Komang did for me, by looking in my eyes and saying, sincerely, “I am grateful to give you this massage.” In lieu of a sealed, air-conditioned spa with pumped-in music there are open-air bales tucked into the forest where the loud hum of critters backdrops treatments such as Raindrop Therapy, a combination of Tibetan singing bowls, feather-light massage and drops of therapeutic essential oils along the spine. An Art of Loloh session allows guests to blend tonics from medicinal foraged herbs and spices, a guided moonlit Sandikala Walk opens their eyes to the rhythm of the rainforest, and a Balinese spiritual offering occurs at the onsite waterfall. A new two-person wellbeing journey designed for reconnection is a collection of intimate practices, from moon meditation and a fire ritual to a tie-dye workshop and bonding massage. From $850 per night.Tiered pools at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran BayThe resort marries cutting-edge, high-tech science with ancient Balinese wisdom to splendid effect. Christian HoranFour Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran BayMultifaceted and deeply mindful, the Healing Village Spa at this classic beachfront resort's treatments are wholly original and sublimely rejuvenating. There’s a menu so massive it makes a person want to do nothing but have treatments, perhaps interspersed with a surf session or AntiGravity yoga. It’s the place to go for game-changing facials, including TDA, non-invasive technology that pushes serums deep into the skin for a super glowy result, and the Venus Freeze, which actually uses intense heat to stimulate collagen and tighten skin. It’s not the most relaxing, but I appreciate a therapy that offers lasting results, and osteopathy-inspired body alignment is available, too. On the soothing end of the spectrum are gemstone-centric body treatments that might include a fantastically soothing 12-point marma facial massage via crystal wand and the Celestial Light Ritual, which put me into my most meditative empty-mind state ever achieved. Set in the Illume Room for color therapy healing, I bathed in blue light before laying in a bed of crushed quartz crystals for a sound bath and slow, kneading massage that felt dreamily like shallow water swirling over me. From $866 per night.Regent Bali CangguThough it only opened this year, the thought that went into Regent Spa & Wellness—the Regent brand’s first signature spa—has made it a worthwhile destination on an island so crowded with massage beds and saunas. Like every guest, I started each experience by listening to a meditative soundscape of binaural beats and sounds recorded on property in a cool little circular cabana. Here, the spa menu is on the smaller side, and each of the body and face treatments feels especially thoughtful and carefully choreographed. Technology is at the heart of facials, especially, from a skin analysis machine and facial sculpting wand to a cryotherapy mask that was positively icy—but also awesome—at -4 degrees Fahrenheit. The star of the spa is The Massage Revolution, during which I was half-buried in warm quartz sand—with a silky sheet keeping me clean—and massaged in slow motion before being inverted, a novel sensation that only heightened every healing stroke. From $595.REVĪVŌ Wellness Resort's seven acres includes a sleek pool area REVĪVŌ Wellness Resorts BaliA meditation session at REVĪVŌ Wellness Resorts Bali REVĪVŌ Wellness Resorts BaliREVĪVŌ Wellness Resorts BaliWhen wellness is the entire focus of your trip, this seven-acre retreat in a Nusa Dua teak forest is the place for a purposeful, highly curated journey combining movement, treatments, nutritious cuisine and hydrotherapy. The intention, whether it’s longevity or weight loss, directs every stay. Pilates, TRX, boxing, yoga, circuit training, and other classes take place in a serene, verdant environment, while mindfulness practices include painting meditation and Qi Gong. A medi-spa menu is available alongside an encyclopedic selection of pampering and targeted non-invasive spa therapies that harness the power of water, color and aroma plus combine techniques from not only Bali but also Thailand, India, China and Sweden. A hot-cold hydrotherapy circuit is complimentary for in-house guests. Nourishing meals are key to the REVĪVŌ experience, and are beautifully rainbow-hued, seasonal, plant-forward and easily adapted to dietary restrictions. From $300 per night.