YSG creates Bali wellness hotel with DJ station

Australian studio YSG has converted a former private vacation residence into a boutique hotel in Bali focused on playful spaces and Indonesian music and culture. The Moon Gang Bali hotel is located among the rice fields on the northern outskirts of Ubud and includes five interconnected suites, outdoor terraces and a lounge surrounding a central courtyard. According to its Australian hoteliers, the hotel was inspired by “our feverish obsession with Indonesian music and culture” and its offerings include an all-day spa and a “DIY DJ station” stacked with Indonesian and Japanese city pop records curated by DJ Midnight Runners. YSG was similarly influenced by Indonesian and Japanese design for the hotel’s spaces, which feature bamboo and timber structures and lava stone tiling. “Once a private vacation residence in severe disrepair, the concrete bunker was radically transformed into a modern-day Babylon infused with cosmic references and hybrid Japanese architectural elements, including the spa’s sliding bamboo doors depicting lunar phases,” the studio said. The hotel is only accessible via motorbike or on foot, according to the team, and is located along an alleyway. Guests enter on the far side of the courtyard pool, while the suites and common areas enclose the space on three sides. The suites were designed with “dreamers, misfits and wanderers in mind”, according to the hotel, and each is outfitted with an assortment of objects by local studios set against walls clad in recycled earth-based finishes. Locally made objects throughout the hotel include counter and stools manufactured from recycled plastic bottle tops by Weedoo Plastics, pool lounge chairs handwoven from upcycled materials by BYO Living and wall sconces made of local seseh wood and green-coloured resin by AA Practice. YSG also made efforts to source construction materials locally while working on the project, as the studio noted it was difficult to transport them to the secluded site. This included crushing terracotta tiles and breeze blocks and repurposing them as flooding riffraff to help with drainage, and joinery designed to be assembled on site. The studio also addressed significant water damage to the complex and replaced rotten wooden walls, portions of the roof and concrete flooring. The project also included adding a second-storey suite made of bamboo with an oversized skylight. Other details include a black-and-white checkered tile relief that surrounds the pool’s edge, as a nod to the Saput Poleng cloths wrapped around holy objects as part of local customs. YSG previously converted a warehouse into a co-working space in Sydney and brought 1970s elements to a local cafe. Photography by Tommaso Riva Read more