DelMango Villa Estate Seminyak

HOTEL REVIEW
DelMango Villa Estate
Seminyak
Words: Elly Earls Photography: Courtesy of DelMango Villa Estate and Design Hotels
Balinese architectYoka Sara and Japanese
interior designer Nobuyuki Narabayashi
have have succeeded in blurring the lines
between indoor and outdoor to create 14
villas for developer Selected Estates.
D
elMango Villa Estate, an eco-friendly hideaway in the heart of
cosmopolitan Seminyak, is at once an ode to the back-to-nature lifestyle
for which Bali first became known. Yet it is also an unashamedly urban
retreat offering all the comforts of a luxury resort.
Envisaged by first time hotelier Ronny Tome and his business partner Mario
Hintermayer, the project is something of a labour of love for the Managing Director
of development firm Selected Estates Pte Ltd. German-born Tome moved to Bali in
1995 and has since become passionate about protecting his adoptive country’s natural
beauty. In 2005, he met Austrian entrepreneur Mario Hintermayer and the pair set
about creating a series of self-contained villas with eco-friendly credentials.
Brought to life by Balinese architect Yoka Sara and Japanese interior designer
Nobuyuki Narabayashi, the concept for DelMango’s design was originally based on
one simple form. “The idea was clear from the beginning; there’s a huge mango tree
which is over one hundred years old at the entrance of the property, so it was always
going to be mango-related,” Tome explains. “But we needed someone who could put
that on paper. We were looking for an unusual architect, someone who could create
something out of the ordinary, brave and bold, but also organic.”
A friend suggested internationally-acclaimed Balinese architect Yoka Sara, who is
renowned for capturing his clients’ personalities and blending them with the natural
forces and energies of a site. Perfect, Tome thought. All that remained was finding an
interior designer to match.
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THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE: In true Balinese style, Sara and Narabayashi have succeeded in merging inside and out, ensuring that
no matter where you are in any of DelMango’s 14 villas, there is always a view of the surrounding tropical gardens. The minimally
furnished living-dining-kitchen area is almost completely open to the elements, protected solely by a stone canopy overhead
“Another friend of mine mentioned
Narabayashi’s name and although he had
never designed villas before, he used to work
for Super Potato in Japan, which specialises in
the use of recycled materials. That was exactly
what we wanted,” Tome says.
Now, the distinctive lines of Tome’s favourite
fruit can be seen in every aspect of the
property – from the curved, stone canopies
over the villas’ open-air living areas, to the
swirling waters of the property’s private
whirlpools. Each villa even has its own personal
mango tree, a miniature version of the one that
inspired Tome’s vision.
In true Balinese style, Sara and Narabayashi
have succeeded in merging inside and out,
ensuring that no matter where you are in any
of DelMango’s 14 villas, there is always a view
of the surrounding tropical gardens. “We didn’t
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want to have clear definitions of what was
interior and what was exterior; everything was
supposed to merge somehow,” Tome remarks.
So, not only is the minimally furnished livingdining-kitchen area almost completely open
to the elements, protected solely by a stone
canopy overhead, guests are constantly treated
to the sound of flowing water, courtesy of the
automatically controlled waterfall installed in
each private pool. There are also cosy outdoor
alcoves, complete with colourful beanbags and
coffee tables, scattered around each villa, just
in case the pool deck gets a bit dull. Although
the villas vary in size, their interiors follow the
same understated theme featuring earthy slabs
of volcanic stone, granite and pale terrazzo
along with warm teakwood.
The design duo has also stayed resolutely
true to the sustainable principles Tome was
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determined to follow with DelMango. “Before
we even started the project, it was set in our
minds that whatever we did had to be ecofriendly,” he emphasises. Indeed, before
proceeding with the DelMango project, Tome
and Hintermayer had originally hoped to
establish a fully sustainable resort – the Vita
Source Retreat – in the remote mountain
district of Tabanan, but funding difficulties put
the project on hold. “We were planning to only
use green materials up there, and although you
can’t be as eco-friendly in Seminyak as you can
be in the mountains of Tabanan, we have still
tried to be as sustainable as possible,” he notes.
At DelMango, only the bedrooms use
air-conditioning (all other areas are cooled
by natural breezes), and the private pools
are chlorine-free. Moreover, only recycled
wood is used for the flooring, pool decks
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EXPRESS CHECKOUT
ABOVE: Sanitaryware and bathroom fittings from Toto, Grohe
and Kohler include an infinity-edge bathtub and rainshower
and furniture, while Philips LED lighting
reduces electricity consumption. Even the
artwork and soft furnishings are recycled and
coloured with organic natural dyes and the
impressive 14-metre reception building-cumrestaurant is made entirely from bamboo.
Accessed via a curved bamboo staircase,
the MANGOlia lounge showcases customdesigned Muji-style furniture set against a
natural black volcanic stone floor.
The newly-opened property – a member of
Design Hotels – could almost be nestled in the
middle of Ubud’s tropical jungle, save for the
many mod-cons installed especially for Tome’s
high-end target market. “We’re on the upper
level of pricing so we’re hoping to attract a
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sophisticated style of guest who chooses his
hotel based on stunning design, additional
facilities and the excellent services we offer,
such as one of the fastest fibre optic internet
connections on the island and IPTV, which,
again is very new to Bali,” he notes.
Painstaking attention has been paid to
absolutely every detail at DelMango Villa
Estate, from the top-of-the-range technology
available in each villa to the handmade wall
finishes designed by Narabayashi. “It’s been
very work intensive and has certainly not been
cheap,” Tome admits, but it’s all been worth it,
he believes, to create an unique eco-friendly
property just a stone’s throw from Bali’s
teeming cosmopolitan centre.
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DelMango Villa Estate
Jalan Raya Seminyak
Gang Taman Sari
Seminyak, Bali 80361
Indonesia
Tel: +62 361 732 208
www.delmangobali.com
14 villas
MANGOlia
In-villa spa treatments
Garden area for private events
Developer / Owner: Selected Estates Pte Ltd
Operator: DelVision Indonesia
Architect: Yoka Sara (villas) Ketut Arthana
(back of house building)
Interior Designer: Noboyuki Narabayashi
Landscape Architect: RDK
Contractor: Tunas Jaya Sanur
Quantity Surveyor: Davis Langdon, Seah
Project Manager: MyProperty Bali