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Words: Elly Earls Photography: Courtesy of DelMango Villa Estate and Design Hotels

DelMango Villa EstateSeminyak

DelMango 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.

Balinese architect Yoka 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.

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“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

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 living-dining-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

determined to follow with DelMango. “Before we even started the project, it was set in our minds that whatever we did had to be eco-friendly,” 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

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

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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-cum-restaurant is made entirely from bamboo. Accessed via a curved bamboo staircase, the MANGOlia lounge showcases custom-designed 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

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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14 villasMANGOliaIn-villa spa treatments Garden area for private events

Developer / Owner: Selected Estates Pte LtdOperator: DelVision IndonesiaArchitect: Yoka Sara (villas) Ketut Arthana (back of house building)Interior Designer: Noboyuki NarabayashiLandscape Architect: RDKContractor: Tunas Jaya Sanur Quantity Surveyor: Davis Langdon, SeahProject Manager: MyProperty Bali

DelMango Villa EstateJalan Raya SeminyakGang Taman SariSeminyak, Bali 80361IndonesiaTel: +62 361 732 208www.delmangobali.com

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